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Trialling Online Native Nurseries
Well, we are in an extended lockdown again and it of course has resulted in more online shopping than I would normally do🤪 For me this also includes buying plants online again so I have an extra online nursery to tell you about and add to this blog post list. These beautiful Poa ‘Suggan Buggan’…
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The densely layered Leptospermum rotundifolium ‘Julie Ann’
It’s no secret that I love tea trees, I forgive them for their short flowering periods and sometimes sporadic and un reliable floral displays, and this particular Tea Tree has really tested my patience. This is Leptospermum rotundifolium ‘Julie Ann’ a low growing spreading shrub form of Leptospermum rotundifolium from Jervis Bay. It grows to a…
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After a Fire …
This week I made my first trip down the south coast since the devastating bushfires earlier this year. The amount of wildlife really lost is incomprehensible when zooming down the highway cocooned in a modern bubble of distraction. The landscape is eerie, even as the trees begin to sprout new growth the middle layer of…
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The Partying Pea: Chorizema cordatum
This outrageous little pea flower is growing in my daughters primary school, it thinks it is unassuming and doing its own thing, little does it realise what a show off it is! Chorizema cordatum is a wonderful South West Australian species which grows in moist gravelly well drained soil. It will grow in full sun…
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Dainty and Delightful Fringe Myrtle: Micromyrtus ciliata
This sweet little native shrub is in full bloom at the moment, it started in late Winter and can continue until Summer in some cases. Micromyrtus ciliata is one of those species which gets so covered in flowers that you can barely see the leaves! The shrub only reaches half a metre high by upto…
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Front garden makeovers
One of my ‘dreams’ is to walk down a suburban street and be able to admire one native front garden after another. I am always on the look out, when walking or driving, and the well-loved gardens (especially the native ones) always pop out at me. Gardens where people have made an effort and show…
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Happy National Wattle Day! Acacia leprosa ‘Weeping Form’
It’s National Wattle Day! Hooray! the time of the year when the Acacias are telling us warmer weather is on the way, I mean I have had flowering Wattles in my garden all Winter long 🤨 …..anyhooo it’s a great time of year to look around and take in all the different species and forms…
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Screening with Hardenbergia violacea
This climber always surprises me every year with how aptly it lives up to its common name of Happy Wanderer. The little pea flower spikes really do have tiny smiling faces with bright green eyes. Hardenbergia violacea is a local native climber or scrambler to most of the east coast of Australia, growing naturally on…
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An oldie but a goodie: Thryptomene saxicola ‘FC Payne’
This is a classic 70’s native garden plant, a WA species which doesn’t need to be grafted to grow elsewhere in Australia and for good reason it has stood the test of time. Thryptomene saxicola ‘FC Payne’ is hardy and tough, growing and flowering through shade, frost, drought and a harsh prune. It enjoys a…
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Landscaping with Dwarf Kangaroo Paws: Anigozanthos ‘Bush Pearl’
I couldn’t help myself when I was in Canberra last month at the Botanic Gardens, before I even considered what I was doing I was snapping away at these Anigozanthos ‘Bush Pearl’. They just looked so stunning in the foggy morning light, dry out from the Winter frost but punchy as ever. Generally I am…
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Emu Bush No. 9: Eremophila bignoniiflora x polyclada
Three years ago I set myself a challenge to learn 12 Eremophila species in 12 months, it hasn’t been going very well …..yet again I have failed to meet my own deadline 🤣 However, my desire to learn more about the wonderful Eremophila genus has not diminished and I am slowly plodding along. You can…
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Trialling Banksia ‘Sentinel’
This is a favourite coastal hedging plant of mine which I have been including in my planting designs for the past 7 years or so….sorry, I’m finding it difficult to keep track of time 😉 I say it is on trial or has been on trial for a while as it does have a couple…
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Camera Trap Basics for Bird-Spotters
Recently, we’ve been using camera traps to capture videos of birds using our birdbaths. One of my favourites is the video of these wonderful silvereyes flocking around a dish in some coastal habitat below! Silvereyes migrate in large groups, feed and drink together and that’s why you can see so many together. In this post…
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The Grevillea that ticks all the boxes: Grevillea ‘Winter Delight’
This low growing shrub is one of my favourite Grevilleas, it covers itself in pinky red flowers all through winter to attract the birds and the bees. It has a naturally dense habit which can only be improved with a little tip pruning now and again and yes, it has grey leaves, my favourite! Grevillea…
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Luscious green screen: Myoporum acuminatum
Some native plants are just so useful and practical I really don’t understand why we don’t see them being utilised everywhere…. and Myoporum acuminatum is one of them. It is a mystery to me why this very fast growing , dense small tree or large shrub is not used more often in our residential streetscape…
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Portfolio: West Wollongong Revisit
The images in this blog post were taken of a local garden I designed a few years ago which has been filling out beautifully. The requested privacy is beginning to really take shape, the front garden has been reclaimed as a relaxing outdoor space which can be utilised more often by critters and humans alike.…
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Portfolio: Norah Head Consult
A couple of years ago I made a trip to the central coast to Norah Head for a garden consult. I was intrigued by the description of the garden, which runs alongside a small patch of native bushland and curious to meet the client who has been looking after the restoration of the bushland but…
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A Favourite Coastal Heathland Plant: Leucopogon parviflorus
This is a tough medium sized shrub which grows all along the NSW coastline and interstate to Victoria and South Australia. I love this plant for its dense habit, tasty fruit and grey green leaves. I occasionally use it in Designs where the soil is very sandy and the wind howling and have just spent…
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Health Benefits of Gardening
Stress Relief, Connection to Nature, Connection to Community, Physical Health, Personal Growth ….just to name a few! I am no stranger to “stress weeding” or “stress pruning” for that matter. There is something indescribably satisfying about pulling unwanted weeds out of a garden bed or giving a straggly plant a much needed “hack back” 🙂…
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An under-utilised native tree: Glochidion ferdinandi
This is the ever adaptable Cheese tree Glochidion ferdinandi, I would love to see these used more widely in our streetscape as street trees but also as shade trees in gardens or parks. They have the same glossy luscious look as a Lilly Pilly or Waterhousia but with the added benefit of being semi-deciduous in…
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Portfolio: Summer Hill Garden Design
This tiny garden in Sydney’s inner west is very shady to say the least, there were three existing native trees in the garden competing for space. However, they are all relatively small and although they took up most of the direct sun they also manage to create a relaxed ‘bushy’ feel to a high density…
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Portfolio: Stanmore Landscape Design
This small garden in the inner west of Sydney is a sight to behold after the recent rains. It is hard to believe that most of these plants have only been in for 6 months, that is the beauty of gardening with native grasses, they fill out so quickly and provide structure and form in…
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Why are birds not visiting my bird bath?
There are a number of reasons for not seeing birds in a birdbath. You may not have allowed enough time for birds to find your birdbath, birds may actually be coming but you don’t see them or cats may be disrupting an array of local species. Placement as well as the type of habitat provided…
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Portfolio: Garden Design West Wollongong
“In short, can’t thank you enough for the difference your design and expertise have made to our street frontage, never mind our well- being during lockdown.” September 14th 2021 The brief for this garden was inspired by another Mallee Design garden two doors up the street, which always helps 😉 The clients wanted to get…
Author: Kath Gadd