Shirley Stackhouse - Gardening For Dummies

Gardening For Dummies

Australian & New Zealand Edition published 2002 by
Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd
42 McDougall Street
Milton, Qld 4064

www.dummies.com

The moral rights of the authors have been asserted.

Copyright 2002 Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this book, including interior design, cover design and icons, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, Indiana, 46256, United States, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data is available from the publisher.

ISBN 978 1 74031 007 9

Printed in China byPrintplus Limited

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

Cover photos

Front cover: Getty Images/Photodisc
Back cover: Left courtesy of United Nurseries, Petunia Avalanche. Photograph by Jack SarafianMiddle and right 2002 Getty Images/Eyewire.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation, warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organiSation or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organisation oR Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

About the Authors

Shirley Stackhouse began her working career as an occupational therapist. Gardening, though, was in her blood: Much of her childhood was spent helping her grandparents on their rose farm, and her mother, a keen gardener, was also an early influence. Later on in life, Shirley lived and gardened in Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea, which gave her the opportunity to experience gardening extremes everything from the balmy tropics to the rigours of cold-climate gardens. However, it was not until the last of her four children started school that Shirley was able to study horticulture formally in Sydney, which led to a career as a horticultural journalist and later, as a broadcaster. Shirley is well known for her columns in the Sydney Morning Herald ; for many years, she was also gardening editor for Womans Day . Since 1988, she has advised and counselled thousands of gardeners over the airwaves with her weekend talkback gardening program on Radio 2UE. Many gardeners also treasure her book, Shirley Stackhouses Gardening Year , which is described as the gardeners bible. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Horticulture and of Horticultural Media Australia, and is also a keen supporter of the Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. Shirley regularly leads special-interest groups on gardening tours.

Jennifer Stackhouse had no intention of following in her gardening mothers footsteps she says it happened by accident. While still in primary school, she found herself answering the phone and helping distraught gardeners who had rung to speak to Shirley. She completed an honours degree in Fine Arts at the University of Sydney and began curatorial work at Sydneys Elizabeth Bay House museum. It was here, while researching the marvellous garden that once surrounded the house and arranging exhibitions of historic plants and heritage roses, she realised she wanted to learn more about plants and gardening. After completing a Diploma in Horticulture in Sydney, Jennifer joined the staff of the Royal Botanic Gardens, became executive officer of the Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens society and also began freelance journalism. She then moved to Melbourne to become editor of the industry journal Australian Horticulture and also gardening editor of Australian House and Garden . She later joined the team at Burkes Backyard and was the founding editor of Burkes Backyard magazine. She now has a large garden on the outskirts of Sydney and works as a journalist and horticultural consultant. She is a member of Horticultural Media Australia.

Publishers Acknowledgments

Were proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Online Registration Form located at www.dummies.com.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions and Editorial

Project Editor: Nicole McKenzie

Acquisitions Editors: Kristen Hammond, Jane Ogilvie

Developmental Editor: Liz Goodman

Technical Editor: Judy Moore

Editorial Manager: Narelle Walford

Production

Project Coordinator: Amber Cameron

Layout: Lisa Thomson

Illustrator: Anna Warren

Proofreader: Jenny Scepanovic

Indexer: Keyword Editorial

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies

Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies

Kristin A Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies

Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel

Brice Gosnell, Publishing Director, Travel

Suzanne Jannetta, Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Acquisitions Director

Composition Services

Gerry Fahey, Executive Director of Production Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Authors Acknowledgments

First wed like to thank the Australian staff of Hungry Minds for their hard work: Jane Ogilvie, Acquisitions Editor, and Nicole McKenzie, Project Editor, and the rest of the team. We especially thank Kristen Hammond, former Acquisitions Editor, for her support and enthusiastic promotion of For Dummies gardening books and for getting the project rolling in Australia and New Zealand. We also thank Liz Goodman, Developmental Editor, for her close reading and creative editing of the text, and Jenny Scepanovic, for her careful proofreading. Thanks to artist Anna Warren for most of the illustrations in the book. A big thank you also goes to the marketing and promotion team at Hungry Minds, particularly Selina Madeleine, Publicist, and Amanda Healy, Business Development Manager. On a personal note, thanks too are due to colleague Beverley Mohr for her initial help and support. We would also like to thank our families for their support, particularly Shirleys husband John for his photographs, and Jennifers husband James Taylor, who frequently had to cope with kids, pets and meals while deadlines loomed.