-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Tapestry Gardens
Van Gogh reputedly introduced the idea of a tapestry garden, relying on the hue, texture, size and shape of foliage creating a tapestry like mosaic. Diane Snape I was doing some research a couple of nights ago and came across this section titled Tapestry Gardens in Diane Snape’s book ‘The Australian Garden‘ and it is…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Another Native Christmas Tree? Graptophyllum excelsum
Do you think this qualifies as festive looking? It is covered in beautiful bright red flowers over summer (and Christmas), lovely glossy green leaves, and has a sibling called a Holly, I think it ticks all the boxes. This is Graptophyllum excelsum, and would look pretty good dressed up in tinsel.
-
More Native Christmas Trees
Whilst I am feeling slightly Christmassy I thought I’d sing the praise of one of our most recognisable native plants, the NSW Christmas Bush Horah! don’t they look amazing at the moment? something in the strange spring we had must be setting them off. I love these trees whether they are in their white spring…
-
Shady Lilly Pilly: Syzygium wilsonii
There are so many Lilly Pillys around, different cultivars, that apparently grow faster, thicker, thinner, redder and so on, they are used for hedging everywhere (which is great, far better than Murraya) and can be a little over done. This one is Syzygium wilsonii and it is amazing for a few reasons, firstly it has…
-
Delicate Tea Trees: Leptospermum ‘Cardwell’
I love tea trees or Leptospermums, I’m not sure what it is about them that appeals to me so much. Perhaps their soft weeping foliage or the way they can get absolutely covered in flowers so much so that you can hardly see their leaves from a distance. And the flowers are showy, individually they…
-
Australian Plants Society Open Gardens: Hogue Garden Jannali
This was such a diverse garden, diverse in style with lots of different areas and plantings. When I saw the garden it was full of sun, enabling the owner to grow almost anything! The different areas were almost like little “rooms” and I can imagine moving about the garden during a day letting the sun…
-
Screening with Grevillea ‘Bonfire’
This is one of my favourite Grevilleas’ of the moment. I tend to steer towards Grevilleas without the typical heavily divided thick leaf. ‘Bonfire’ is G. johnsonii x G. willsonii, so you get the lovely fern like leaf in a dark green contrasting beautifully with the deep red flowers, which attract honeyeaters and lorikeets.
-
Black Stump
This is a native garden I visited when it was open in April 2012, it shows you what can be done when someone with a lot of drive and passion finds a blank canvas. It truly amazes me that so many beautiful garden are created by one or two people. Black Stump Natives is located on the…
-
I don’t normally like Hibiscus but…Alyogyne huegelii
I don’t normally like hibiscus, native OR exotic BUT Alyogyne huegelii is an exception, plus probably some other hybrids of it…. Check out that colour, you don’t often see that shade of purple on a native plant. The other equally important factor that draws me to this plant is it is super hardy and drought tolerant and…
-
Lomandra as a fence screen
When I planted these Lomandra hystrix I had no idea that they would work so well to cover the 1.8m high fence, now when I look at this area I realise how perfect they are.It is a difficult spot, fairly shady and not a great deal of soil but these Lomandras have filled out nicely…
-
Westringia spheres
This is a rather striking entrance garden planted in front of a picket fence, right next to the footpath. There is a row of Westringia spheres followed by the contrasting soft weeping habit of Leptospermum ‘Pink Cascade’, it works so well. It give the more private garden behind the fence a sense of intrigue and…
-
Green Bottlebrush: Callistemon pinifolius
I know many people don’t like bottlebrush and consider them totally out of fashion and scraggly, but for me they are so useful within a garden design. This is Callistemon pinifolius, and it is a special in my eyes for the amazing flower colour, which is a subtle lime green (most of the time, sometimes…
-
The benefits of salt bush: Rhagodia spinescens
There are several species of salt bush that I like to put in gardens, this one is one of my favourites Rhagodia spinescens, it comes in varying shapes and forms, some a little more silver leaved some a little more compact. It is growing here as a pathway and garden edge and does a great job…
-
Soft Screening: Westringia ‘Snow Flurry’
This is Westringia ‘Snow Flurry’ or pretty close to Westringia longifolia, it is the most useful plant to put in a garden. It will grow almost anywhere, including in a reasonable amount of shade!
-
Layers
I saw this little entrance garden to a Leisure centre last weekend and thought that the layers of different foliage were really well done. A little bit formal with the three tiered hedges of Acacia cognata dwarf, Austromyrtus inopholia and Westringia in the front.
-
Banksia as small trees: Banksia marginata
Every Australian Native garden should have at least one Banksia, even if it is a ground cover or low spreading shrub, they are a signature plant. Banksia marginata grows to be a beautiful small tree with a thick canopy and often very low lying branches, therefore they can make an excellent large screening plant. The…
-
Mint Bush: Prostanthera rotundifolia
The Australian mint bushes really smell far superior to regular mint, not as sweet a bit more citric.
Category: Hedge