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Happy National Wattle Day: Acacia glaucoptera
How wonderful is the smell of Wattles flowering right now? I have an Acacia fimbriata Dwarf growing next to my driveway and at the moment wherever I go I seem to be leaving a trail of pale yellow wattle flowers behind me, as they like to hitch a ride on my clothes as I get…
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Portfolio: Glebe Re-visit
I have done it again, another sneaky drive by whilst in the area, and another very pleasant discovery. This garden is looking wonderful and full of flower and interest as we enter the dull colder months. This tiny front garden in Glebe received a little extra attention about 6 months ago where I added…
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Garden Design: Leichhardt Front Garden
I happened to be in the inner west this afternoon and was very nearby one of my gardens, I thought I would do a drive by and see how a Eucalyptus caesia was going after I re-staked and pruned it 12 months ago. This is what I saw, a very happy Eucalyptus Silver Princess with…
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Good Old Native Daisy: Brachyscome multifida
Brachyscomes are one of those native plants that have multiple uses in a garden, they brighten up a dull corner, keep weeds at bay with their dense mounding habit and add interest and contrast to a layered mixed planting. They are easy to care for and will perform under many different conditions. They are…
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Eucalyptus ‘Summer Beauty’ and ‘Summer Red’
I know some people think that the Grafted Eucalyptus ficifolia Flowering gums are getting a little bit common, and in some respects I tend to agree. However, it is with very good reason, as whenever I see one in flower it still takes my breath away, they are just so amazingly beautiful! And not only…
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The Mini Dish
Please welcome “The Mini” dish to my bird bath family, yes, they have been breeding and this is the result š a small shallow bird bath that holds 2 litres of water and is 420mm wide x 25mm deep. In the image below you can see how they compare in size to the large dish.…
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Rarely seen in cultivation: Banksia oblongifolia
I had to pull over again and stop and take photos as soon as this Banksia caught my eye in a quiet inner city suburb. It was planted in the prize position next to the front gate near the letter box on a corner block and was stealing the show of a lovely native front…
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Keith’s Garden
This is my friend Keith’s native front garden in Bulli, I have wanted to take photos of this garden for a long time and on a recent visit finally remembered my camera. Phew! I had to snap quickly as the sun was setting and the mozzies were out. The garden is located on the escarpment…
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Importing soil to your new native garden
This image is of a new garden design project for a home that is currently being constructed, and I have been asked to come in early! This doesn’t happen that often, usually I don’t get to site until the house has been built, but there are many benefits of being engaged this early in the…
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Natives for Pots and Containers 3
I think that this topic will be a continuing theme as I regularly see excellent examples of native species growing in pots or containers everywhere I go. There are many reasons for growing native plants in large pots, one of the main reasons is to increase drainage and therefore be able to successfully grow plants…
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Illawarra native garden full of fresh ideas!
I visited the native garden of a passionate native plant lover last week to grab some inspiring photos and ideas; and the garden did not disapoint. This is the 4 th native garden for the owner and she began building it about 8 years ago after moving from a large property in the Snowy Mountains.…
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Portfolio: Marrickville Sketch Design
This is a garden that I have been visiting for a couple of years now, each time I spend an hour or two doing some sketches for the owners to move to the next ‘stage’. It is a wonderful garden spilling over with healthy plants, edibles mixed in with exotics and natives all thriving and…
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Shady Reds: Breynia ‘Ironstone’
This is one of those special native plants that has deep red to burgundy foliage when it receives lots of sun, like Agonis ‘Burgundy’. It is Ā also one of those special native plants that seems to have no height restriction, or rather non that is published, therefore when I found one that is about 10…
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Portfolio: Gordon Courtyard Garden Design
This small courtyard garden is part 2 of a 3 stage garden design for clients on the upper north shore. This was a middle garden that services a flat/studio attached to the main house, to say it was fairly un-loved is an understatement. See the before image below. It is a shady garden, dominated…
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Natives for Pots and Containers Part 2
This post is a 2nd part to one a did a couple of years ago about Native Plants that are suitable for growing in pots or containers, it is well overdue and I still have enough photos for a Part 3 very soon. Please seeĀ https://malleedesign.com.au/native-plants-for-pots/Ā for Part 1. Personally like to grow native plants in pots…
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Extremely fast growing screen: Homalanthus populifolius
You have to love a species that can pop up by itself, grow a couple of metres in a year and will do so in full shade. Well I do anyway, although it may appear uninvited in your garden (it is easy to pull out) I have had the experience of it growing in just…
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Portfolio: Garden Design Lillyfield
Thanks so much for our garden Kath, we love it! I love this garden too! I love its quirky, modern feel where details are appreciated, the client pushed me to think out of the box more than I normally do. This is a small garden by suburban standards but large by inner city ones. It…
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My Favourite Grafted Dwarf Eucalyptus ficifolia
It is summer and we have had a lot of rain so the Grafted Eucalyptus ficifolias are in full swing, everywhere I look they are putting on a wonderful show. I have been slowly trying to collect decent photos of all the different colours and was planning to wait until I had them all covered,…
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Portfolio: Leichhardt Garden Design
This garden was finished yesterday (Hoooray!) except for three plants I am still waiting for to complete the front, then it will be something else front and back. This small terrace was renovated a year ago and after a much protracted waiting period for clean up we were able to start work on the garden…
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Gardening with 2nds
I like re-cycling, myself and my family are usually dressed from the op-shop, I use every opportunity to re-cycle building materials around the garden and Ā think nothing of going through the kerb side household clean-ups, therefore I am a big fan of rummaging through the half price plant areas in nurseries. Often these are tables…
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Blue Tongue: Melastoma affine
This showy little shrub is Melastoma affine or Native Lasiandra, it really does look like a dwarf form of the incredibly popular south American Tibouchina, which lights up the streets of many inner western Sydney suburbs. However, this is not only an Australian native Lasiandra but is also a bush food. After the flowers finish…
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Exotic looking native: Rhododendron lochiae
There are several native plants that I like to use when either designing a planting that already has some exotic species established or when trying to convince people that not all native plants are straggly, open and dry looking. This is one of themĀ Rhododendron lochiae, isn’t it beautiful? It has dark glossy green leaves and…
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Tetratheca thymifolia at its best
This is a happy little native shrub that exhausts itself come late winter-early spring by covering itself in delicate little purple or white flowers. The white form is not as hardy as the purple mind you, especially in periods of humid weather. Tetratheca thymifolia is perfect for native cottage gardens and works well as…
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Shady Winter Purple: Hovea acutifolia
Hovea acutifolia always takes my breath away when I see it in full bloom, it is quite something. For most of the year it is an almost nondescript medium sized shrub that is useful for filling shady spots in the garden. Then BAM it covers itself in these happy little purple flowers that are almost…
Category: Small garden