Illawarra natives – Mallee Design

The glossy leafed Eupomatia laurina

This ancient flowering plant has a fossil record of 120 million years, it’s primitive flowers are a legacy from Gondwana. Isn’t that mind blowing!? The perfumed, glossy screen tree with edible fruits is the perfect addition to a bush food… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Bush tucker, Feature shrub, Hedge, Illawarra natives, Natives for containers, Screening plants, Shade tolerant, Small tree, Tropical garden

bee attracting, bird-attracting, Bush Foods, clay soils, dense habit, edible fruit, Edible native plant, Illawarra natives, large leaves, moist shade, natives for pots, Scented, understory planting, white flower, wollongong local species

Pittosporum revolutum and its eye catching fruit

This is Pittosporum revolutum, a medium shrub with jasmine-scented blossoms which flowers profusley in Spring and then is covered in decorative fruit in Autumn. When flowering the scent permeates the whole garden and is often commented on by visitors. In… Read more ›

Hedge, Illawarra natives, Screening plants, Shade tolerant, Small garden, Small tree, Uncategorized

clay soils, decorative fruit, dense habit, figbird, foliage contrast, fragrant flowers, grey green leaves, Illawarra natives, narrow habit, perfume, Satin Bowerbird, spring flowering, understory planting, wind tolerant, yellow flowers

Lucious, Shade-loving: Trochocarpa laurina

Note: The photos on this post were originally misidentified as Decaspermum humile. Thanks to @nightjarnatives who corrected the id on instagram! Trochocarpa laurina or ‘Tree Heath’ is a large shrub to small tree which loves the shade. I have recently… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Bush tucker, Butterfly attracting, Hedge, Illawarra natives, Medium Tree, Screening plants, Shade tolerant, Small tree, Tropical garden

bird-attracting, dense habit, heavy shade, moist shade, rainforest species, Reddish foliage, shade tolerant, subtropical species, Trochocarpa laurina, understory planting, weeping habit

Happy 10th Eucalyptus Day: Eucalyptus paniculata

I live among the gum trees, literally … as John Williams sang “Give me a home among the gum trees” this is the best I could hope for in suburbia to be living under the canopy of three magnificent indigenous… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Coastal, Illawarra natives, Medium Tree, Winter flowering

bee attracting, clay soils, Eucalyptus Day, Eucalyptus paniculata, grey green leaves, Grey Ironbark, heavy soils, interesting bark, weeping habit, wind tolerant, Wollongong Native Trees

Merry NSW Christmas Bush: Ceratopetalum gummiferum

I am a bit of a Grinch when it comes to Christmas and often one of the things which pulls me our of my un-festive slump is our Ceratopetalum gummiferum or native Christmas Bush. This year I was a little… Read more ›

23/12/2022 2 Comments

Bird attracting, Coastal, Feature shrub, Formal gardens, Hedge, Illawarra natives, Landscape Design, Medium Tree, Screening plants, Shade tolerant, Small tree

Australian Native Garden, bee attracting, Ceratopetalum albury's christmas, Ceratopetalum gummiferum, Christmas bush, cut flower, dense habit, feature tree, Festive, flowers and bracts, native bees, Pollinator Plants, Red flowers, spring flowering, summer flowering, well drained soil

A tough and useful Bushfood: Lomandra longifolia

Lomandra longifolia, or Common Mat Rush, is abundant along the NSW coast growing and in SA, Victoria and Tasmania in a range of environments from coastal dunes to dry Sclerophyll forest. It can also be seen growing in median strips and… Read more ›

29/09/2022 2 Comments

Bush tucker, Coastal, Drought hardy, Illawarra natives, Ornamental grass

Bushfood, clay soils, Common Mat Rush, Edible native plant, first nations knowledge, front line coastal, Indigenous to the Illawarra, Lomandra longifolia, sandy soil, small bird attracting, spring flowering, understory planting, weaving fibre, weeping habit, wind tolerant

Walks for winter-spring flowering plants on Dharawal Country

In our temperate climate the winter wildflower season is magnificent making it one of the best times for walking in and around the escarpment – or at least when it’s not too muddy! – and many of the winter flowerers… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Butterfly attracting, Illawarra natives, Winter flowering

How to Regenerate Bushland in your Backyard

Does your garden look a little like the one in the image above? It has so much potential but you don’t know where to start? Regenerating your own patch of bushland is exciting and rewarding. You get to see first-hand… Read more ›

10/06/2022 2 Comments

Illawarra natives, Naturalistic garden, Uncategorized

bush regeneration, bush style garden, Going native in the Illawarra, Illawarra natives, Indigenous to the Illawarra, understory planting

Help! What’s wrong with my Plants?

