Tired of searching for good gardening information that's relevant to Australia?

Get Results Gardening is a weekly email publication from Calyx Horticultural Services. Something like a digital mini-magazine, it features reliable and easy to grow plants, seasonal advice, achievable and affordable design ideas, inspiration and motivation.

While focussing on South East Queensland (Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan, etc) and subtropical northern NSW, there'll be plenty of relevance to residents of other parts of Australia.

Discover plants like this shrub,     which is easy to grow in Brisbane     and has gorgeous flowers.

The "results" in Get Results Gardening doesn't just refer to growing plants well. Gardens are life-enhancing on so many levels and Get Results Gardening is here to help you get some of those results for yourself.

It contains high-quality content presented in a concise and easily-understood way. It's for someone who wants to improve their home and lifestyle with an attractive landscape, but is feeling overwhelmed and confused by the avalanche of information and opinions out there.

The gardening world abounds with myth, misinformation and "woo" that makes gardening seem more mysterious (and expensive) than it needs to be. Get Results Gardening is focussed on proven plants and scientifically sound practices.

Practical issues that affect most homeowners today - such as privacy worries, lack of space, lack of time, water restrictions and budget limitations - will be considered throughout.

Want a clumping palm that's not the predictable old golden cane?

Because many other media outlets already cover vegetables and fruits extensively, they won't be the focus here. However, much of the basic gardening knowledge covered will be applicable to edibles as well as ornamentals.

International garden and outdoor living trends are discussed, including possible ways that private or public landscaping can improve your quality of life and raise the standard (and maybe even the value) of your property or neighbourhood. Various interesting, illuminating or amusing items from the world of plants make an appearance, too.

It's aimed at the typical suburban home gardener, but high-quality and topical information will also help nursery and garden industry professionals, property developers and real estate investors stay informed and on top of their game.

Data from 301 American cities has shown that more green space (public and/or private) in a neighbourhood is usually is associated with lower property crime and lower violent crime.

Of course, greener neighbourhoods could simply be more affluent, but the researchers say that such factors were accounted for in their analysis.

They speculate that the enhancement of psychological health and the reduction of "precursors of crime" such as stress and aggression could explain the relationship between green space and lower crime.

Read more: Green spaces in cities linked to crime risk, a study shows, University of Edinburgh. Full study: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.103949

UK home improvement and trades website Rated People has put together a trends report based on data drawn from several sources.

There isn't much about landscaping in particular, but it is #3 in the top 20 home improvements jobs Brits were planning.

Anyone interested in interior trends or renovation generally might like to take a look at the rest of the Rated People Home Improvement Trends Report 2023. Download from ratedpeople.com/blog/home-improvement-trends-report.

Increasing the property's value was the #2 reason surveyed homeowners gave for wanting to improve their homes, but the #1 reason was so they could be less embarrassed about them! Considering that far more people will see the outside of your home than the inside, upgrading the garden would be a good place to generate some pride and needn't cost a lot, either.

A new American study focused on middle-aged women has shown that green space in the vicinity of their homes is associated with better cognitive function.

This didn't appear to have anything to do with lower pollution levels or increased physical activity, but with a reduction in depression. The fact that both depression and cognitive decline are linked to the the development of dementia gives these findings added significance.

"Some of the primary ways that nature may improve health is by helping people recover from psychological stress and by encouraging people to be outside socializing with friends," said lead author Marcia Pescador Jimenez. "Increasing everyday access to vegetation across vulnerable groups in urban cities is a crucial next step to achieve health equity."

In an upcoming project, she will analyse vegetation in more detail to understand which elements (e.g. trees, grass) may be most effective.

Read more: Living in Areas with More Greenery May Boost Cognitive Function, Boston University

Using data from a northern Californian healthcare provider, a new study has shown that greener neighbourhoods produce better human health and lower medical costs.

It's possible that both could be a wealth effect, but the researchers says that income and other factors have been taken into account.

"Our findings are robust - the relationship between nearby greenness and medical care costs held for 13 years of costs, two different measures of greenness at each of three distances from home, and multiple categories of healthcare costs [e.g., emergency, hospitalization, etc.]," says Ming Kuo from the University of Illinois.

Read more: Neighborhood trees may protect against high medical costs, poor health, University of Illinois.

There's bound to be something of interest to most Australians each week, even if you don't live in SE QLD or even if you think you don't like gardening. Why not take a free, no-obligation trial and find out for yourself?