Tag: grey green leaves

  • Pink and Grey: Guichenotia ledifolia

    Pink and Grey: Guichenotia ledifolia

    As a colour combination pink and grey is one of my favourites, especially on a plant, grey leaves and a soft pink flower win me over every time! Luckily for me it is a fairly common combination in native Australian plants, look at this Guichenotia ledifolia I photographed in Canberra Botanic Gardens last weekend. Guichenotia’s are…

  • 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…

  • Just because it’s beautiful….Grevillea insignis

    Just because it’s beautiful….Grevillea insignis

    Sometimes I feel the urge to promote plants based on their aesthetic appeal and not much more really… and this is one of them Grevillea insignis, this is a little bit indulgent but I saw this Grevillea growing in Cranbourne Botanic Gardens earlier this year and was instantly drawn to it. I do love a holly…

  • The long lived Acacia pendula

    The long lived Acacia pendula

    We all know that wattles get a bad rap for growing quickly, becoming sparse and also attacked by borers, many people won’t plant Acacias purely based on their shorter lifespan, not me I plant them whenever possible and to be honest 8-10 years feels like a pretty long time to me right now 😉 However…

  • The display gardens of Austplant Nursery

    The display gardens of Austplant Nursery

    I have been away in Victoria for the past few weeks, camping on Wilsons Prom and then visiting native nurseries and gardens on the Mornington Peninsula. It was a wonderful holiday that has left me with a touch of post holiday depression but plenty of photos of native plants to share with you! One of…

  • Happy little inner city garden: Leichhardt Garden Design

    Happy little inner city garden: Leichhardt Garden Design

    This small garden in the inner west of Sydney is actually quite generous, there is room for lawn, a studio and a seperate outdoor eating area. This means there is also room for lots of different native plants! Hooray! we planted for year round flower, colour, foliage contrast, texture and wildlife habitat. There is something…

  • Another true blue Banksia ground cover: Banksia petiolaris

    Another true blue Banksia ground cover: Banksia petiolaris

    This is another great WA prostrate ground cover Banksia that grows and flowers directly on the ground like Banksia blechnifolia. They have a very similar habit, however their leaves and flowers are quite different. Banksia petiolaris has a lovely bluish hue to its leaf, in the image above you can see it growing amongst Themeda…

  • There’s nothing quite like Maireana oppositifolia

    There’s nothing quite like Maireana oppositifolia

    There truly is nothing quite like Maireana oppositifolia, the strange and intriguing habit of this silver foliaged beauty is unique. It has a strong upright habit with its branchlets compact and forming points giving it a sculptural affect. In the image above you can see standing strong behind the Eremophila ‘Kalbarri Carpet’. Because of its unusual …

  • The multifaceted Eremophila oppositifolia

    The multifaceted Eremophila oppositifolia

    I am returning to a challenge I set myself over a year ago to increase my knowledge of the many beautiful and useful Eremophila species, I am quite behind the time line I set myself, but better late than never! This stunning Emu bush is Eremophila oppositifolia, I have been on the look out for one…

  • The arching canes of Old Socks: Grevillea leucopteris

    The arching canes of Old Socks: Grevillea leucopteris

    There are a group of Grevilleas which throw their flowers out on tall leggy canes, up into the air far away from their foliage. Grevillea petrophiloides is probably one of the better known and more available ones in NSW, but I would also like to bring attention to Grevillea leucopteris. In the image above you…

  • The Elegant Wilga: Geijera parviflora

    The Elegant Wilga: Geijera parviflora

    This beautiful, weeping small tree is known as Wilga or Australian Willow and willowy it is, its long, narrow, pendulous leaves droop down creating a dense shade umbrella. Unfortunately this Australian native tree is used quite infrequently in gardens or urban horticulture, this is mainly due to availability issues but also as it is quite…

  • Happy Wattle Day! Acacia ‘Little Nugget’: Foliage before flowers

    Happy Wattle Day! Acacia ‘Little Nugget’: Foliage before flowers

    It’s the first of August again and so Happy Wattle Day! along with all the historic connotations of this wonderful day I do truly rejoice in the wonderful genus that is the Acacia, and not only for its flower but the foliage of the Acacias are equally diverse and interesting. The wattle in these images…

