I was terribly impressed when I found out that our common old cabbage tree is called a Torbay palm in the UK and prized by landscapers who use it to give their gardens Pacific flair.

I work mainly in colour and, fortunately, many of the people who contact me are open to using colour and not necessarily work with the trends of the time.

Lisa Lyford answers our readers' questions about personal styling.

I've had a couple of people tell me that they've employed a landscape architect to design their gardens, but they don't know what he's talking about.

I love books with verse, little decorative ones that you can pick up and read, little piles scattered about the house. Terrible dust collectors, writes Terry Lobb.