WILD FLOWERS

Fanny Ann Charsley was 28 when she travelled to Australia in 1856. Yet, it was not until after her return to Buckinghamshire that she published The Wild Flowers Around Melbourne, a collection of 13 hand-coloured lithographs and her only book. Above is the beaut Brunonia australis, craspedia richea, dianella revoluta, lobelia pedunculata, convolvulus erubescens, ammobium alatum, helichrysum bracteatum and lobelia simplicicaulis. Keep your eyes peeled for Charsley's illustrations in This Wondrous Land, opening 29 April at the NGV. And next time you see this particular everlasting daisy, think of Charsley as it was named for her - helipterum charsleyae!

POT PLANT GARDEN

Living with gardening enthusiasts Harriet and Toby has got me feeling a bit green in the thumb of late. Come to think of it, I know quite a few kids who would like to get growing, but apartment living nips this desire, um, in the bud. Well city dwellers, there is hope and it comes in the shape of a pot plant or container garden! If you have a balcony or sill big enough to hold a window box, this is the low stress / high return solution for you. Some super tips can be found at the links below: 

Plant's For A Future's The Potted Garden - water is the main cause of death in pot-based plants; you must be generous in Summer, but a scrooge in Winter. PFAF recommends bulbs, herbs, shrubs and climbers for container gardens - I'm rather taken with the Jade plant at the moment, and just imagine having salad rocket ready for the picking at dinner time! Their motto is 'edible, medicinal and useful plants for a healthier word,' perfect. 

Garden Guides Guide to Container Gardening - this site features a useful table that matches a variety of annuals and vegetables with pots that suit them best; planter boxes, wooden barrels, hanging baskets and large flower pots are just some that can be used. I swoon at the idea of spinach growing at a kitchen window, and aloe vera is good in case of burns. Be sure to read Garden Guides' sections on fertiliser and sun.

Ping Mag and Potscape - take your lead from Miss E, an 80-year-old resident of Tokyo - the world capital of flower pots. Her garden consists of "too many plants" and covers about one third of the walkway in front of her house. Asked whether it is a problem that her garden covers public land, she replies: 'Yes maybe, but there is enough space under the tree, and of course my garden is for everyone!'

The Japanese believe such gardens enhance kimochi or wellbeing, not just for their caretakers, but for all passersby. I certainly grin whenever I glance up at Toby's balcony installation:

So hottail it to the nursery this weekend, horticulturalists! To tide you over, here are some more images for inspiration courtesy of the lovely Yagi at Blue Note.