Natives for containers – 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

Phenomenal Phebaliums: the delicate blooms of Phebalium nottii and squamulosum

I am a long time fan of the Phebalium genus, these small to large shrubs which belong in the Rutaceae family can be found growing over much of the south and east coast of Australia. However Phebalium squamulosum is an extremely… Read more ›

Drought hardy, Hedge, Natives for containers, Naturalistic garden, Shade tolerant, Winter flowering

bee attracting, dry shade, foliage contrast, fragrant flowers, frost tolerant, part shade, pink flowers, pollinating insects, Scented, understory planting, well drained soil, yellow flowers

The Bronze Highlights of Gymnostoma australianum

This almost Christmas like tree is part of the Casuarina family, at first glance can look like a conifer or pine tree, but fuller in habit. Its overall texture and colour is very similar to She Oaks when they are… Read more ›

Coastal, Formal gardens, Hedge, Natives for containers, Screening plants, Small tree, Tropical garden

Autumn Flowering, bird-attracting, casuarina family, christmas tree, cone, dense habit, fence screening, foliage contrast, full sun, Gymnostoma australianum, part shade, privacy screen, prolific flowers, QLD species, rainforest species, well drained soil, wind break

Light it up: Grevillea lanigera ‘Mellow Yellow’

I have mass planted Grevillea ‘Mellow Yellow in a semi shaded position in my garden and have been surprised at its tenacity and ability to cover its self in blooms for an extended period of time. The small striking spider… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Butterfly attracting, Coastal, Drought hardy, Frost tolerant, Groundcover, Natives for containers, Naturalistic garden, Winter flowering

Autumn Flowering, bee attracting, clay soils, drought tolerant, frost tolerant, full sun, grey green leaves, ground cover, long flowering period, well drained soil, wind tolerant, winter flowering

Australian Native Plants in Japan

It was inevitable that I wouldn’t be able to turn off my native plant nerd brain whilst overseas in Japan last month…. I tried, I really did. I took photos of Japanese plants, seed pods and flowers and researched after… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Drought hardy, Landscape Design, Medium Tree, Natives for containers, Screening plants, Small garden, Small tree, Winter flowering

Acacia baileyana, Acacia covenyi, Acacia decurrens, Backhousia citriodora, Brachychiton rupestris, Cissus antartica, Eucalyptus polyanthemos, Eucalyptus pulverulenta 'Baby Blue', feature tree, foliage contrast, grey green leaves, Hardenbergia violacea, Indoor plant, Leptospermum brachyandrum 'Silver', well drained soil, yellow flowers

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

The almost native pig face: xDisphyllum ‘Sunburn’

Meet a new addition to the Australian native succulent family, well maybe more a half sibling or cousin, as technically this lovely green pig face is half south African ? shock horror! However there are so few Australian succulents I… Read more ›

25/10/2021 2 Comments

Coastal, Drought hardy, Groundcover, Natives for containers

bee attracting, carpeting ground cover, drought hardy, drought resistant, drought tolerant, fast growing, frost tolerant, full sun, large flower, well drained soil, wind tolerant, xDisphyllum Sunburn, year round flowering, yellow flowers

World Bee Day: Plant Three for the Bees!

Today is World Bee Day and the slogan of ‘Plant Three for the Bees’ is like a call to action! Anyone with an outdoor space can plant three bee friendly plants, even if they are in pots or containers. Calling… Read more ›

Drought hardy, Frost tolerant, Natives for containers, Shade tolerant

bee attracting, blue-banded bees, fragrant, low mounding shrub, low spreading habit, native bees, plantthreeforthebees, pollination, Pomaderris lanigera, Prostanthera cuneata, purple flowers, small garden, understory planting, Wahlenbergia stricta, white flower, world bee day, yellow flowers

But what’s the difference? Banksia spinulosa Dwarfs

There are so many different cultivars now of Banksia spinulosa that it is difficult to know which to choose… although they all look similar independently when you see them next to each other whilst they are flowering they really do… Read more ›

28/04/2021 2 Comments

Bird attracting, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Frost tolerant, Groundcover, Natives for containers, Small garden, Winter flowering

Autumn Flowering, Banksia 'Birthday Candles', Banksia 'Cherry Candles', Banksia 'Coastal Cushions', Banksia 'Honey Pots', Banksia 'Stumpy Gold', banksia spinulosa cultivar, Banksia spinulosa dwarf, Banksia spinulosa Dwarfs, bee attracting, dense habit, drought tolerant, large flower, low mounding shrub, low spreading habit, slow growing

Finger Limes loving the shade – Citrus australasica

My friend has the magic touch when it comes to growing all things edible and so of course her fingers limes are abundant in the Autumn ?. She has two varieties one is Citrus australasica ‘Rainforest Pearl’, a grafted form.… Read more ›

Bush tucker, Hedge, Natives for containers, Screening plants, Shade tolerant, Small tree

bee attracting, Bush Foods, Citrus australasica, Citrus australasica 'Rainforest Pearl', dense habit, edible fruit, fence screening, moist shade, part shade, shade tolerant, white flower

A flower within a flower within a flower … Hoya australis

I find this one of the most curious flowers from our native vine species, it is a large highly perfumed umbel of tiny wax like flowers which is almost fractal like, I could look at it for hours. The leaves… Read more ›

