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The display gardens of Austplant Nursery
I have been away in Victoria for the past few weeks, camping on Wilsons Prom and then visiting native nurseries and gardens on the Mornington Peninsula. It was a wonderful holiday that has left me with a touch of post holiday depression but plenty of photos of native plants to share with you! One of…
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A unique feature: Baeckea virgata Dwarf
I spotted this delightful front garden in Crows Nest a few weeks ago, I loved it for its simplicity, it shows off one of my favourite low mounding plants Baeckea virgata Dwarf perfectly! Baeckea has had a few names changes in recent years, including Babbingtonia and now Sannantha, however there is no other plant quite like…
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The exploding Leptospermum ‘Starry Night’
I have been monitoring these Leptospermum obovatum ‘Starry Night’ shrubs (that I planted in a neighbours garden) closely, waiting, waiting for them to flower and BOOM! last week they exploded! I love reddish or burgundy foliage and there are several species of Leptospermum with a red tinge to the leaf however ‘Starry Night’ is…
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Two toned toughie: Eremophila racemosa ‘Peaches and Cream’
This hardy little shrub is aptly named for its two toned flowers, this Emu bush has yellow flower buds which once open change colour to white…get it peaches and cream … boom ching! Anyway cliche plant breeder names aside this is number seven in my memorable Eremophila line up. Eremophila racemosa ‘Peaches and Cream’ is…
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Happy little inner city garden: Leichhardt Garden Design
This small garden in the inner west of Sydney is actually quite generous, there is room for lawn, a studio and a seperate outdoor eating area. This means there is also room for lots of different native plants! Hooray! we planted for year round flower, colour, foliage contrast, texture and wildlife habitat. There is something…
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Another true blue Banksia ground cover: Banksia petiolaris
This is another great WA prostrate ground cover Banksia that grows and flowers directly on the ground like Banksia blechnifolia. They have a very similar habit, however their leaves and flowers are quite different. Banksia petiolaris has a lovely bluish hue to its leaf, in the image above you can see it growing amongst Themeda…
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A true blue Banksia ground cover: Banksia blechnifolia
This is the real deal when it comes to a Banksia ground cover, it naturally grows along the ground it is not a cultivar or hybrid, it “wants” to grow like this! And I love it for that, happily creeping along with its soft red furry new stems and hilarious flowers that sit on the…
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Go Drumsticks! Go! Isopogon anemonifolius ‘Little Drumsticks’
Look at this shrub, can it fit anymore flowers on its tightly bunched stems? I think not… it is totally jam packed with intricate lemon yellow Drumstick flowers that last for a couple of months. This is a compact selected form of Isopogon anemonifolius, a dwarf shrub that will only reach half a metre tall and…
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The silver cascading Banksia ‘Roller Coaster’
This is one of the most useful native plants around, a prostrate form of the coast Banksia, Banksia integrifolia. I like to use it for covering embankments like the one in these images at the Bulli Grevillea Park. It also layers upon itself giving it some height and density and therefore creating a useful mounding shape.…
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Two more lovelies for the Emu Bush Challenge: Eremophila cuneifolia and rotundifolia
I am still very, very slowly working on my Emu Bush plant palette, adding these two beauties Eremophila cuneifolia and Eremophila rotundifolia makes six, I’m halfway to my desired dozen…phew Both these species were grafted where I saw them in the Bulli Grevillea Park, so if you live in coastal NSW as I do it…
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A job done well: Pandorea pandorana ‘Snowbells’
If you need a reliable, quick growing climber to screen or cover an area, that attracts birds and bees and generally looks healthy and flowers profusely… well then what do you think of Pandorea pandorana ‘Snowbells’? This is form of Pandora produces masses of snowy white trumpet-like flowers in late winter and early spring, attracting…
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Why raised Birdbaths are better!