By Kath Gadd and Hannah Preston Well it would seem La Niña is here with a vengence along the NSW and QLD east coast, resulting in way too much rain and very uncomfortable humidity. It has been a tough summer… Read more ›

Illawarra natives, Landscape Design, Uncategorized

disease, garden maintenance, gardening, humidity, la nina, native plants, pest, plant health

Native Nurseries Across Australia

This is a collection of nurseries I’ve visited, bought from and love. I’ve written about some of my favourite Native Nurseries in blogposts before but it’s handy to have one reference list to come back to isn’t it?! It’s by… Read more ›

15/03/2022 11 Comments

Bird attracting, Coastal, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Illawarra natives, Natives for containers

Wildflowers of the Illawarra

This wildflower season I have stayed local due to travel restrictions, which has meant I have walked the Illawarra escarpment a lot more than I normally would. Usually in the winter wildflower season we would travel to the Blue mountains… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Illawarra natives, Shade tolerant, Winter flowering

Actinotus helianthi, Bauera rubioides, bee attracting, Boronia pinnata, Epacris microphylla, fragrant, Hakea sericea, Phebalium squamulosum, pink flowers, Ricinocarpos pinifolius, Sydney Sandstone, Thelymitra ixioides, understory planting, well drained soil

The little purple pea that could: Indigofera australis

This is a common medium sized shrub that really can do anything…..it can fill a dark boring corner, it can flower profusely, it can provide lots pf nectar rich flowers for bees and butterflies, it can grow extremely quickly and… Read more ›

11/05/2021 2 Comments

Butterfly attracting, Drought hardy, Illawarra natives, Shade tolerant, Small garden

drought tolerant, frost tolerant, Indigofera australis, pink flowers, purple flowers, Quick growing, shade tolerant, spring flowering, understory planting, weeping habit

Growing Natives Indoors

I love indoor plants, which are known to improve our sense of wellbeing, the quality of the air inside, and give us a connection to nature. Most of us aren’t aware of the array of Australian natives that could be… Read more ›

25/02/2021 4 Comments

Feature shrub, Illawarra natives, Natives for containers, Shade tolerant

Portfolio: Jamberoo Consults

I have been visiting this rural property on and off for the last 3 years, each time providing the client with onsite sketch designs for different areas of the expansive garden. Working on this garden has been an absolute pleasure… Read more ›

AILDM, Bird attracting, Illawarra natives, Ornamental grass, Portfolio, Shade tolerant

Bird Bath, bird-attracting, Decomposed Crushed Granite, Dichelachne crinita, dry creek bed, Ficinia nodosa, Indigenous to the Illawarra, Juncus usitatus, large garden, Poa labillardieri, retaining wall, rural property, swale, turf pavers

Screening with Hardenbergia violacea

This climber always surprises me every year with how aptly it lives up to its common name of Happy Wanderer. The little pea flower spikes really do have tiny smiling faces with bright green eyes. Hardenbergia violacea is a local… Read more ›

Groundcover, Illawarra natives, Screening plants, Shade tolerant, Uncategorized, Winter flowering

climber, dense habit, Hardenbergia violacea, native insect attracting, privacy screen, prolific flowers, purple flowers

Camera Trap Basics for Bird-Spotters

Recently, we’ve been using camera traps to capture videos of birds using our birdbaths. One of my favourites is the video of these wonderful silvereyes flocking around a dish in some coastal habitat below! Silvereyes migrate in large groups, feed… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Coastal, Illawarra natives, Products

bird-attracting, birdbaths, dense habit, front line coastal, Grey Fantail, habitat garden, Little Wattlebird, Silvereye, small bird attracting, small birds, trap camera, water bowls

