Category: Butterfly attracting

  • Another Callistmon for the resurgence: Callistemon subulatus ‘Brogo Overflow’

    Another Callistmon for the resurgence: Callistemon subulatus ‘Brogo Overflow’

    I have written before about my love of bottlebrush and how I wish for a resurgence in their use in garden design and the general landscape. There are many new interesting forms and cultivars that are a far shot from the ratty, sparse unloved street trees we all know. They come in soft pinks, deep…

  • Remember daisies make you happy! Xerochrysum ‘Dargan Hill Monarch’

    Remember daisies make you happy! Xerochrysum ‘Dargan Hill Monarch’

    I need a little cheering up today, and although I have hundreds of interesting plant and landscape design photos from my recent Victorian trip I just need to share some sunny happiness in the form of yellow native daisies, bear with me … The paper daisy in the above photos is Xerochrysum ‘Dargan Hill Monarch’…

  • A unique feature: Baeckea virgata Dwarf

    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…

  • The most weeping of the weeping: Myoporum floribundum

    The most weeping of the weeping: Myoporum floribundum

    I am obsessed with plants with a weeping habit or drooping foliage, some people find them sad and depressing looking but they are my favourite. There are many native plants with soft long leaves or gently falling branches, they can create dense screens, focal points or backdrops. Weeping foliage in a garden gives a relaxed informal…

  • Happy little rambler:  Goodenia ovata ‘Goldcover’

    Happy little rambler: Goodenia ovata ‘Goldcover’

    I am a huge fan of Goodenia ovata, it is an extremely useful shrub, hardy and floriferous and now I am also going to sing the praise of its off shoot Goodenia ovata prostrate ‘Goldcover’. This little ground cover has the same leaves and flowers as its parent shrub but possesses the skill of rambling…

  • Something different: Allocasuarina crassa and monilifera

    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…

  • The Elegant Wilga: Geijera parviflora

    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…

  • Hot Tea-trees: Leptospermum ‘Pageant’ and ‘Outrageous’

    Hot Tea-trees: Leptospermum ‘Pageant’ and ‘Outrageous’

    I love tea trees but don’t often think of them as particularly showy when in flower, except for ‘Cardwell’ of course which almost flowers until on the verge of collapse 😉 Leptospermums for me are a super useful and beautiful screening plant, often with scented foliage and pretty bark. They can have leaves in colours…

  • The resurgence of the Bottlebrush: Callistemon pachyphyllus Green

    The resurgence of the Bottlebrush: Callistemon pachyphyllus Green

    I feel like there needs to be a a resurgence in the planting of Callistemon species in home gardens, they have been given a bad name through thoughtless street planting and gardeners overlooking their pruning needs. There are a handful of Callistemons that I think are worthy of pride of place in a native garden,…

  • Some like it hot! Buckinghamia celsissima

    Some like it hot! Buckinghamia celsissima

    All this hot weather has certainly been of benefit to the Ivory Curl trees in and around Sydney, they are blooming themselves silly! This photos in this blog post are of a specimen in my mums garden in Wollongong, the scent is intoxicating and the bees are having a major harvest. Buckinghamia celsissima or Ivory…

  • Woolly Pomaderris should be seen more often: Pomaderris lanigera

    Woolly Pomaderris should be seen more often: Pomaderris lanigera

    This is a plant that whenever I see it in the bush or in a garden situation I wonder why I don’t use it more often, I love the soft fury leaves and large structured panicle heads that hold hundreds of tiny nectar rich flowers. Pomaderris lanigera puts on a wonderful show in spring and…

  • Outstanding: Grevillea arenaria

    Outstanding: Grevillea arenaria

    This is an outstanding plant for attracting birds, providing nesting habitat, shelter and nectar for honeyeaters and insectivorous birds. George Adams ‘Birdscaping Australian Gardens’ Thanks George I couldn’t have said it any better! I love my copy of the above book and use it all the time, I also love Grevillea arenaria or the Nepaean…

  • Shade loving Leionema ‘Green Screen’

    Shade loving Leionema ‘Green Screen’

    This is still one of my favourite native shrubs for growing in dry shade or part sun,  Leionema ‘Green Screen’ is a hybrid of L. elatius and L. lamprophyllum, and is an extremely useful plant! In the image above you can see its mature habit, thick and bushy and dense with flowers in mid to…

  • Autumn Bush Foods

    Autumn Bush Foods

    This is a little collection of bush foods collected in late May this year, isn’t it an amazing haul? oh how we did feast! My children and I seem to have a high tolerance for the sour and bitter flavours that many bush foods offer. This was my first taste of raw Davidson’s plums the big…

  • Poa I love You!

    Poa I love You!

    I can’t believe I have taken so long to write a blog post dedicated to one of my favourite grasses Poa! One of the most under rated and under utilised grasses in garden design. Now not everyone is a lover of Australian native grasses and that is OK, it takes a certain breed to love…

  • My Favourite Native Hibiscus

    My Favourite Native Hibiscus

    Many people are not aware of the range of native hibiscus species that grow here in Australia, they are often not seen in cultivation or mistaken for exotics. I have a few favourites that I like to incorporate in my gardens and at the moment these are my top three, however everything is subject to…

  • The spot flowering habits of Hymenosporum ‘Luscious’

    The spot flowering habits of Hymenosporum ‘Luscious’

    It’s no secret that this is one of my all time favourite small shrubs, I love it for it ability to grow in dry shade and still look green and succulent, I love it for its wonderful shape, sometimes lumpy sometimes perfectly mounded and I love the fact that it flowers when and if it…

  • Good Old Native Daisy: Brachyscome multifida

    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…

  • The Mini Dish

    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.…

  • Just the Dish!

    Just the Dish!

    This copper bird bath is spun by a local metal spinner. It is wide and shallow so that it will occasionally dry out, inhibiting mosquito populations. If you are interested or would like to know more about this bird bath, please contact me, or you can purchase it over here. The dishes look great sitting on a tree…

  • Goodenia ovata and friends

    Goodenia ovata and friends

    This is one happy little scrambling native plant, with its sunny yellow flowers and buoyant bright green leaves it scrambles over anything in its path. Goodenia ovata is a low spreading shrub that grows as an under-storey plant in the bush around much of coastal Australia, it is tolerant of many different soil types and…

  • Attracting Butterflies to your Native Garden

    Attracting Butterflies to your Native Garden

    I am often asked to recommend native plants that will attract butterflies, I know a few off the top of my head and have been meaning for a couple of years to sit down and do some decent research on creating a butterfly attracting garden. So I began a few weeks ago and have learned…

  • The Very Loveable Parsley Bush: Lomatia silaifolia

    The Very Loveable Parsley Bush: Lomatia silaifolia

    This is Lomatia silaifolia or Parsley Bush, a very under-utilised plant in most native gardens, I include Lomatia in many of my gardens as it grows in shade or full sun, it is a reliable when it comes to flowering and grows very quickly. Many people look at Lomatia and think it is a Grevillea,…

  • Bush Food Spheres: Citriobatus pauciflorus

    Bush Food Spheres: Citriobatus pauciflorus

    I was quite taken when I saw these well clipped Orange Thorn a few weeks back in the edible section at Mount Anan Botanic Gardens, this section of the garden is kept quite manicured, bringing out the ornamental potential of all of the local Bush Food plants. And lets face it, I am a sucker…