  • Portfolio: Garden Design Bulli

    Portfolio: Garden Design Bulli

    Yesterday I spent a sunny winter morning pruning and shaping in this coastal garden in Bulli, I love returning to one of my designs to do a little maintenance and tweaking, and this is one of my favourites 😉 This garden is roughly 4 years old you can see how it has filled out by…

  • The delicate floral leaves of Spyridium parvifolium

    The delicate floral leaves of Spyridium parvifolium

    This year I have become somewhat obsessed with native shrubs that have a tendency towards growing in part to full shade and have rusty, furry leaves or flowers. I am always looking for plants that are happy with a little shade and have a certain texture to their foliage, Spyridium parvifolium is one of them. The…

  • Rambling bank covering Grevillea banksii prostrate

    Rambling bank covering Grevillea banksii prostrate

    There are many, many Grevillea ground covers, and most of them cover a large area and have either a toothbrush or spider flower. Not this one! this is Grevillea banksii prostrate and it not only has a large showy flower spike it also has the large leaves associated with the northern sub tropical Grevilleas and it…

  • Portfolio: Garden Design West Wollongong

    Portfolio: Garden Design West Wollongong

    This front garden in West Wollongong was created to function as a place for peaceful relaxation and observation, it also needed to have careful consideration in regards to levels and access to the front gate and letterbox. Originally the front garden was an awkward, uninteresting space filled with easy to grow green plants, that was…

  • The ‘New’ formal Native Garden

    The ‘New’ formal Native Garden

    When most people think of a formal garden the first images that spring to mind are rows of neatly clipped Buxus borders with some Robinia topiary and maybe a screening Camellia hedge. These are some of the easiest plants to use if you are copying the European template for creating a formal style garden, they…

  • Portfolio: Bundeena Garden Design Revisit

    Portfolio: Bundeena Garden Design Revisit

    I visited one of my favourite gardens today and it did not disappoint, I haven’t seen this coastal Bundeena garden for 18 months and many of the trees and shrubs have really filled out in that time. I feel so lucky to be able to keep track of this gardens progress and check in when…

  • The aptly named Grey Honey Myrtle: Melaleuca incana

    The aptly named Grey Honey Myrtle: Melaleuca incana

    I took so many photos of this Melaleuca incana in full bloom a few weeks ago but I didn’t manage to capture the multitude of bees feasting on its nectar 🙁 The whole shrub was buzzing as they collected the nectar for their hives, I’m pretty sure it was going towards making some delicious honey myrtle…

  • Happy Yellows: Senna artemisioides

    Happy Yellows: Senna artemisioides

    I love the colour combination of grey and yellow especially when its in the garden and is on a lone flowering plant! Senna artemisioides grows on well-drained sandy soils in a variety of habitats, through out many states located inland  Australia. Senna artemisioides grows to between 1 and 3 metres tall and can get to…

  • The Native Red Poker: Hakea bucculenta

    The Native Red Poker: Hakea bucculenta

    OK, so its not really red, its hot pink but it is poker like…and very showy, this is Hakea bucculenta another wonderful WA species that has been successfully grafted to grow over here in the Eastern States. If you provide it with lots of sun, a well drained soil and not too much wind it will…

  • Outstanding: Grevillea arenaria

    Outstanding: Grevillea arenaria

    This is an outstanding plant for attracting birds, providing nesting habitat, shelter and nectar for honeyeaters and insectivorous birds. George Adams ‘Birdscaping Australian Gardens’ Thanks George I couldn’t have said it any better! I love my copy of the above book and use it all the time, I also love Grevillea arenaria or the Nepaean…

  • The Potential of Eucalyptus ‘Blue Veil’

    The Potential of Eucalyptus ‘Blue Veil’

    This is Eucalyptus camaldulensis ‘Blue Veil’, which is one of my favourite native plants, I have been quite obsessed with it for many years now. I see so much potential in this species to be used in different ways in a garden design. Eucalyptus camaldulensis ‘Blue Veil’ is a grafted variety of Eucalyptus camaldulensis or the…

  • Portfolio: Garden Design Lewisham

    Portfolio: Garden Design Lewisham

    This garden in Lewisham was built in early spring of 2016 so is roughly 6 months old at the time these images were taken. It is a special garden that was part of a new renovation and was considered very early on by the clients and architect. In the image below you can see what…