• 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…

  • Canberra’s banksia garden

    I do love a Winter visit to our nation’s capital, it reminds me of my childhood growing up with real seasons. On my quick visit to the The Australian National Botanic Gardens earlier this Winter I stumbled upon their new collection which to my delight is a Bankisa Garden built to Celebrate their 50th Anniversary.…

  • 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…

  • 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…

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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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