Our First Frost
In this week's newsletter I share what's happening in our garden and a selection of upcoming garden recommendations
This week winter has really shown its presence here in the Hilltops region of NSW. We had our first frost of the year today, 25th June, although the day has now turned into a brilliant blue sky day.
I have to say I logged onto Substack this morning to write my newsletter for today and ended up getting completely side tracked by all the brilliant content you can access on Substack. Some of it free and some of it paid. As a reader to my newsletter I wonder what other newsletters you subscribe to? Please do let me know via replying to this email or using my email address glenice@glenicebuckdesigns.com.au
Fellow Substack author and podcaster “The Sentimental Gardener,” Cass Dowding posted an interesting call out on her page this week about what other Australian garden writers can be followed on Substack. It did make me realise that most of the Substacks I follow are from overseas. I would definitely like to follow more Australian Gardeners if you have any recommendations let me know. I will post here a few of the Australian garden related Substacks that were mentioned by Cass this week Casey Lister , Duncan Cocking, The Garden at Moorfield, Louise Brown and Cerina Triglavcanin . These should all be linked so you can simply click on them to check out their pages. Thanks for sharing Cass. Also to my readers you should make sure you check out her wonderful podcast - The Sentimental Gardener - Link here
It was also interesting to see that since May 2026 Substack has had a Home and Garden Category which previously it did not have. I know when I first started this Substack page I had to select the design and education categories to be listed in. Both of these categories in theory did not exactly match what I write on here every week. The Home and Garden category fits much better with my writing topics and I judging by the list of rising and best seller writers there will be even more great content available to read.
In this week’s newsletter I have my weekly garden tip and then my list of garden recommendations for the week.
Happy Gardening
Glenice
GARDEN TIPS
I’m still completing our autumn clean up as the autumn leaves on our Pears trees are all yet to fall. They actually only changed colour about 10 days ago. I’m raking up all the fallen autumn leaves over lawn areas and along pathways. The ones that have fallen in garden beds I am actually going to leave them in beds as a mulch. They are so wet and not too large or thick so they will break down nicely in garden beds to give more organic matter to the soil. The leaves I rake up will go into the compost pile. If your leaves are large (like a London Plane tree leaf) or thick and leathery (like a Liquid Amber leaf) they are probably best put in a compost pile or at least mulched down and made smaller. You can make leaves smaller and easier to compost down by using a chipper or you can run the mower over them to make them smaller. In the compost I will add in layers of leaves (“Brown” ingredients) with a few handfuls of dynamic lifter, grass clippings, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and green weeds that don’t have any seeds attached. By adding these “Green” ingredients more nitrogen will be added to the compost and it will help encourage the bacteria to multiply faster.
GARDEN RECOMMENDATIONS
NATIONAL TREE DAY - 26TH JULY 2026
30 years of National Tree Day
Planet Ark’s National Tree Day started in 1996 and has grown into Australia’s largest community tree planting and nature care event. It’s a call to action for all Australians to get their hands dirty and give back to the community. While every day can be Tree Day, we generally celebrate Schools Tree Day and National Tree Day on the last Friday and Sunday in July.
2026 DATES
National Tree Day - Sunday 26 July
Schools Tree Day - Friday 24 July
Tropical Tree Day - Sunday 6 December
Over the past 30 years, millions of Australians have volunteered their time to do something good for the environment and their community by planting a tree as part of the National Tree Day celebrations. If you would like to be part of the 30th anniversary celebrations this year you can go here for more information.
CJ HENRY’S WORLD FAMOUS FLOWER SHOP IS COMING TO BRISBANE.
You may remember the flower shop pop up store was held in Sydney’s Domain a few months ago. It was a sold out success. If you are in Brisbane in coming days you will be able to visit her latest exhibit from internationally acclaimed artist CJ Hendry. She is bringing her wildly popular Flower Shop experience to Brisbane, and it’s set to be one of the city’s hottest pop ups of the season.
Taking over the corner of Arthur and Brunswick Street in Fortitude Valley from 25 June to 12 July, the immersive experience will give visitors the chance to shop Hendry’s iconic plush fabric flowers in vibrant colours and surreal oversized designs.
Inspired by her global Flower Market installations and SoHo storefront, the Brisbane Flower Shop is expected to attract huge crowds, with long queues likely as fans race to secure a bloom that never fades.
If previous events are anything to go by, this limited time experience is one Brisbane art lovers won’t want to miss. More information here
1 Arthur Street, Fortitude Valley
25 June to 12 July
ORANGE OPEN GARDENS
SAVE THE DATE 25TH OCTOBER 2026
Visit Orange for a day exploring some beautiful gardens around Orange and support Orange Public School. All funds raised go towards school projects like garden upgrades, classroom and school resources.
Tickets: $25 per person (Kids under 16 free)
Garden details, addresses & map: Available on their website closer to date of event.
Start your day at The Hub (Orange Public School Infants campus) from 9am – 12pm to buy tickets, grab a garden map, enjoy a coffee and bacon & egg roll, while checking out their plant and merchandise stall before setting off on your garden adventure.
Don’t miss this great community day out –Visit orangeopengardens.org.au for more details
ST ANNES TEMORA - GARDEN VIEWING DAY -
SAVE THE DATE 25TH OCTOBER 2026
A beautiful day of gardens, food, and community spirit!
Tickets are just $25 per person, with school-aged children only $10 each—a fun and affordable outing for the whole family.
Tickets are available for purchase on the day at the school grounds.
Local gardens will be open from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, giving you plenty of time to explore and admire a variety of stunning private and community gardens around the area. Locations of participating gardens will be advised on the day.
Market stalls will be set up in Callaghan Park, offering local goods, crafts, and produce for you to browse and buy.
Whether you’re a garden lover, foodie, or just looking for a great day out, there’s something for everyone. Visit here for more information
Thanks for a great read Glenice and for giving a shout out to fellow Aussie Substackers. I agree with you that most of the content I see on here is overseas based. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for the shout out Glenice! I only found out about the new Home and Garden category too and it feel so good to have a dedicated category. I think I was floating around in Culture for a while! Here’s to sharing more Aussie content 👏