Sunshine Coast Hinterland Times

Mark Healy’s magical paths & gardens

THERE’S something about Mark Healy’s labyrinth and beehive gardens that instantly draws you in. The patterns, shapes and lines seem to register somewhere deep in the psyche, creating a different relationship than we would normally have with a standard garden. Mark launched his company Kitscape in Sydney last year. Now living in Conondale after years as [...]

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Soils Matter

ANY experienced tree planter, gardener, horticulturalist, willadviseyouto“gettoknowyoursoil”.Thisreally applies up here on the Blackall Range where the underlying geology is endlessly variable and fascinating. We know that our continent is old with generally poor soils but on the Sunshine Coast, recent volcanic history dates back only around 31 million years. It is well worth reading “Rocks and [...]

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In the Wild with Spencer Shaw

Inspirational LAST Saturday, Karen and I went for a walk in a great patch of rainforest at Flaxton. The amazing thing about this rainforest is that most of it was planted or regenerated over the last 5-15 years! Surprisingly, this isn’t a national park or undertaken by a large organisation or community group. This is the work [...]

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August …What’s Flowering Now?

Magnolia soulangiana Magnolias are native to America, East asia and the Himalayas. The plant was named after pierre Magnol, a famous director of the Mont Pellier botanical gardens two centuries ago. Early gardeners fell in love with this tree that bloomed profusely with such flamboyant flowers on bare branches. It wasnt long before magnolias found there way around [...]

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Valuable Forests

ARECENT study published in the journal Science provides the most accurate measure so far of the amount of greenhouse gases absorbed from the atmosphere by forests. The planet’s wooded areas soak up a third of the fossil fuel emissions released into the atmosphere each year and if deforestation were stopped tomorrow, the world’s established and [...]

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In the Wild with Spencer Shaw

The Humble Gum Tree Gum Trees (Eucalypt spp.) are the iconic Australian tree. Gum trees occur in almost all Australian ecosystems from deserts, to the edges of Rainforests, from beach sides to mountain tops, from the tropics to the Australian Alps. Gum Trees literally frame the Australian character. There are a few Gums that are small such [...]

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In the Wild – The Big Wet

with Spencer Shaw THE RECENT floods have had a massive impact on the people of South East Queensland. The flooding along the mighty Brisbane, Lockyer and Mary Rivers, has had a huge impact on those communities within the flood zone. There has been widespread loss of infrastructure, homes, crops and sadly, lives. Those prolonged wet periods when it [...]

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You’re welcome at Montville Macadamery

THE AUSTRALIAN Open Garden Scheme always attracts envious gardeners and none more so than Montville Macadamery – the home once owned by novelist Eleanor Dark. Grant and Marlene Mayfield first came to the Montville Macadamery in May 2004. The house is an original 1926 Queenslander with some additions during the early ‘90s, situated on a 20 [...]

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Beaufort’s Beautiful Garden

by David Parmiter DESPITE spring rain and wind a beautiful Blackall Range garden was able to put on a colourful show for Australia’s Open Garden scheme. Montville’s Arts Connect joined forces with Enid and Graham Cooksley, owners of Beaufort, to present a magical blend of landscaped gardens and 40 selected examples of the best Range art and [...]

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A Good Year! : In the Wild with Spencer Shaw

WELL, it looks like we are in for one of the best growth seasons in years, with wet spring and the promise of more rain to come. It really is a pity we don’t plan our “management” of the environment like we do our finances and make sure we’ve got a bit in the bank [...]

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