Perth and Fremantle have the most magnificent Moreton Bay Figs. This is a true winter rainfall climate with hot dry summers and this species grows naturally in climates with summer rainfall or at least even rainfall across the year. So once again a member of the Ficus genus proves itself extremely plastic, bendy and fantastic metaphorically, literally and physiologically #ficusmacrophylla #moretonbayfig #urbanforestry #climatereadytrees #urbantrees #gianttrees #farawaytree #twistingroots #rootslikesnakes #growmoreplease

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Fremantle is quiet and beautiful first thing in the morning with more birds around than people including Galahs #fremantle #galahs #galahcockatoo #birdsofaustralia #urbanbirds #urbanwildlife #novelecosystem #birdsonchimneys #westernaustralia

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Unpack the pine cone to reveal the pine nuts and then crack them for the kernels. No wonder the cockatoos go crazy for these. ‘Pound’ the kernels to make ‘pesto’ (which is what pesto means in Italian) #pinenuts #pinecone #pinuspinea #cockatoofood #gymnosperm #plantmore #foraging #treecrops

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I am yet to reveal my Final Form. Time to clear the fog and achieve bionic vision #cataractsurgery #bionicvision #cyborg #sixmilliondollarman #piratelook #cheapsunnies #respectyourelders #iwantnightvision

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Wisteria hysteria season is upon us. We need more arbors, walkways and pergolas festooned in flowers and vines #wisteria #wisteriahysteria #wisteriasinensis #arbors #purpleflowers #mauveflowers #peaflowers #fabaceae #lianavine #growmoreplease #wecanhavenicethings #burnleygardens

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It’s important work doing monitoring and evaluation of one’s former students’ careers in horticulture. Here I observe @maddylivingston doing excellent work on dormant canes of species unknown with a pair of Felco 2s on Hamilton Island. There was also time for a special ops mission to find a turtle and check out coral gardens before they all fry and die 😩. I intend to go on holiday by mistake more often #marineturtle #hamiltonisland #tropicalhorticulture #gardeninginthetropics #specialops #missionimpossible #whitsundays #spectacularview #professionalhorticulturist #gardenerinaction #notataxdeduction #savethereef #withnailandi

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The Sweet Potatoes have been on heated benches in an unheated glasshouse for two weeks now, placed in shallow trays of potting mix. No signs of shoots yet but a quick look underneath shows roots have already exploded through the trays. When the shoots or slips appear in the next week or two they’ll be used to create around 2000 cuttings for FareShare and the ASRC market garden projects #growingsweetpotatoes #ipomoeabatatas #roottubers #plantpropagation #explodingroots #heatedbenches #glasshouses #fareshare #asrc #summercrops #annualritual #nevergrowsold

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“I’m available for children’s parties”. As a de-listed academic I’ve been seeking alternative employment and ways to give back to my community. Here I inadvertently play Chopper Read meets Mark ‘Jacko’ Jackson giving gardening advice to children at the Collingwood Children’s Farm winter solstice bonfire in June. Remember that the Farm is 40 years old this year and is having a huge celebratory bash November 3 this year. Costa is the MC and there’s activities for all age ranges, with music headlined by the Cosmic Psychos (family friendly version). Tickets selling fast! #collingwoodchildrensfarm #billhicksquote #childrensparties #scaryclown #chopperread #helpingmycommunity #alwaysgiving #gigeconomy #toomanyquestions #sorrymum #cosmicpsychos

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I kid you not, the animals of the Collingwood Children’s Farm entertain adult humans as much as their offspring. I’m doing a project here with the hard working staff looking at everything from pasture to fodder/shade trees. Let’s just say for now that Kurrajong is at the top of my list - more on that another time. Meanwhile, the baby goats are indeed ‘toxically cute’ as someone quoted someone else as saying. All my disturbing memories of goats roaming through western NSW chewing it to pieces melted away, I had to get out of there quickly. Also good to see an actual black sheep in the family lovingly accepted by all. And Chinese Geese are the most dignified avian dinosaurs I know #collingwoodchildrensfarm #lambspam #kidgoats #anglonubian #blacksheepofthefamily #shropshirelamb #chinesegeese #birds are dinosaurs #obviouspun

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Not Judith with the Head of Holofernes but @claire.hocking with a big round tuber of Air Potato Yam. You can eat these although they are meant to be ‘cheeky’ ie. slightly poisonous and bitter. You chop them into pieces and soak them water for 24 hours before cooking. I’ve eaten the aerial bulbils of this species that grow from the leaf axil (hence ‘air potato’) to no ill effect. Anyway, the fast growing, climbing summer foliage is beautiful so I mostly grow it as an ornamental #judithwiththeheadofholofernes #obscurereference #theyartz #airpotato #dioscoreabulbifera #novelcrops #panc #bushfoods #cheekyyams #horticulturestudent #burnleyfieldstation

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I know a guy who knows a guy who got me new varieties of Oca/New Zealand Yams to try out this growing season. Oca is a polyploid crop with a lot of uncertainty around its origins, probably involving several species in its domestication by Andean people thousands of years ago. As it’s now propagated vegetatively, breeding new types from seed involves patient management of flowering and pollen including much emasculation of anthers (😱)! #oxalistuberosa #newzealandyams #ocatubers #stemtubers #lostcropsoftheincas #pinktubers #novelcrops #panc #plantbreeding #polyploid #cultigen #ihaveaconnect #iknowaguy

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Ents on the march at Central Park, East Malvern. More commonly known as Elms, these specimens do late winter tracery of bare stems very well #ents #elmtree #ulmus #urbantrees #parktrees #deciduoustrees #seasonalchange #treetrunks #parksofmelbourne #centralparkmalvern

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