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Happy National Wattle Day: Acacia glaucoptera
How wonderful is the smell of Wattles flowering right now? I have an Acacia fimbriata Dwarf growing next to my driveway and at the moment wherever I go I seem to be leaving a trail of pale yellow wattle flowers behind me, as they like to hitch a ride on my clothes as I get…
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Grass Trees of Fremantle
I have just come back from Western Australia and have maaaany photos to share, as I am a little overwhelmed by the volume of my images and don’t really know where to start I thought I would start at the beginning of the trip….the first thing (plants) that blew me away. Grass Trees. In the…
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Enjoying Pig Face: Carpobrotus glaucescens
Carpobrotus or ‘Pig Face’ is one of my favourite bush foods to eat, it tastes like an over-ripe Kiwi fruit with a salty edge, delicious! This morning as we were rambling through our local sand dune and beach my son found a pig face fruit and what do you know I had my camera handy…
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Year round flowering: Grevillea ‘Elegance’
This is Grevillea longistyla x johnsonii or better known as Grevillea ‘Elegance’, it is a star performer when it comes to speed of growth, constant flowers and attractive fine leaved foliage, plus the birds adore it! Grevillea ‘Elegance’ gets BIG that is my only warning, if the label says it grows to 2 metres it is…
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Floating Birdbath
This is the new steel tripod stand for my spun copper dishes, this stand is designed to disappear into the plants in a garden bed. It is made up of three thin metal rods that taper and attach to a steel ring on which the dish sits upon. This bird bath can be purchased over…
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Portfolio: Garden Designs Gordon Update
This is an update about one garden, however within that one garden are 3 very different areas and these areas were approached as stand alone projects and designs and built secretly. I was gaining to blog about them separately but I think it is nice to show how varied one garden can be. You can…
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Portfolio: Garden Design Hunters Hill Update
This garden in Hunters Hill was built in 2013, I went back for a visit largely because I have been asked for images of native gardens that sit well in bushland areas of Sydney and this is one of the first that came to mind. Upon entering the garden from the street you have very…
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Portfolio: Garden Design Centennial Park Update
Last week I went on a mission to visit as many of my garden design projects as possible, to collect photos and catch up. I love re-visiting these gardens especially when I am doing a little garden maintenance at the same time. This garden in Centennial Park required a well needed shape and prune. The growth…
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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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Showy Winter Flowers: Grevillea ‘Winter Delight’
I have been noticing in the past few weeks the large numbers of Grevilleas that seem to be flowering profusely all through Autumn and welcoming Winter with a colourful wave. This particular Grevillea ‘Winter Delight’ began budding up in late Summer and I have been anticipating the show for weeks. These photos have been…
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Portfolio: Glebe Re-visit
I have done it again, another sneaky drive by whilst in the area, and another very pleasant discovery. This garden is looking wonderful and full of flower and interest as we enter the dull colder months. This tiny front garden in Glebe received a little extra attention about 6 months ago where I added…
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The plant every native garden should have: Lambertia formosa
Every garden should have a specimen of this reliable plant That’s what Wriggly and Fagg have to say about the much loved Mountain Devil and I couldn’t agree more with the authors of the legendary ‘Australian Native Plants’ bible. Lambertia formosa is a common under storey shrub growing 1 to 2 metres high and about…
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Garden Design: Leichhardt Front Garden
I happened to be in the inner west this afternoon and was very nearby one of my gardens, I thought I would do a drive by and see how a Eucalyptus caesia was going after I re-staked and pruned it 12 months ago. This is what I saw, a very happy Eucalyptus Silver Princess with…
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Good Old Native Daisy: Brachyscome multifida
Brachyscomes are one of those native plants that have multiple uses in a garden, they brighten up a dull corner, keep weeds at bay with their dense mounding habit and add interest and contrast to a layered mixed planting. They are easy to care for and will perform under many different conditions. They are…
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Bright climber or scrambler for dry shade: Hibbertia dentata
Hibbertia dentata is one of my favourite climbers or low growing scramblers to use in shady spots, unfortunately I find it quite difficult to source but it is definitely with using if you can get hold of it. One of the reasons I love this plant is the reddish new growth of the tendrils and…
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Sun loving Moss? Scleranthus biflorus
The common name for this species is ‘Canberra Grass’ even though it has a very un-grass-like appearance, it is commonly mistaken for a moss and makes a wonderful moss substitute in Japanese style gardens. It is happiest in a sunny position and contrasts well with broad-leaved plants. Scleranthus biflorus likes growing in areas with low humidity, it can…
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Eucalyptus ‘Summer Beauty’ and ‘Summer Red’
I know some people think that the Grafted Eucalyptus ficifolia Flowering gums are getting a little bit common, and in some respects I tend to agree. However, it is with very good reason, as whenever I see one in flower it still takes my breath away, they are just so amazingly beautiful! And not only…
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Portfolio: Bulli Garden Design
This garden is located in the costal northern Wollongong suburb of Wollongong, on a low ridge and midway down a slope. When I saw the garden for the first time it was directly after the new house had been built, lawn, new soil and mulch had been installed already. The garden was planted out on…
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The Collectors Plant Fair 2016
I am going to have a stall at The Collectors Plant Fair next month selling my spun copper bird baths and I can’t wait! I have been a fan of this event since it was held in Bilpin, every year now it grows bigger and better and is a haven for fellow plant nerds 😉…
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The Mini Dish
Please welcome “The Mini” dish to my bird bath family, yes, they have been breeding and this is the result 😉 a small shallow bird bath that holds 2 litres of water and is 420mm wide x 25mm deep. In the image below you can see how they compare in size to the large dish.…
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My favourite geebung: Persoonia pinifolia
The geebungs are a wonderful family, have you met them yet? it is hard to pick one to be my favourite, Persoonia levis comes in at a close second for its amazing peeling bark with bright red layers, but pinifolia has that weeping habit and I am always a sucker for something that looks soft…
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Wombat Berry: Pretty Bush Food
This is one of those wonderful plants where the fruits are more decorative and showy than the flower, Eustrephus latifolius produces deep golden berries that are edible but not particularly palatable, perhaps the fleshy roots are more tasty, but I haven’t tried then also though I’m told you can eat them. Eustrephus latifolius flowers in spring with…
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Rarely seen in cultivation: Banksia oblongifolia
I had to pull over again and stop and take photos as soon as this Banksia caught my eye in a quiet inner city suburb. It was planted in the prize position next to the front gate near the letter box on a corner block and was stealing the show of a lovely native front…
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Portfolio: Garden Design Chatswood
I designed this garden in Chatswood in March 2013, pretty much exactly three years ago. The client has been chipping away at building the garden from my drawings over the years, it is a large garden that backs onto some beautiful bushland, where weeds have been a constant problem. Below you can see an image…
Author: Kath Gadd