Category: Groundcover

  • The colour combinations of Grevillea ‘Amber Blaze’

    The colour combinations of Grevillea ‘Amber Blaze’

    I am not a massive fan of the larger flower spike type of Grevilleas species, I often associate them with attracting noisy miners and rainbow lorikeets, not desirable native birds for me. However, this Winter I have had two Grevillea ‘Amber Blaze’ specimens take my breath away.   The photos in this blog post are…

  • Showy Winter Flowers: Grevillea ‘Winter Delight’

    Showy Winter Flowers: Grevillea ‘Winter Delight’

    I have been noticing in the past few weeks the large numbers of Grevilleas that seem to be flowering profusely all through Autumn and welcoming Winter with a colourful wave. This particular Grevillea ‘Winter Delight’ began budding up in late Summer and I have been anticipating the show for weeks.   These photos have been…

  • Garden Design: Leichhardt Front Garden

    Garden Design: Leichhardt Front Garden

    I happened to be in the inner west this afternoon and was very nearby one of my gardens, I thought I would do a drive by and see how a Eucalyptus caesia was going after I re-staked and pruned it 12 months ago. This is what I saw, a very happy Eucalyptus Silver Princess with…

  • 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…

  • Bright climber or scrambler for dry shade: Hibbertia dentata

    Bright climber or scrambler for dry shade: Hibbertia dentata

    Hibbertia dentata is one of my favourite climbers or low growing scramblers to use in shady spots, unfortunately I find it quite difficult to source but it is definitely with using if you can get hold of it. One of the reasons I love this plant is the reddish new growth of the tendrils and…

  • Sun loving Moss? Scleranthus biflorus

    Sun loving Moss? Scleranthus biflorus

    The common name for this species is ‘Canberra Grass’ even though it has a very un-grass-like appearance, it is commonly mistaken for a moss and makes a wonderful  moss substitute in Japanese style gardens. It is happiest in a sunny position and contrasts well with broad-leaved plants. Scleranthus biflorus likes growing in areas with low humidity, it can…

  • Portfolio: Garden Design Mount Keira

    Portfolio: Garden Design Mount Keira

    Last Friday I completed the first stage of planting for this local project I have been working on in Mt Keira this year. I have written about this garden already as it is a very interesting brief, using only local indigenous species http://malleedesign.com.au/mt-kiera-site-specific-local-indigenous-species/ . I have been chaffing at the bit since the landscaping began to be…

  • 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…

  • Native Lawn Substitute: Dichondra repens

    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,…

  • One of my Favourite Grevillea Groundcovers: Grevillea curviloba

    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!…

  • Real Front Line Coastal Natives

    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…

  • Great in the Ground: Alyogyne ‘Blue Heeler’

    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…

  • Tetratheca thymifolia at its best

    Tetratheca thymifolia at its best

    This is a happy little native shrub that exhausts itself come late winter-early spring by covering itself in delicate little purple or white flowers. The white form is not as hardy as the purple mind you, especially in periods of humid weather.   Tetratheca thymifolia is perfect for native cottage gardens and works well as…

  • Myoporum Lawn: Myoporum parvifolium

    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…

  • Easy to grow WA species for the East Coast

    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…

  • 4 Reliable Shadies

    4 Reliable Shadies

    I have been visiting many shady gardens lately, where there hasn’t really been much scope for planting anything besides ferns and their relatives. This has made me stop and think about tough, reliable shade plants, natives for ground cover, lower layer and upper layer, that can co-exist underneath the canopy of large rainforest trees such…

  • Lovely, Prickly…

    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…

  • Portfolio: Bundeena Re-visited

    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…

  • Coastal Correa ground cover : Correa alba prostrate

    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.…

  • Striking small inner city front garden

    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…

  • Lovely shrub of many names: Veronica perfoliata

    Lovely shrub of many names: Veronica perfoliata

    This is to my knowledge currently Veronica perfoliata, it has gone through several differing identities and name changes, I won’t go into all of that, it just seems a shame as I think it may have detracted people from knowing about this useful plant. Firstly I love it because it has a very Eucalypt like foliage…

  • Portfolio: Bundeena Garden Design

    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…

  • Portfolio: Greenwich Garden Design

    Portfolio: Greenwich Garden Design

    This is a garden that I designed back in 2011 and recently revisited to re-tweek some difficult spots and increase the planting area. The rear garden is very steep and has been terraced with sandstone retaining walls, the furthest section of the garden is in heavy shade and was suffering from erosion. There is a…

  • Casuarina Groundcovers: Casuarina glauca prostrate

    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…