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Grevillea ‘Lady O’ the new Robyn Gordon?
This will be a short post as it is based purely on one of my un-founded theories and could potentially turn into a rant. I have a Grevillea ‘Robyn Gordon’ in my garden, it is a relic from the original gardener whom we bought the house from. Upon seeing it my initial reaction was to…
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Why I love Leucophyta brownii
We must feel part of the land we walk on and love the plants that grow there…if we are to achieve a spirit in the garden. Gordon Ford There are many native plants that I love, well obviously otherwise I wouldn’t create native only gardens, however some inspire me more than others. Cushion Bush or…
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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,…
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Silky Oaks: Peter and Margaret Olde
This is a private garden created by Peter and Margaret Olde, it is occasionally open to the public through the open Garden Scheme or organised by the Australian Plants Society. I have visited this garden twice and feel I haven’t really touched the surface of what there is to discover. It is a very large…
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Gardening with 2nds
I like re-cycling, myself and my family are usually dressed from the op-shop, I use every opportunity to re-cycle building materials around the garden and think nothing of going through the kerb side household clean-ups, therefore I am a big fan of rummaging through the half price plant areas in nurseries. Often these are tables…
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Native Lawn Substitute: Dichondra repens
I paid a visit to one of my old garden designs last week and discovered that since I had last seen the garden it has become completely lawn free, as in grass lawn. The owner has been busily dividing up tube stock of Dichondra repens in order to give him green pathways throughout the garden,…
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Another Favourite Grafted Grevillea: Grevillea candelabra ‘Pink’
Grevillea candelabra Grafted is another grafted Grevillea that I am rather fond of, it is not as showy or unusual as some of the other grafted species, but it has proven to be an incredibly versatile and useful plant for me time and again. There are a Pink and a White form both of which…
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One of my Favourite Grevillea Groundcovers: Grevillea curviloba
I have been waiting a long time to be able to photograph Grevillea curviloba in full flower, it is a favourite of mine even when not in flower. Finally, I came across two specimens in a private garden that were both covered in blooms, and full of native bees, mind you. Introducing Grevillea curviloba! Hooorah!…
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Real Front Line Coastal Natives
You don’t get much more front line coastal than this. Not only are these planter boxes on an apartment building right on the coast in Cronulla they are only 20cm deep and about 30cm wide, plus there is no irrigation. The one pictured above will be lovingly cared for by the owner but there are…
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Great in the Ground: Alyogyne ‘Blue Heeler’
There is one problem with this plant and I have failed to use it in gardens even when my instincts told me it would be perfect. It looks terrible in a pot in the nursery….not something that can be helped and Alyogyne ‘Blue Heeler’ is not alone in this instance. Its only this year that…
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Grafted Grevillea of the moment: Grevillea petrophiloides ‘Wild Beauty’
I am beginning to come around gradually to grafted Grevilleas, it has taken me about 5 years to slowly but surely start including them in my designs. I’m not really sure why I was so reluctant to begin with, maybe it was the local indigenous plant Nazi in me, maybe I just didn’t trust them….but…
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Smoking Native Seeds
Some Genus of native plants can be notoriously difficult to propagate and the seeds almost impossible to germinate. There are some native species that are bush fire dependant in order for their seed to be released and then become viable. One way that people replicate this process in order to try to grow these species…
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Myoporum Lawn: Myoporum parvifolium
I dislike lawn, not the idea of it but the maintenance aspect; mowing and edging, weeding and watering, fertilising and aerating, all this for a bit of green open space. I do like the idea of ‘green open space’ where you can lay down in the sun or do cartwheels or set up a trampoline or…
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Easy to grow WA species for the East Coast
Another one! and this one is a winner, it ticks so many boxes and it is hard to believe it comes from southern WA. Gastrolobium celsianum or Brachysema celsianum is a wonderful native plant, it is relatively easy to source, grows quickly and flowers in shade. It has beautiful grey green, foliage and plenty of…
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Portfolio: North Balgowlah Consults
This is a ‘work in progress’ garden that I visit from time to time, it is being built by the owners and is a labour of love. The garden backs onto a nature reserve that is in pristine condition, the rear fence has had every 2nd paling taken out to try and use the bush…
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Lovely, Prickly…
There are many lovely pricklies, lovely because they are prickly and just lovelies that happen to be prickly, Acacia amblygona is both. This is a low growing sprawling wattle, that appears thick and luscious from a distance but then when you touch it you get a little shock, it is not as tactile as it…
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One of my favourite Mallees…Eucalyptus luehmanniana
This is Eucalyptus leuhmanniana or Yellow Topped Ash, it is a rare species to the east coast of NSW and grows in high rainfall areas on sandstone soils, it comes in a glaucous and non-glaucus form, the glaucous form is my first choice. Above you can see the whitish-silver stems and buds of the glaucous…
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Portfolio: Glebe Re-visited
I went back to this front Terrace garden in Glebe a couple of weeks ago to do some follow up work; re-mulching and pruning and I was struck again by how quickly the garden is filling out, it is still under a year old and already you can see the structure as the plants begin…
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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.…
Category: Drought hardy