Search results for: “leptospermum”

  • Leptospermum ‘Cardwell’: the most floriferous of them all

    Leptospermum ‘Cardwell’: the most floriferous of them all

    Leptospermum ‘Cardwell’ becomes fully veiled in white flowers from late winter through to spring and early summer, it appears to be covered in white fluffy snow and is quite the show stopper. The weeping habit is a favourite of mine and it will happily grow in tropical, subtropical, and in cooler temperate climates. An elegant…

  • Privacy with punch: Leptospermum lanigerum ‘Seclusion’

    Privacy with punch: Leptospermum lanigerum ‘Seclusion’

    Please meet Leptospermum ‘Seclusion’ which I am finding to be an outstanding native screening plant, originally I admit to buying it for its intriguing cultivar name ‘Seclusion’, who doesn’t want that in their garden right? It also has a classic favourite colour combination of mine which is grey leaves with pink flowers, and what a…

  • The elegant branches of Leptospermum brachyandrum ‘Silver’

    The elegant branches of Leptospermum brachyandrum ‘Silver’

    I have written about this favourite tea tree of mine before, however I think it deserves another post which is more dedicated to its elegant branches and decorative bark. I took these photos of Leptopsermum brachyandrum ‘Silver’ at Kuranga native nursery last year, where they have used the species extensively around their pond and throughout…

  • Powerful Pollinators: Leptospermums

    Powerful Pollinators: Leptospermums

    We are mid the Australian Annual Pollinator Week and I have been admiring our our native tea trees all Spring so I thought I would bring them to your attention this week as they are wonderful plants to grow for our native pollinators. “Australian Pollinator Week acknowledges our important and unique insect pollinators during our…

  • Small Scented Shade Tree: Leptospermum petersonii

    Small Scented Shade Tree: Leptospermum petersonii

    I finally found a mature Lemon Scented Tea Tree to photograph which shows off its stunning weeping habit and shapely trunk and branches. Leptospermum petersonii really does make a wonderful small feature shade tree in the garden, the strong thick branches spread the canopy wide making it an excellent climbing tree! The soft, pendulous branches…

  • The densely layered Leptospermum rotundifolium ‘Julie Ann’

    The densely layered Leptospermum rotundifolium ‘Julie Ann’

    It’s no secret that I love tea trees, I forgive them for their short flowering periods and sometimes sporadic and un reliable floral displays, and this particular Tea Tree has really tested my patience. This is Leptospermum rotundifolium ‘Julie Ann’ a low growing spreading shrub form of Leptospermum rotundifolium from Jervis Bay. It grows to a…

  • The exploding Leptospermum ‘Starry Night’

    The exploding Leptospermum ‘Starry Night’

    I have been monitoring these Leptospermum obovatum ‘Starry Night’ shrubs (that   I planted in a neighbours garden) closely, waiting, waiting for them to flower and BOOM! last week they exploded! I love reddish or burgundy foliage and there are several species of Leptospermum with a red tinge to the leaf however ‘Starry Night’ is…

  • Hot Tea-trees: Leptospermum ‘Pageant’ and ‘Outrageous’

    Hot Tea-trees: Leptospermum ‘Pageant’ and ‘Outrageous’

    I love tea trees but don’t often think of them as particularly showy when in flower, except for ‘Cardwell’ of course which almost flowers until on the verge of collapse 😉 Leptospermums for me are a super useful and beautiful screening plant, often with scented foliage and pretty bark. They can have leaves in colours…

  • Silver Tea Tree: Leptospermum brachyandrum ‘Silver’

    Silver Tea Tree: Leptospermum brachyandrum ‘Silver’

    This has been my favourite Tea tree for a few years now, it is Leptospermum brachyandrum ‘Silver’ and for the first time I saw some more mature specimens when I visited Cranbourne Botanic Gardens in January. I was overjoyed as I have two in my garden that are only head height so far and three…

  • Delicate Tea Trees: Leptospermum ‘Cardwell’

    Delicate Tea Trees: Leptospermum ‘Cardwell’

    I love tea trees or Leptospermums, I’m not sure what it is about them that appeals to me so much. Perhaps their soft weeping foliage or the way they can get absolutely covered in flowers so much so that you can hardly see their leaves from a distance. And the flowers are showy, individually they…

  • for lovers of purple:Melaleuca nesophila

    for lovers of purple:Melaleuca nesophila

    I must admit purple is not one of my favourite colours and when clients specify purple flowers I often come up a blank and can only think of Hardenbergia, which is completely ridiculous as there are Brachyscome, Scaevola, Patersonia and soooo many Melaleucas have purple flowers, silly me. This one is one of my favourites…

