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Emu Bush Challenge No. 10: Eremophila ‘Meringur Crimson’
And so it continues … documenting my Eremophila discoveries, I will get to 12 one day! As we approach the end of another La Niña Summer, where heavy downpours are common and the humidity is high, it is a great chance to reflect on hardy, flexible native plants. Amongst the surprises are many species of Eremophilas…
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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…
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Merry NSW Christmas Bush: Ceratopetalum gummiferum
I am a bit of a Grinch when it comes to Christmas and often one of the things which pulls me our of my un-festive slump is our Ceratopetalum gummiferum or native Christmas Bush. This year I was a little late, as many have finished thier show by the time Christmas actually arrives. However, I…
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Kangaroo Paw Care – Get the Pruners Out!
The Kangaroo Paws in this Bundeena garden are a rainbow of colour, they were planted three years ago in a swathe to test Angus Stewarts ‘Anigozanthos ‘Landscape series’ range. They have a striking effect mass planted and it was a delight to go back and visit them in full bloom a couple of weeks ago.…
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Chorilaena quercifolia: Another WA toughie
I can’t help myself, I seem always to be drawn to the unique foliage and flowers of the native plants which grow naturally in Western Australia. Which then leads me to buy many grafted native plants or grow them in pots or try the ‘see how she goes’ test in my garden. This is Chorilaena…
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A true carpeting ground cover: Pratia pedunculata
This is a native ground cover which sometimes gets classed as a steppable (not a real word ;)), meaning it works well between steppers and pavers and can be walked on occasionally without too much fuss. I like to use it mixed with other low growing ground covers like Dichondra and native violet to get…
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Two favourite floating water plants: Nymphiodes geminata & Marsilea drummondii
I love to include water in my Landscapes, whether in the form of a frog pond, fish pond, water bowl or fountain. One of the reasons for my love of water in the garden is it not only attracts wildlife but it can give you a chance to try growing aquatic plants. If you are…
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Try not to dismiss Callistemon ‘White Anzac’
I have often included this hardy little shrub as one of my least favourite native plants, it can be spotted unkempt in the gardens of petrol stations or nature strips, languishing leggy and forgotten. But if given a little attention it can become a stunning floriferous show stopper! Callistemon ‘White Anzac’ is a low mounding…
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The purple punch of Prostanthera ovalifolia
There is something about this particular shade of purple that is both eye catching and calming at the same time, it’s a lovely vibrant lilac which covers the entire shrub and lights up a shady corner. This native Mint Bush also does well in full sun as well as part shade, making it quite a…
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A tough and useful Bushfood: Lomandra longifolia
Lomandra longifolia, or Common Mat Rush, is abundant along the NSW coast growing and in SA, Victoria and Tasmania in a range of environments from coastal dunes to dry Sclerophyll forest. It can also be seen growing in median strips and petrol station garden beds 😉 Little do most people know it is also a tasty…
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Bold Blue Tongue: Melastoma affine
The colour of this flower is contentious, is it purple or deep pink? it also looks different in the flesh as opposed to on screen and it comes in a white form. This is Melastoma affine, a medium shrub found naturally in tea tree swamps or on creek edges in our sub tropical and tropical…
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Happy National Wattle Day!
We hope your gardens are in full bloom and continue to bring you and the native wildlife joy throughout the month of Spring. This years Wattle is Acacia linifolia or Flax Wattle, it flowers from Summer through to Winter. Changes are afoot this month and we have some some exciting announcements which we thought worthwhile…
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Most Memorable Planting Combinations at the National Arboretum
Every time I visit our nations lovely Capital I seem to find myself at the National Arboretum, by default I manage to eke out at least half an hour to check in on some of my favourite plantings. I have posted previously about two of these species but when I was looking over my photos…
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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…
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Native flowers in the deepest dark of Winter
It has been a long cold, wet Winter here on the southern NSW coast, off and don’t forget windy! In fact my garden experienced a mini tornado a month ago, a micro weather event which sent someones garden shed and contents flying into my garden and uprooted apparently wind break natives. So a couple of…
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Bird Nerd-ing in a Mallee Birdbath
Our friend Angus Stewart in Tasmania (from Gardening with Angus) recently captured all these wonderful birds making use of his Mallee Dish – including a few that we’ve never seen before since they only occur in Tasmania. In this video you will see: Yellow-throated Honeyeaters (endemic to Tasmania) Eastern Spinebills New Holland Honeyeaters A Black…
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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…
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Gardening for Wellbeing
Stress Relief, Connection to Nature, Community involvement, Mood lifting, Physical Health, Personal Growth ….just to name a few! Words by Kath Gadd and Hannah Preston at Mallee Design In times of great social and economic upheaval gardening can offer multiple benefits. As we are living through one of those times right now, where many of…
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How to Regenerate Bushland in your Backyard
Does your garden look a little like the one in the image above? It has so much potential but you don’t know where to start? Regenerating your own patch of bushland is exciting and rewarding. You get to see first-hand the return of native birds, bees and other wildlife that follow when native vegetation re-establishes…
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Luscious, Dense and Green: Xanthostemon chrysanthus
This showy small to medium tropical tree was flowering its head off on my recent trip to Brisbane and northern NSW. It was such a welcome sight after the damp, soggy Summer we have had, finally a species revelling in all the rain! Xanthostemon chrysanthus is also known as ‘Golden Penda’ and comes in a…
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Help! What’s wrong with my Plants?
By Kath Gadd and Hannah Preston Well it would seem La Niña is here with a vengence along the NSW and QLD east coast, resulting in way too much rain and very uncomfortable humidity. It has been a tough summer for many plants. Not only have the weeds enjoyed an extreme growth spurt but the…
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Happy Eucalyptus Day! Eucalyptus risdonii
This is a Eucalypt species very close to my heart, you can see it in my banner at the top of the website. Yes, I took photos of it almost 10 years ago and have recently revisited the vegetation community where it can be found. Eucalyptus risdonii grows only on the eastern shore of Hobart…
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Native Nurseries Across Australia
This is a collection of nurseries I’ve visited, bought from and love. I’ve written about some of my favourite Native Nurseries in blogposts before but it’s handy to have one reference list to come back to isn’t it?! It’s by no means exhaustive and I encourage you to get in touch with local growers when…
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The Tallest Flowering Trees: Eucalyptus regnans
Whilst much of the east coast of Australia is assulted by incessant rain, floods and storms and the West Coast has received some of their highest Summer temperatures on record and are now battling bushfires, I am reminiscing about mild Tasmanian Summers….. I spent one mild Summer morning wandering through Mt Field National Park home…
Author: Kath Gadd