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Portfolio: Bundeena Re-visited
We really, really love our garden and are so happy to spend time in it… When I walked up to the front gate of this garden last week I must admit I was quite moved, moved by how settled the plants looked, moved by the quick growth and the way the garden is beginning…
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Soft, Luscious Screen: Acacia fimbriata Dwarf
Acacia fimbriata Dwarf has a puffy sort of look to it from a distance, it is a full bushy shrub with a cloud-like texture. One of the most useful plants that I use in a landscape, as it has enough interest to stand on its own by contrasting with other foliage and form around it…
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Ode to Banksia spinulosa
Banksia’s may possibly be my favourite Genus of Native plants and this particular species could well be top of that list. I was at a clients garden this afternoon and we were lovingly looking at his Banksia spinulosa and stroking the new growth and commenting on what a wonderful plant it is. There is something…
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In Support of Agonis ‘Burgundy’
So there is an out break of a plant disease that started in Australia a couple of years ago in nurseries called ‘Myrtle Rust‘ it affects all plants in the Myrtaceae family and it is incredibly dramatic. It is still about and is moving through our bushland at rapid rate. These rusts are serious pathogens…
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Correa Tangent
Seeing as I have started on the topic of Correas I thought I may as well continue, here is another of my very favourite Correas that is such a useful plant in the landscape. Correa baeuerlenii or Chef’s Hat Correa is found naturally growing on the south coast of NSW on shady, damp sites, therefore it…
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Coastal Correa ground cover : Correa alba prostrate
I have been trying to wait until I have a photo of this useful low growing shrub in flower and I’m sure I do somewhere but I have become impatient! This is a ground cover form of Correa alba and I have been finding it to be a wonderful performer under the most difficult conditions.…
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Portfolio: Heathcote Garden Design
Some gardens are more like Bush Regeneration projects, and this is one of them! This is in Heathcote and it is truly a Sydney Sandstone cliff face garden, it is made up almost entirely of rock shelves, with large scribbly gums growing out of the crevices, it is home to many native birds and…
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Striking small inner city front garden
Oh so refreshing to see a small terrace garden used to maximum effect! Imagine if this was more common? how wonderful it would be to walk down an inner city street and see native birds running amok, as they were doing here in the grafted Eucalyptus ficifolia. Well lets face it to walk down any…
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Low Shrubbery: Acacia howittii ‘Honey Bun’
I have had my eye on this little dwarf form of Acacia for a few years now, it isn’t as common as some of the Acacia cognata dwarfs, which is one of the reasons it appeals to me. This is Acacia howittii ‘Honey Bun’ and it is an incredibly pretty and useful low shrub, suitable for…
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Silver and Grey in the Garden
This photo was taken in Melbourne Botanic Gardens where they had a display garden made up of only silver or grey foliaged plants, it was pretty interesting to see them all planted together and pick out which ones were natives. Here you can see the Eucalyptus caesia ‘Silver Princess’ underplanted with a bit of a…
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Wattle Glen: Sam Cox Landscape
When I realised I would be in Victoria at the beginning of the year one of the first things I did was contact some of my favourite Landscape and Garden Designers to see if they had any open gardens that coincided with my visit. Sam Cox was top of my list and although he didn’t…
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Eucalyptus ‘Silver Princess’ at Heide
I accidentally visited the Heide Museum of Modern Art last month, WOW it was a pretty wonderful accident! They have the most beautiful sculpture gardens, which are expansive and great for kids. The art Gallery itself is also an impressive building surrounded in native gardens with a bit of an edge. I saw this wonderful…
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How Useful are Drawings?
Beware this post may be a rant…..however you have been warned so now I shall go on 😉 … I basically love drawing, I love being able to put my ideas on paper in an organised manner which then can be referred to as a ‘Plan’ not just a Garden Design Plan but a ‘Plan’…
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Lovers of Hot and Dry: Alyogyne hakeifolia ‘Melissa Anne’ and ‘Elle Maree’
I went to look at a garden yesterday which was hot and dry, it had lots of hard surfaces that were heating up with the western sun, that got me thinking about this plant Alyogyne hakeifolia ‘Melissa Anne’ or native hibiscus. There are many Alyogyne mainly coming from WA and south Australia and this one is…
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Portfolio: Bundeena Garden Design
A steep bush block backing onto the National Park with 180 degree stunning views of the water, how inspiring! When I saw this garden I was pretty much blown away, what a dream to be able to work on this property, the house was newly built and nearly finished, the path and boulders were in…
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Inverawe Native Gardens
On my recent trip to Tasmania I was lucky enough to be able to co-ordinate myself and my family to visit this reasonably new open garden in Margate. Inverawe Native Gardens are Tasmania’s largest Landscaped Native Gardens which is quite a feat considering it has been created by just two people, devoted gardeners Margaret and…
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Cushion Bush Breasts
I am in Tasmania driving around and camping and visiting family, its my home town. Of course we have paid our obligatory visit to MONA which in my humble opinion has the, most beautiful native gardens, they are modern and playful, hence the Leucophyta brownii pruned into breast shapes heehee…..Cushion bush prunes beautifully into spheres…
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Horizontal Contrast: Homoranthus flavescens
Homoranthus flavescens is a striking plant, the foliage appears succulent and conifer like and the branches grow almost horizontally and appear to layer on top of each other, plus it has a beautiful grey green leaf, making it a wonderful feature shrub in a planting.
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Native Christmas Tree
So I can be a bit of a grinch when it comes to Christmas, it makes it hard when your kids are feeling the christmas cheer and really, really want to be festive. Nothing wrong with being festive its just all the rubbish that seems to go along with it, the rubbish you have to…
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Bush Tucker Under-Dog: Dianella caerulea
This season is the first time I have had a decent flush of fruit on my Dianella caerulea and I have been pleasantly surprised by the taste, although it doesn’t hit the same spot as the midyim berry, it is actually tasty enough for me to pick and munch on whilst in the garden.
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How to Plant a Grass Tree
The grass tree is a very symbolic plant to have in a native garden. They can be a specimen plant, a feature plant or work well with a minimalist Japanese theme, and they look amazing in containers. Planting one can be a little daunting as there are many stories out there of them turning up…
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A little research….
A little research can go a long way. Take some time to think about what you are putting in the ground, I love this photo, I took it several years ago and for me it tells a story. Someone thought it might be a good idea to match their planting with their paint work (nothing…
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Casuarina Groundcovers: Casuarina glauca prostrate
I adore Casuarinas, in all shapes and forms, so I’m pretty happy with the number of ground cover Casuarinas that are around at the moment. They are tough, quick growing and have a lovely weeping soft look about them, they also can grow to form interesting shapes and textures in the garden. By the way…
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Polarising plants: Ozothamnus diosmifolius
I love plants that have the capacity to completely divide people, where they are either loved or hated. I think Ozothamnus diosmifolius is one such plant, I have only been recently converted and I must say it is partly by the discovery of all the new colours out there, pinks, oranges and the most amazing…
Category: Drought hardy