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The silver cascading Banksia ‘Roller Coaster’
This is one of the most useful native plants around, a prostrate form of the coast Banksia, Banksia integrifolia. I like to use it for covering embankments like the one in these images at the Bulli Grevillea Park. It also layers upon itself giving it some height and density and therefore creating a useful mounding shape.…
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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…
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Brilliant Banksia ‘Orange Glow’
I have written a lot about the dwarf varieties of Banksia spinulosa but virtually nothing about the dwarf forms of Banksia ericifolia, I must rectify this! They are also prolific flowerers and have a wonderful dense habit and are equally bird attracting. There are several varieties, however the one in these images is Banksia ericifolia ‘Orange…
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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…
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The many colours of Eucalyptus ficifolia grafted
I have been taking photos of grafted flowering gums for the last 10 years and have been meaning to make a colour comparison between some of my favourites. It can be very confusing deciphering the different pinks and reds, not to mention the size variance and habits, so here goes…. This is Eucalyptus ‘Summer Red’…
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Some like it hot! Buckinghamia celsissima
All this hot weather has certainly been of benefit to the Ivory Curl trees in and around Sydney, they are blooming themselves silly! This photos in this blog post are of a specimen in my mums garden in Wollongong, the scent is intoxicating and the bees are having a major harvest. Buckinghamia celsissima or Ivory…
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Sweet: Grevillea ‘Blood Orange’
I am generally not a massive fan of the large flowering Grevilleas, mainly because they encourage the wrong birds, well not the wrong birds but birds who already have a plentiful source of food. However when someone asks for a native plant that flowers year round, they are generally the first thing that springs to…
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Woolly Pomaderris should be seen more often: Pomaderris lanigera
This is a plant that whenever I see it in the bush or in a garden situation I wonder why I don’t use it more often, I love the soft fury leaves and large structured panicle heads that hold hundreds of tiny nectar rich flowers. Pomaderris lanigera puts on a wonderful show in spring and…
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Another top Paperbark: Melaleuca viridiflora ‘Burgundy Weeper’
This October has been paperbark appreciation month for me, I love melaleucas as they will grow so easily in difficult heavy soils and their flowers are rich in nectar for birds and bees alike. Melaleuca viridiflora ‘Burgundy Weeper’ is no exception, it covers itself in deep reddish purple flowers attracting honey eaters and bees. Melaleuca viridiflora…
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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…
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Grevillea ‘Billy Bonkers’ and his Big Sister
I used to have a very small appreciation for Grevilleas, especially the larger flowering species but I have mellowed and now am finding more and more of them appealing. I tend to go for the rarer flower shapes often from WA or South Australia but often now I am drawn towards a Grevillea with a…
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Bulli Grevillea Park: Banksia ‘Bush Candles’
This is an amazing mass planting of Banksia spinulosa ‘Bush Candles’ at Bulli Grevillea Park which I re-visited last weekend. I remember when these were planted and how truly underwhelming this garden bed appeared, so it was so lovely to see them all beginning to fill out and flowering their heads off. Like most…
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My Favourite Native Hibiscus
Many people are not aware of the range of native hibiscus species that grow here in Australia, they are often not seen in cultivation or mistaken for exotics. I have a few favourites that I like to incorporate in my gardens and at the moment these are my top three, however everything is subject to…
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It’s a great Summer for the Grafted Eucalyptus!
The Western Australian Eucalytpus ficifolia have been wonderful this summer, actually they started off dramatically in Spring and are still going strong despite the hot, hot, hot weather. This blog post features two of the grafted species in an attempt to capture their vibrant contrasting colours. The bright red is the flowers from Eucalyptus ‘Dwarf…
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What is it with Waratah’s?
There are a handful of Australian native plants that are truly iconic and Waratahs are very high up on this list, possibly in the top 3….whenever I see them in the bush it is easy to see why we are all so captivated by this bold bloom. The beautiful flower heads attract nectar-feeding birds like…
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Tufted Herbs: Patersonia sericea
I need to admit I am not very competent when it comes to recognising and utilising Australian tufted perennial herby plants in a garden. For some reason I get the Theliomenas confused with the Thysanotus and the Sowerbaea and with Arthropodium! All are beautiful and all are grass like with wonderful prominent flowers poking their heads…
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Perfect Small Feature Tree: Angophora hispida
I have been waiting for two Angophora hispida that are local to my daily route to start budding up and flowering so I can photograph them. This morning I couldn’t wait any longer and took a few snaps. The reason I say budding up as well as flowering is because these trees have stunning red…
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Portfolio: Greenwich Garden Design Update
I have a very special garden that I visit once a year, I usually get a call in early spring asking for help to spruce up the garden in time for overseas visitors. It is always a pleasure to catch up with the clients and replace plants that haven’t worked and admire others that are…
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Wonderful West Australian Mallees
I love Mallees, obviously hence my business name, and Western Australia has an amazing array of these characteristic Eucalypts. As part of my recent trip to WA I stayed in an area called Dryandra, a short drive south east of Perth. We stayed in the Dryandra Forest and within this area there was the iconic…
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The colour combinations of Grevillea ‘Amber Blaze’
I am not a massive fan of the larger flower spike type of Grevilleas species, I often associate them with attracting noisy miners and rainbow lorikeets, not desirable native birds for me. However, this Winter I have had two Grevillea ‘Amber Blaze’ specimens take my breath away. The photos in this blog post are…
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The Versatile Spider Lily: Crinum pedunculatum
I have only just realised how very adaptable this plant is after seeing it growing on the beach in Murramarang National Park last week, I had no idea it would grow on sand in a front line coastal position and look so beautiful. In the image below you can see how symmetrical the clumps of the…
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The many colours of Banksia robur
I saw this particular Banksia robur at Wireandra Nursery a couple of weeks ago, and could be heard to cry out ‘Wow those flowers have Aqua in them!’ once I go up closer I also noticed that at the end of each new flower there was also mauve! I have long been in love with…
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Why are Kangaroo Paws so hard to photograph?
I have found photographing Kangaroo Paws to be extremely frustrating, which is a great shame as they are one of my favourite native plants. They are showy, have long lasting flowers, a weeping leaf habit mixed with the striking vertical flower stems making them an excellent feature plant. However when I go to photograph them…
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My Favourite Banksia spinulosa Dwarfs
There are many dwarf forms of Banksia spinulosa, so many it can be quite confusing and seem a little ridiculous when it comes to choosing one. There are slight variances in the foliage, the flower colour, the flower size and in the size and shape of the shrub itself. For most people these difference would…
Tag: large flower