Horticulture

The Wollemi Pine was thought to have gone extinct two million years ago, until an off-duty ranger stumbled across a grove. Now, experts are doing everything they can to give the tree a second chance. 

Despite an abundance of rain in south-east Queensland this summer, some homeowners are discovering their grass isn't thriving — and experts say there are many reasons why.

Eighth-generation farmer Peter Wise, whose family had been working land on the Sunshine Coast since 1901, has passed away after a short stay in hospital at the age of 82.

As wet weather continues to pummel Queensland, a variety of timber-loving pests are making their way into drenched homes and gardens. 

Darwin's once numerous flower farmers have shrunk from 40 in the 1980s to five, with those left inching closer to retirement. 

Pacific Islander advocates say seasonal workers could be left vulnerable without government subsidies for both employees and farmers under changes to the PALM scheme.

Making a promise to the gods was once seen as the way to secure a happy new year. Now, resolutions revolve around self-improvement, which may make them all the harder to keep.

Farming can be tough and normally the sound of rain is welcome, but for Tasmanian cherry farmers Gene and Laura, recent downpours had them "swearing and cursing", knowing their crop was unlikely to survive.

The Mediterranean climate of South Australia's Riverland is poles apart from a winter wonderland, but one family is turning to a festive crop to future-proof their farm, with the help of old hands.

With short seasons and fragile crops, the cut flower market can be high risk for farmers but new research is hoping to open a new revenue stream for the growers of one popular plant — the peony. 

During the pandemic the virtual farmers' market concept took off across Australia and business boomed. Now it's evolving, with one Tasmanian collective hosting more than a dozen collection points.

The biggest blueberries in the world are grown in Western Australia and export markets love them. Demand for the berries is driving one farm to quadruple in size.

A Pemberton electrician is supplying up to 20 kilograms of fungi a week to shops and restaurants in a mushroom-growing side hustle that has been a process of trial and error.

A fern that can soothe a bull ant bite in 10 seconds prompts a classroom science experiment, and the students at this Western Australian school are fascinated.

The native quandong has high cultural and export value. Growers want more research on the fruit as interest in bush foods increase.

Inside the Pacific's gene bank, thousands of crop varieties are propagated, to prepare for the spread of new agricultural diseases and the impact of a changing climate. Some seedlings are the last of their kind.

The Brisbane golden wattle, which is "resilient like Brisbane residents", has been voted as the city's new floral emblem.

Photographer Heather Brown says the key to perfect wildflower snaps is to take your time, try different angles and tread carefully.

Julie spends every day outside in a beautiful park, and gets paid for it, but she says it is the compliments from those visiting Queens Park Botanic Gardens that give her the most job satisfaction.

If disasters ever cause shortages on supermarket shelves, Psaltis Cauley and passionate volunteers like her are set to support local food security with a precious seed bank of hardy and heirloom variety vegetables.

An Indigenous community harvesting Australia's earliest commercial garlic crop is hoping to pass on farming skills to improve the lives of future generations.

The deadly parasite moves further north in New South Wales, as a new more risk-based approach to controlling its spread is adopted, considering time of infestation, mite load and tracing on a case-by-case basis.

Pruned and trimmed for hundreds of years by the region's Menang traditional owners, these unique marri trees provide a critical source of water.

Consumers looking for plant-based options already have an abundance of choices, from oat, almond, soy, and rice, to even macadamia milk. So, what does sugar cane milk have to offer?

Visitors are flocking to a library near Los Angeles to view a giant corpse flower giving off an almighty stink during a rare blooming period which only comes about once every few years.