This garden was at the end of my garden visiting trail, the kids were getting grotty and I was beginning to think we should just head home. However persevering paid off, as soon as my son and I entered the garden we were welcomed by a small person announcing “Come in and see my granny’s garden!’My boy was whisked away and given a private kids tour, which included picking the bark off the splendid Old Man Banksia (which is bright red underneath those knobbly bits), seen in the above photo. Leaving me to take photos!

The rear of the garden had a wonderful natural rock shelf that has been lovingly restored and planted out with natives. There is a path taking you onto the different levels and then down again, perfect for little explorers. Here you can see the almost horizontal branches of the Banksia serrata, the real feature of the garden, and the path leading up to it with Prostanthera incisa on the right and Doryanthes excelsa on the top, underplanted with Dianella and Viola hederacea.

Delicate flowers of the mint bush with highly fragrant foliage.

The pathway through the garden was edged and planted with Microlaena stipoides with beautiful effect, giving a soft edging and suppressing weeds. This is the best example I have seen of Microlaena as a grass/lawn substitute, it appears to be handling traffic well and spreading quite naturally.

A peaceful resting place.

Here is the view from the top of the garden on top of the Sandstone rock shelf, where I discovered some very happy chooks. Here you can see Omalanthus populensis in the centre and some very large Doryanthes excelsa, one with flower spike.

And of course a rock garden in Sydney wouldn’t be complete without a Dendrobium specious in full flower!
For me this garden was relaxed and playful, a little oasis of bush in the suburbs, thanks for letting us visit.