In this post I am going to touch on a contentious topic for some people and as I am completely not wishing to offend anybody here is a little warning to cat lovers and owners out there; basically I think cats are completely inappropriate pets in Australia because of the destruction they cause to our…
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The arching canes of Old Socks: Grevillea leucopteris
There are a group of Grevilleas which throw their flowers out on tall leggy canes, up into the air far away from their foliage. Grevillea petrophiloides is probably one of the better known and more available ones in NSW, but I would also like to bring attention to Grevillea leucopteris. In the image above you…
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One My Favourite Grafted Grevillea Standards: Grevillea ‘Green Glow’
This post is about one of my favourite grafted grevillea standards, I actually have 2 or 3 favourites and unfortunately they are all a little hard to come by however all worth trying to find a place for in your native garden. Well actually in any garden as I think the semi formal appearance of…
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Something different: Allocasuarina crassa and monilifera
Casuarinas and Allocasuarinas can be a funny bunch, I love them dearly: trees, cultivars and dwarf species alike. I use the groundcover form of Casuarina glauca often and Casuarina ‘Green Wave’ is one of my all time favourite shrubs. But there are so many more once you begin exploring especially in the southern states and…
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The Elegant Wilga: Geijera parviflora
This beautiful, weeping small tree is known as Wilga or Australian Willow and willowy it is, its long, narrow, pendulous leaves droop down creating a dense shade umbrella. Unfortunately this Australian native tree is used quite infrequently in gardens or urban horticulture, this is mainly due to availability issues but also as it is quite…
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Happy Wattle Day! Acacia ‘Little Nugget’: Foliage before flowers
It’s the first of August again and so Happy Wattle Day! along with all the historic connotations of this wonderful day I do truly rejoice in the wonderful genus that is the Acacia, and not only for its flower but the foliage of the Acacias are equally diverse and interesting. The wattle in these images…
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I went walking in Bouddi National Park
I went walking last week along the stunning coastal track in Bouddi National Park, and was blown away by the winter flowers in the bush. The track winds along the sandstone cliffs, dipping into moist forest and creeks providing a varied glimpse of the different plant communities in the Bouddi National Park. This blog post is…
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Portfolio: Garden Design Bulli
Yesterday I spent a sunny winter morning pruning and shaping in this coastal garden in Bulli, I love returning to one of my designs to do a little maintenance and tweaking, and this is one of my favourites 😉 This garden is roughly 4 years old you can see how it has filled out by…
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Tasmanian Winter Correas
Ohhh my pretties! Correas are so, so sweet… sometimes I catch myself speaking to them using my special voice reserved for babies, dogs and small birds 😉 Correas were out everywhere in Tasmania when I was there last month, they are used on council verges, carparks and kids playgrounds and they look spectacular! The pink…
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The distinctive Pin Cushion Flower of Hakea laurina
This must be one of the most recognisable Australian native flowers, its incredible two toned spherical flower pops out at you from quite a distance. I love Hakea laurina it is such an obvious Australian bloom, it lasts well cut in a vase and looks fascinating even in bud. These images are taken of a couple…
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Brilliant Banksia ‘Orange Glow’
I have written a lot about the dwarf varieties of Banksia spinulosa but virtually nothing about the dwarf forms of Banksia ericifolia, I must rectify this! They are also prolific flowerers and have a wonderful dense habit and are equally bird attracting. There are several varieties, however the one in these images is Banksia ericifolia ‘Orange…
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June Long Weekend Warehouse Sale!
This June long weekend @timbermillstudios, where I have my little workspace, is having a small extravaganza! To celebrate the artists who have their studios there, the opening of a new cafe (Hooray!!!!) and to support the designers and sellers who work there (me). I will be having a 10% off open warehouse sale to celebrate…
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The much anticipated Hakea ‘Burrendong Beauty’
This Hakea always gets me, it seems to bud up “forever” in late Summer and Autumn and then after much anticipation and waiting it does this! Each branch bursts open with hundreds of pink ball like flowers. Hakea myrtoides x petiolaris ‘Burrendong Beauty’ has stunning dense masses of red flowers with pink stamens that cover…
Category: Bird attracting