Luscious green screen: Myoporum acuminatum

Some native plants are just so useful and practical I really don’t understand why we don’t see them being utilised everywhere…. and Myoporum acuminatum is one of them. It is a mystery to me why this very fast growing ,… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Coastal, Drought hardy, Illawarra natives, Screening plants, Small tree

2nd line coastal, bee attracting, bird-attracting, Myoporum acuminatum, privacy screen, Quick growing, sandy soil, shade tree, Street Trees, summer flowering, white flower, wind tolerant

An under-utilised native tree: Glochidion ferdinandi

This is the ever adaptable Cheese tree Glochidion ferdinandi, I would love to see these used more widely in our streetscape as street trees but also as shade trees in gardens or parks. They have the same glossy luscious look… Read more ›

13/04/2020 14 Comments

Bird attracting, Illawarra natives, Medium Tree

butterfly attracting, fast growing, Glochidion ferdinandi, Lewin’s Honeyeater, Olive-backed Oriole, privacy screen, semi-deciduous, shade tree, Street Trees, wildlife habitat, wind tolerant

Portfolio: Mount Keira Garden Design Revisit

My, my look how things have grown 🙂 this garden has completely filled out and become the luscious, illawarra escarpment semi-rainforest garden it was always meant to be! In the image above you can see the turf paver area is… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Illawarra natives, Landscape Design, Naturalistic garden, Portfolio, Shade tolerant

Aphanopetalum resinosum, Carex appressa, Citriobatus multiflorus, Dichondra repens, Hibiscus splendens, Indigofera australis, Mount Keira, native lawn, Omalanthus polulifolius, Oplismenus aemulus, Podocarpus elatus, street address

The Iconic Illawarra Flame Tree: Brachychiton acerifolius

Wow it has been a dry, windy, horrible winter here on the east coast of NSW, in the last week the rain has finally reached us. However it seems to me that this is exactly the sort of weather the flame… Read more ›

08/11/2017 2 Comments

Bird attracting, Drought hardy, Illawarra natives, Medium Tree

Brachychiton acerifolius, deciduous, feature tree, Illawarra Flame Tree, Indigenous to the Illawarra, Red flowers

Illawarra Festival of Wood: Friday 6th to Saturday 7th October 2017 @ Bulli Showground

We will be at the Illawarra Festival of Wood next weekend selling our spun copper water bowls and birdbaths. The festival will be showcasing local & regional wood artisans as well as celebrating a variety of wood related crafts & forest… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Illawarra natives

australian cabinetry timber, Bird Bath, Illawarra Festival of Wood, Indigenous to the Illawarra, water bowls

Soft and Elegant Ornamental Grass: Stipa ramosissima

I adore this native grass (Stipa ramosissima), it is a local Illawarra species and I have found it hard to source but whenever I find it somewhere I grab a few as I can find a home for them in… Read more ›

18/07/2017 1 Comment

Illawarra natives, Naturalistic garden, Ornamental grass, Shade tolerant

decorative seed head, Stipa ramosissima, weeping habit

Enjoying Pig Face: Carpobrotus glaucescens

Carpobrotus or ‘Pig Face’ is one of my favourite bush foods to eat, it tastes like an over-ripe Kiwi fruit with a salty edge, delicious! This morning as we were rambling through our local sand dune and beach my son… Read more ›

Bush tucker, Coastal, Drought hardy, Groundcover, Illawarra natives, Kids gardens

Bush Foods, Carpobrotus glaucescens, front line coastal, pink flowers, sandy soil, well drained soil

Portfolio: Coledale Consults

I have been consulting on this coastal garden for about 3 years now maybe a bit more, and it has really begun to settle in, some of the growth especially in the rear garden is amazing. The client has installed… Read more ›

Coastal, Hedge, Illawarra natives, Portfolio, Screening plants

Baeckea imbricata, Casuarina 'Green Wave', clay soils, Correa alba, foliage contrast, front line coastal, Grevillea 'Golden Lyre', Juncus usitatus, Kunzea baxteri 'Scarlet Jack', Leptospermum 'Lemon Hedge', Leptospermum laeviegatum, Melaleuca hypericifolia, Modern Australian Native Garden, Ozothamnus diosmifolius, street address, Trema aspera, wind tolerant