Our Land

A novice gardener's flower growing efforts have bloomed into a home-based business.

If you like the long green cucumbers, you're going to love these extraordinary orbs.

The summer garden will be growing in earnest, but keep up the sowing.

Why native trees and shrubs, pasture plants and weeds are especially important for bees when pollen is scarce.

Blueberries can make a lovely edible hedge, and with the right care one bush can provide eight kilos of berries.

Give your tastebuds a treat and plant rhubarb. This herbaceous perennial grows in all parts of the country, including cool spots, for much of the year. It dies back in winter and re-emerges in spring, once the weather has warmed up.

A group of innovative thinkers has been given top honours at the prestigious NZI Rural Women Business Awards.

If you love daylilies, you’ll be delighted to know they’re a delicious option in the kitchen too.

A unique opportunity to own a fairy tale property in Central Otago.

When you’re a long-time traditional sheep farmer, it’s a big step to growing one of the most glamorous flowers in the business.

Build this smart stand-alone ‘gutter garden’ to grace a deck, patio, courtyard or an external wall. It has a shallow base and best suits shallow-rooted plants.

Maximise space in a small garden by growing plants vertically. These climbing vine vegetables can be trained to grow up walls, fences or stakes.

Permaculture is a fancy name for all the things many of us are already doing in our orchards. Ben Gaia shares tips to get you growing more food using fewer chemicals.

Brooke and Maggie Noonan left jobs at Auckland Zoo to build an off-grid, eco-friendly house in the Far North.

A book argues New Zealanders are already starting to make a living out of the natural world in new ways based on “value” rather than “volume”.

Loquat seedlings will grow in most areas of New Zealand, although they're becoming a pest in northern areas. The tropical fruit is delicious and the tree produces a fine hardwood.

One woman is making a strong stand for the macadamia nut in her community, and it’s a crackingly good option for a block-sized business.

Jenny shares her tips for a year-round lettuce supply and how to get more flavour into your greens.

A common bacteria sounds a warning of contamination, but it’s not the baddie it seems.

Combine plums and apricots and you get the best of both fruit.

It’s not luck, it is hard work and the right skill set that makes holistic living on the land the ultimate lifestyle.

If you love a beautiful vase of fresh flowers, here are 10 great options for a cutting garden.

Many of us have grass for cattle and sheep, but there are a lot of benefits to making room for the wild things.

When you start reading about what goes into making the daily loaf, you realise what a luxury item bread is.

In October the garden is starting to take shape for summer. Here's a list of everything you'll need to sow and plant to make fresh, full and colourful salads.

You support local business when you buy plants and seeds in NZ, but what happens when something you want to grow isn’t here?

Turn your kitchen garden into a feast of colour with these tips for growing silverbeet, violas, mesclun, beetroot and more.

If you want to emulate the soft, frothy hues of a cottage garden, these six flowers are a good start.

Spring is a great time for sowing new pasture, but what do you choose if your stock are a bit out of the ordinary?

A laissez-faire approach and Monet-inspired palette flow into a magnificent Marlborough garden surrounding a sparkling creek.

This tropical plant is a great survivor in more places than you’d think.

The plants really want to hurt you, the harvest is carried out by digger, then chainsaw, you cook the heart out of it for three days, but the end result is worth toasting.

Riparian design is an investment in something beautiful and it works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, forever.

Spring brings all kinds of new projects. Here are some tips on how to win the pest war against possums.