  • Phenomenal Phebaliums: the delicate blooms of Phebalium nottii and squamulosum

    Phenomenal Phebaliums: the delicate blooms of Phebalium nottii and squamulosum

    I am a long time fan of the Phebalium genus, these small to large shrubs which belong in the Rutaceae family can be found growing over much of the south and east coast of Australia. However Phebalium squamulosum is an extremely variable species which means it contains a number of forms and subspecies. So I must…

  • Who can resist ? Melaleuca ‘Candy Sparkles’

    Who can resist ? Melaleuca ‘Candy Sparkles’

    Some plants are blessed with fantastic common or cultivar names, this is one such species which I would almost buy for the label alone. ‘Candy Sparkles’ promised to be vibrant, attractive and showy without me even seeing it in the ground! I have been snapping up this cultivar whenever I see it and popping it…

  • Australian Native Plants in Japan

    Australian Native Plants in Japan

    It was inevitable that I wouldn’t be able to turn off my native plant nerd brain whilst overseas in Japan last month…. I tried, I really did. I took photos of Japanese plants, seed pods and flowers and researched after visiting the gardens and temples. BUT every Australian plant seemed to call out to me…

  • Walks for winter-spring flowering plants on Dharawal Country

    Walks for winter-spring flowering plants on Dharawal Country

    In our temperate climate the winter wildflower season is magnificent making it one of the best times for walking in and around the escarpment – or at least when it’s not too muddy! – and many of the winter flowerers continue to bloom through spring. Fingers crossed La Niña doesn’t hit too us too hard…

  • What to Plant for Poorly Drained Soils

    What to Plant for Poorly Drained Soils

    Wet Weather Gardening After yet more rain on the east coast many plants in many gardens are suffering water-logging. Even in reasonably well drained soils the inundation has been too much for some plants. Physically, the force of rain, streams and puddles of water have caused their own damage and with the increased humidity comes…

  • To clip or not to clip …

    To clip or not to clip …

    Sometimes I find native gardens lack a little….structure. Its lovely to have a bush style garden with lots of flowing foliage and a naturalistic feel, however I am a big fan of breaking that up with some stronger forms which can often brighten up the planting and give an extra eye catching edge. In the…

  • Portfolio: Bundeena Tree House

    Portfolio: Bundeena Tree House

    This an amazing house which spills over a sandstone outcrop and is placed underneath a giant fig tree. It is sheltered by a stand of Casuarinas and hidden from the street by its rapidly growing native garden. The garden has been in for a couple of years and benefitted greatly from our recent wet Summer.…

  • Dainty and Delightful Fringe Myrtle: Micromyrtus ciliata

    Dainty and Delightful Fringe Myrtle: Micromyrtus ciliata

    This sweet little native shrub is in full bloom at the moment, it started in late Winter and can continue until Summer in some cases. Micromyrtus ciliata is one of those species which gets so covered in flowers that you can barely see the leaves! The shrub only reaches half a metre high by upto…

  • Front garden makeovers

    Front garden makeovers

    One of my ‘dreams’ is to walk down a suburban street and be able to admire one native front garden after another. I am always on the look out, when walking or driving, and the well-loved gardens (especially the native ones) always pop out at me. Gardens where people have made an effort and show…

  • Portfolio: West Wollongong Revisit

    Portfolio: West Wollongong Revisit

    The images in this blog post were taken of a local garden I designed a few years ago which has been filling out beautifully. The requested privacy is beginning to really take shape, the front garden has been reclaimed as a relaxing outdoor space which can be utilised more often by critters and humans alike.…

  • Portfolio: Summer Hill Garden Design

    Portfolio: Summer Hill Garden Design

    This tiny garden in Sydney’s inner west is very shady to say the least, there were three existing native trees in the garden competing for space. However, they are all relatively small and although they took up most of the direct sun they also manage to create a relaxed ‘bushy’ feel to a high density…

  • Why are birds not visiting my bird bath?

    Why are birds not visiting my bird bath?

    There are a number of reasons for not seeing birds in a birdbath. You may not have allowed enough time for birds to find your birdbath, birds may actually be coming but you don’t see them or cats may be disrupting an array of local species. Placement as well as the type of habitat provided…

  • Portfolio: Woolooware Garden Design

    Portfolio: Woolooware Garden Design

    This residential garden was designed at the beginning of 2017 and built later that year, to complete the property’s brand new modern extension. The owners had acquired some beautiful, large sandstone boulders from offsite to be used in the new landscape and these and the existing Eucalyptus in the rear neighbours garden informed the the…