Drought hardy, Natives for containers, Shade tolerant, Tropical garden

climber, drought hardy, drought resistant, fragrant, Hoya australis, Indoor plant, Scented, twining plant, Waterwise native, white flower

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

Try something exotic! Tecomanthe hillii

How non native does this spectacular flower look?! It is the flower of the Fraser Island Vine or Tecomanthe hillii a gentle climber which is endemic to North Eastern Queensland. Tecomanthe hillii enjoys fun sun to part shade in a… Read more ›

20/10/2020 2 Comments

Butterfly attracting, Natives for containers, Shade tolerant, Small garden, Tropical garden

bee attracting, climber, large flower, native bees, pink flowers, shade tolerant, Tecomanthe hillii, tropical species, understory planting, warm climate, well drained soil

Trialling Online Native Nurseries

Well, we are in an extended lockdown again and it of course has resulted in more online shopping than I would normally do? For me this also includes buying plants online again so I have an extra online nursery to… Read more ›

19/10/2020 1 Comment

Bush tucker, Coastal, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Natives for containers

native plants, online e nurseries, online plants, tubestock

Landscaping with Dwarf Kangaroo Paws: Anigozanthos ‘Bush Pearl’

I couldn’t help myself when I was in Canberra last month at the Botanic Gardens, before I even considered what I was doing I was snapping away at these Anigozanthos ‘Bush Pearl’. They just looked so stunning in the foggy… Read more ›

03/08/2020 2 Comments

Bird attracting, Drought hardy, Frost tolerant, Landscape Design, Natives for containers, Naturalistic garden, Winter flowering

Anigozanthos 'Bush Peal', cut flowers, drought hardy, frost tolerant, long flowering period, mass planting, pink flowers

Portfolio: West Wollongong Revisit

The images in this blog post were taken of a local garden I designed a few years ago which has been filling out beautifully. The requested privacy is beginning to really take shape, the front garden has been reclaimed as… Read more ›

AILDM, Bird attracting, Feature shrub, Groundcover, Hedge, Landscape Design, Natives for containers, Portfolio, Screening plants, Small garden, Winter flowering

Low and Large: Grevillea ‘Cooroora Cascade’

This Grevillea ground cover always looks optimistic to me, with its large sunny gold flowers and luscious green fine leaves, it scrambles around the garden filling gaps with its happy go lucky stems. Grevillea ‘Cooroora Cascade’ is a prostrate form of… Read more ›

05/02/2020 1 Comment

Bird attracting, Coastal, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Groundcover, Natives for containers

carpeting ground cover, dense habit, drought resistant, Grevillea 'Cooroora Cascade', large flower, small bird attracting, spill over, summer flowering, weeping habit, well drained soil, yellow flowers

Are native plants really drought tolerant? Casuarina ‘Cousin It’

When someone tells you they want a drought tolerant garden, what comes to mind? or you may be told a certain plant is ‘water wise’ what does this really mean? As the current drought wears on and wears thin and watering… Read more ›

Coastal, Drought hardy, Frost tolerant, Groundcover, Natives for containers, Small garden

carpeting ground cover, Casuarina 'Cousin It', Casuarina glauca prostrate form, clay soils, frost tolerant, weeping habit, wind tolerant

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… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Coastal, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Groundcover, Natives for containers, Shade tolerant

Autumn Flowering, Banksia 'Coastal Cushions', bee attracting, clay soils, large flower, low mounding shrub, Modern Australian Native Garden, understory planting, well drained soil

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… Read more ›

01/03/2019 52 Comments

Bird attracting, Bush tucker, Feature shrub, Natives for containers, Ornamental grass

bee attracting, Bruinsma Grass Trees, large flower, Modern Australian Native Garden, street address, understory planting, well drained soil, Xanthorrhoea, Xanthorrhoea johnsonii

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… Read more ›

Butterfly attracting, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Frost tolerant, Groundcover, Natives for containers

bee attracting, carpeting ground cover, Chrysocephalum apiculatum, fast growing, silver foliage, understory planting, Xerochrysum ‘Dargan Hill Monarch’, yellow flowers

Go Drumsticks! Go! Isopogon anemonifolius ‘Little Drumsticks’

Look at this shrub, can it fit anymore flowers on its tightly bunched stems? I think not… it is totally jam packed with intricate lemon yellow Drumstick flowers that last for a couple of months. This is a compact selected… Read more ›

21/10/2018 7 Comments

Bird attracting, Coastal, Frost tolerant, Natives for containers, Small garden

bee attracting, bird-attracting, compact habit, cut flowers, Honeyeater, Isopogon anemonifolius 'Little Drumsticks', large flower, Parrot, spring flowering, srub wren, thornbill, understory planting, wind tolerant, yellow flowers

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… Read more ›

21/05/2018 6 Comments

Bird attracting, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Frost tolerant, Natives for containers, Winter flowering

Hakea 'Burrendong Beauty', low spreading habit, pink flowers, wildlife habitat, wind tolerant

One for that difficult damp spot: Bauera rubioides

This is Dog Rose one of the few native plants with a likeable common name 😉 Bauera rubioides grows happily in those moist positions in sun or shade where other native plants rot or succumb to fungal diseases. It makes a… Read more ›

01/05/2018 1 Comment

Natives for containers, Shade tolerant, Winter flowering

Bauera rubioides, boggy soils, Border planting, moist shade, moist soil, purple flower, water logged soils, weed suppressant, year round flowering