Five reasons why you should plant Billy Buttons

Five reasons why you should plant Billy Buttons

Five reasons why you should plant Billy Buttons Summer is full of amazing flowers – dahlias, alyssum, chamomile, sweetpeas, cosmos, grevilleas, banksias, echinaceas, zinnias, marigolds and so the list goes on. Sunflowers are a long-time favourite summer stunner,...
The ‘devil bird’ has arrived

The ‘devil bird’ has arrived

The ‘devil bird’ has arrived In the mid-2010s when I lived in Indonesia, I learnt the distinctive call of the Eastern Koel (Eudynamys orientalis). The Eastern Koel (also sometimes known as the Common or Pacific Koel) migrates from eastern Indonesia and Papua New...
The beetles bringing some Christmas bling

The beetles bringing some Christmas bling

The beetles bringing some Christmas bling Christmas beetles are a delight to see. They usually appear close to Christmas time and their shimmery, shiny exoskeletons decorate flyscreen doors wide and far as they flock towards any light. Some are metallic green, others...
Wasps we should welcome

Wasps we should welcome

Wasps we should welcome At primary school I had a teacher who was very concerned we’d swallow a wasp in a can of soft drink. He often told us to use a straw (before single-use plastics became recognised as an environmental disaster). He was worried about the...
Gang-gangs are becoming gone-gones

Gang-gangs are becoming gone-gones

Gang-gangs are becoming gone-gones Gang-gang cockatoos are commonly seen in Melbourne’s suburbs. Often they are seen eating the red berries of cotoneaster or other introduced plants. If you’ve seen them – as I have fairly regularly – it might surprise you...
Tasty bushtucker treats around our streets

Tasty bushtucker treats around our streets

Tasty bushtucker treats around our streets Walking around my Macleod neighbourhood the other day, I came across a street tree absolutely covered in fruit. While there are definitely lots of olive trees on our streets, that’s not the tree I’m talking about. I’m talking...