Dear Diggers
The latest from our members.
A memory in bloom
Val Jackson: The Nook
Olinda, Dandenong Ranges, Victoria.
The dry garden at St Erth
Selecting a palate of plants that thrive in the local conditions is the key to success for this beautiful and resilient garden.
The Cloudehill borders after 33 years
Trialling, tweaking and tending our ever-evolving borders.
Heronswood’s reinstated kitchen garden
A labour of love to re-establish our working kitchen garden brings beauty and bounty.
Werribee Park Heritage Orchard is more than an orchard
It’s a story still being written – with roots in the past and branches reaching forward.
From ancient roots to Australian fields
A glimpse into garlic’s ancient past and its modern Australian growers.
Saving heirloom seeds
Preserving flavour, history and diversity in your garden.
Falling in love with frogs
Australia’s frog species are in trouble but gardeners are key in helping them thrive in frog-friendly spaces at home.
Solutions to the housing crisis must also consider our gardens
New research identifies the critical intersection of housing, gardens and health for older Australians.
Changing the world, one garden at a time
From passion to purpose: our Diggers gardeners share why we garden.
Dumfries House, Scotland
A noble gesture that saved a garden and grew opportunities for the community beyond.
Sweet Peas
A history and guide to year-round blooms.
Growing our impact
How philanthropy helps us shape a more sustainable future.
Isn’t making money just a means to an end?
Diggers co-founder Clive Blazey explains why he is excited about the next 10 years.
A new gardening year
And an exciting RHS endorsement!
Seeds to sow this summer
Find the best seeds to plant, based on your location.
Dear Diggers
The latest from our members.
Food gardening in focus
Heronswood’s new trial beds and water-wise summer garden benefit from our ‘no-turn’ system of composting.
Pruning the Yokohama maples
Artfully raising the canopy of our ever-expanding feature maples at Cloudehill.
The season of abundance
Summer comes alive at The Garden of St Erth, where colourful borders and heirloom vegetables flourish under the sun.
Inspiration for Australian gardeners from Italy
Two unique gardens off the coast of Naples offer climate matched options for our coastal gardeners.
The winds of debate
Following lively correspondence in our recent Dear Diggers about wind farms, we asked an energy expert to respond to the issues raised.
A growing community of young community growers
Somers School Camp on the Mornington Peninsula is a beneficiary of The Diggers Foundation’s ‘Seed the Future’ program.
A garden plot with a difference
Te Henui Cemetery in New Zealand is a community treasure – a beautiful life-affirming garden with lots of reading material!
Gardening with AI
Who can we trust and what is the impact of artificial intelligence generated gardening content and automated horticulture?
The ultimate cut flower offering
Growing dahlias through the seasons at Florelie flower farm
From the cover: Delphinium 'Blue Sensation'
Learn more about the stunning Delphinium elatum that adorns our magazine cover.
One garden at a time
At times the magnitude of the climate and environmental crisis we face can seem overwhelming, but Julian offers some reassurance.
To list or not to list?
Calling all gardeners to visit our Heronswood trial gardens and add your voice. Which heirloom variety would you choose?
Maximise your vegetable garden
Create a backyard ecosystem that starts with a healthy, life-giving soil to expand your harvest and tantalise your taste buds.
How to explore a garden
Creative design of steps, paths and terraces helps Cloudehill visitors comfortably navigate a hillside garden.
Gardening through the ages
Intergenerational garden education passes down plant knowledge, gardening skills and cultural practices to younger generations.
Soil is not a dirty word
Understanding the link between fertilisers, microbial activity and the nutrient content of the food we grow.
Our much-loved garden visitors
Ladybird beetles – the good, the bad and the beautiful!
Gardening next door
Don’t have space to garden? Why not explore the opportunities of growing food in a neighbour’s backyard.
Cultivating nature’s wisdom
Practising biomimicry in the garden and learning from nature’s processes to inspire solutions for design, engineering and architecture.
Rhythm, repetition and natural cycles
Naturalistic planting in an Australian context. Tim Pilgrim’s new book shares his vision for a style of gardening that is both wild and controlled.
Less is more
Downsizing to a smaller property helped Natasha Morgan upsize the time available for growing food, flowers and family.
The next chapter for The Diggers Club
Fiona reflects on the Diggers journey - approaching our 50th birthday and beyond.
Restoring our soils
Industrial farming erodes topsoil at alarming rates, relying on chemicals that damage ecosystems and food quality, making the Western diet highly unsustainable. In contrast, regenerative gardening restores soil health, recycles waste, and offers a sustainable, chemical-free solution to growing food.
Vale Penelope Garnett
Clive honours the late Penny Garnett, co-creator of The Garden of St Erth.