Stustainable Gardening Australia

One fruit, native to the rainforests of Queensland and NSW, is the Davidson’s plum. The Davidson’s plum has attractive foliage brilliant coloured fruit – dark blue/purple on the outside and a deep reddish-pink on the inside. All three trees are slender, but D. pruriens, also known as Ooray or Queensland Davidson’s plum, is tallest, growing up to 12 metres high. When tested on kangaroo meat, a product made from Davidson’s plum extended the shelf life of the meat by 21 days in chilled conditions.

Included in this trend are gardens that minimize water use by using drought-tolerant and resilient plants, that recycle both hard and soft materials, reduce chemical use and are extra low-maintenance. This is the use of a greater variety of textures in wall and ground treatments – pebbles, brick and sand combinations, wood and natural stone in combination, growing grass or other ground covers in between pavers and decorative mulches around plants. Many trends suggest that – outdoor rooms, indoor plants, more attention to plants in landscaping, greater focus on growing our own food, providing habitat and reducing impacts through climate change gardens. Robo-gardening may, in the long run, reduce water use and make monitoring more efficient, but the use of electricity for motor-driven machines and other devices, tends to replace human energy and brain power with largely coal-fired power.

Red Russian, a blue-green variety with purplish-red veins Black Toscana (Cavalo Nero – pictured above), a long dark-green/blue leaf variety. Warm areas: March to April (in seed trays*), May to June (transplant seedlings) Temperate areas: March to April (in seed trays*), May to June (transplant seedlings) *You could also try sowing seeds directly in the soil if the soil is not too hot In temperate areas, all three varieties of kale like full sun.

SGA chatted with notable organic gardener and author, Penny Woodward, asking her questions about her life and sustainability. What was Penny’s life before realizing the need to be a sustainable practitioner? Penny explained that her life was like others’ in the ’70s – about having fun – more about indulgence than being sustainable