• 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…

  • the charming Phebalium nottii

    I’ve always been a fan of Phebalium’s and Phebalium nottii is no exception. Possibly the trickiest of the Phebalium’s to grow but also the most spectacular. Phebalium nottii is a small rounded shrub growing up to 1mt in height. It’s branchlets are covered with silvery to rust-coloured scales. The leaves are long and thin, with…

  • Easy to grow WA species for the East Coast: Gastrolobium celsianum

    Another one! And this one is a winner, it ticks so many boxes and it is hard to believe it comes from southern WA. Gastrolobium celsianum or Brachysema celsianum is a wonderful native plant, it is relatively easy to source, grows quickly and flowers in shade. It also tolerates moderate frost. The common name for…

  • A Portrait of a Flower and a shrub: Hakea francisiana

    This is a 5 year old post which I am adding to as this grafted Hakea reveals itself to be a wonderful feature shrub or small tree. Hakea francisiana Grafted has a dense vase shaped habit and covers itself in the striking pink poker flowers from June to October. I have been increasingly using this…

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  • the luscious elegance of Helmholtzia glaberrima

    It is a little bit of a misnomer that native shade loving plants don’t have a particularly showy flower and I can’t think of a better species to contradict this than the Stream Lily. As the name suggests it is a moisture loving native that is suitable for growing under large trees in moist conditions.…

    2 responses

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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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