• Under power lines – australian Native Street trees <6mt

    The argument for not having street trees because of Power lines can end here. We have got some recommendations on Australian native trees growing no more than 6mts in height to keep the utility companies and there shears away from them. No more heavily pruned, donut shaped trees please. Angophora hispida or Dwarf Apple usually…

  • Happy Wattle Day! 2026

    It has come around again, hello Spring, its lovely to see you again as usual. There is nothing better than the smell of Acacia blooms wafting through the sunshine. The feeling at the moment is it is going to be a long hot dry Summer, and the gentle Spring weather will likely not last that…

  • Australian Native Street trees 7-20mts

    What started off as a ‘Lets identify this Casuarina’ turned into a full blown mission that blew our minds, of course we could have used AI, but where is the fun in that. What we found was the City of Melbourne Urban Forest website where you can find the tree you are looking at and…

  • Olearia microphylla more than just a filler

    Every time I see this dense medium sized native shrub in flower it is covered in insects, perhaps because the shrub itself is covered in tiny flowers. This is Olearia microphylla and I am also very taken with its thick rambling habit and ability to fill a difficult spot. Olearia is a wonderful genus, the…

  • Citrus australasica ‘Red Centre Lime’

    If you ever thought – I like finger lime’s but wish they were bigger and easier to juice… then this is the plant for you! This hybrid was created in the 1990’s as a cross between Citrus australasica (a red finger lime) and an acidic mandarin hybrid (Rangpur lime). This hybrid is very hardy, it…

  • Tough Daisy Bush:Olearia tomentosa

    One of my favorite Olearia’s, so hard to pick just one. Olearia tomentosa is possibly the neatest of the Olearia’s naturally creating a rounded form and very tough. It would be lovely to be seen more often, it is a hardy shrub for well drained, moist soils in full sun or semi shade. The leaves…

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  5. It may be worth adding ‘Princess Fancy Plants’ nursery in Chandler, QLD (Bayside Brisbane) to this list.. Bev, the owner…

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providing resources for native plant gardeners and designers.


Mallee Design was created by Kath Gadd in 2012 to document and share her love for native Australian garden design. Her original motivation was to inspire those interested in learning more about native Australian plants. The Mallee Design blog has since grown into a rich resource, used by gardeners, horticulturalists, landscape designers and others.

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