Category: Feature shrub

  • It’s that time of year again! Banksia ‘Coastal Cushions’

    It’s that time of year again! Banksia ‘Coastal Cushions’

    It’s my favourite time of year again Autumn! Hooray! goodbye humidity, I will not miss you and neither will my favourite native plants. Autumn is also wonderful because the Banksias are budding up or out already and everywhere I go lately one particular dwarf Banksia is catching my eye, Banksia spinulosa ‘Coastal Cushions’. This post…

  • Expert Grass Tree advice!

    Expert Grass Tree advice!

    My favourite supplier for Grass Trees is located on the Northern NSW coast they are called Bruinsma Grass Trees and stock lovely healthy specimens, however that is not all they do… They also follow up and offer excellent advice through their newsletter and love talking about growing this iconic sometimes mystifying Australian native. Below I…

  • 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…

  • Why the name Mallee?

    Why the name Mallee?

    I am often asked if I come from Mallee country in Victoria and sadly the answer is no, Mallee Design my business name was not chosen for geographical reasons it was chosen for aesthetic reasons. I am in love with Mallee Eucalypts. A Eucalyptus becomes classed as a Mallee if it has the following attributes…

  • Native plant porn at Kuranga Nursery

    Native plant porn at Kuranga Nursery

    I finally made it to Kuranga native nursery last month in Mt Evelyn in Victoria and I wasn’t disappointed, all the hype turned out to be true, it really is the most beautiful native plant nursery. If only I lived closer… The buildings are huge and house a restaurant, gift shop and excellent book selection,…

  • 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’…

  • The long lived Acacia pendula

    The long lived Acacia pendula

    We all know that wattles get a bad rap for growing quickly, becoming sparse and also attacked by borers, many people won’t plant Acacias purely based on their shorter lifespan, not me I plant them whenever possible and to be honest 8-10 years feels like a pretty long time to me right now 😉 However…

  • The display gardens of Austplant Nursery

    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…

  • 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 exploding Leptospermum ‘Starry Night’

    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…

  • Two toned toughie: Eremophila racemosa ‘Peaches and Cream’

    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…

  • Happy little inner city garden: Leichhardt Garden Design

    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…

  • 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…

  • Two more lovelies for the Emu Bush Challenge: Eremophila cuneifolia and rotundifolia

    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…

  • The multifaceted Eremophila oppositifolia

    The multifaceted Eremophila oppositifolia

    I am returning to a challenge I set myself over a year ago to increase my knowledge of the many beautiful and useful Eremophila species, I am quite behind the time line I set myself, but better late than never! This stunning Emu bush is Eremophila oppositifolia, I have been on the look out for one…

  • The arching canes of Old Socks: Grevillea leucopteris

    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…

  • One My Favourite Grafted Grevillea Standards: Grevillea ‘Green Glow’

    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…

  • 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…

  • Portfolio: Garden Design Bulli

    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…

  • The distinctive Pin Cushion Flower of Hakea laurina

    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…

  • The much anticipated Hakea ‘Burrendong Beauty’

    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…

  • Portfolio: Garden Design Lilyfield

    Portfolio: Garden Design Lilyfield

    This is the tiny front garden of a small cottage in Lilyfield that was planted out about about 2 years ago, during that time it has flourished! Providing well needed privacy from the street and adding a lovely sense of arrival as you step off the pavement. The feature screening tree is a grafted Dwarf…

  • Rambling bank covering Grevillea banksii prostrate

    Rambling bank covering Grevillea banksii prostrate

    There are many, many Grevillea ground covers, and most of them cover a large area and have either a toothbrush or spider flower. Not this one! this is Grevillea banksii prostrate and it not only has a large showy flower spike it also has the large leaves associated with the northern sub tropical Grevilleas and it…

  • My obsession with Breynia ‘Ironstone’

    My obsession with Breynia ‘Ironstone’

    Technically this is Breynia cernua ‘Ironstone Range’ and I absolutely adore it, these images are taken in a friends garden, he is a very talented “master” gardener and treats his Breynia ‘Ironstone’ mean….and it loves him for it 😉 I have written about Breynia ‘Ironstone’ before and have been patiently waiting to photograph a fine specimen like…