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The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

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DESIGN ELEMENTS

with landscape designer Louise McDaid

This is the third in the series of “why won’t it grow at my place.”

Do all plants have a long and healthy life and is it your fault when they keel over?

That’s been a question for most gardeners perhaps some of the time.

What can go wrong is not so much the plant’s health but it’s life span. Not all plants live forever and that includes trees and shrubs not just perennials.

The climatic conditions at your place might also be a factor in shortening the life span of some of your plants even though you’ve given it all that TLC-like watering, fertilizing, pruning at the right time.

Philotheca

Sometimes the problem is you’ve planted something that’s incompatible with the plant that’s next to it.



There are a few basic rules of thumb when it comes to plants to avoid near one another.

First, check that your garden plants are all about the same size and have the same light requirements.

When planting taller and shorter plants together, make sure that the shorter plants are spaced far enough.