Category: Screening plants

  • Quick Screen & Habitat: Hakea salicifolia

    Quick Screen & Habitat: Hakea salicifolia

    This is the Willow Leafed Hakea or Hakea salicifolia, friend to Hakea sericea, the reason I think they are friends is that they have a lot in common, plus they were growing so happily together when I took these photos 😉 as you can see in the image below. Hakea salicifolia is a fast growing…

  • Hakea sericea: Pink or White?

    Hakea sericea: Pink or White?

    Whenever I am asked what is a great small bird attracting shrub for native gardens Hakea sericea is often on the top of my recommended list. It is a medium to large shrub with a dense habit and sharp needle like leaves for the small birds to seek refuge in. Thornbills, finches and honeyeaters will…

  • Tugarah Gunya’marri: Cold and Windy

    Tugarah Gunya’marri: Cold and Windy

    During the Tugarah Gunya’marri the days are getting noticeably longer, but the weather is still cold. Then with the blooming of the Marrai’uo (Acacia floribunda) comes the cold, southwesterly winds; the children become cranky and the adults become bad-tempered. It is not a good time of year for anyone. Frances Bodkin ‘D’harawal: Climate and Natural…

  • Happy Wattle Day! Acacia fimbriata Dwarf ‘Crimson Blush’

    Happy Wattle Day! Acacia fimbriata Dwarf ‘Crimson Blush’

    Yes! its the 1st of September again and the Acacias are out welcoming in Spring, a time of wonderful scents and happy yellows! In the image above you can see the soft yellow flowers and bright red new growth of Acacia fimbriata Dwarf ‘Crimson Blush’, its easy to see how it got its name. This…

  • Shade loving Leionema ‘Green Screen’

    Shade loving Leionema ‘Green Screen’

    This is still one of my favourite native shrubs for growing in dry shade or part sun,  Leionema ‘Green Screen’ is a hybrid of L. elatius and L. lamprophyllum, and is an extremely useful plant! In the image above you can see its mature habit, thick and bushy and dense with flowers in mid to…

  • The Brightest of the Acacias? Acacia podalyriifolia

    The Brightest of the Acacias? Acacia podalyriifolia

    It has always seemed to me that Acacia podalyriifolia is one of the first wattles to flower every winter, and so profusely! or at least it is one of the most immediately noticeable 🙂 The native bees think so too as you can see in the photo above. The combination of the silver foliage with…

  • Grevillea ‘Billy Bonkers’ and his Big Sister

    Grevillea ‘Billy Bonkers’ and his Big Sister

    I used to  have a very small appreciation for Grevilleas, especially the larger flowering species but I have mellowed and now am finding more and more of them appealing. I tend to go for the rarer flower shapes  often  from WA or South Australia but  often now I am drawn towards a Grevillea with a…

  • It’s a great Summer for the Grafted Eucalyptus!

    It’s a great Summer for the Grafted Eucalyptus!

    The Western Australian Eucalytpus ficifolia have been wonderful this summer, actually they started off dramatically in Spring and are still going strong despite the hot, hot, hot weather. This blog post features two of the grafted species in an attempt to capture their vibrant contrasting colours. The bright red is the flowers from Eucalyptus ‘Dwarf…

  • Native Cherry Tree : Exocarpos cupressiformis

    Native Cherry Tree : Exocarpos cupressiformis

    I am spending sometime in Tasmania this month and trying to get out in the bush as much as possible and there are a local few plants that keep popping up wherever I go. The native cherry is one of them, I have never tasted the fruit of Exocarpos cupressiformis before this week and it has…

  • Portfolio: Bondi Consult

    Portfolio: Bondi Consult

    This garden was a simple consult and then a couple of weekends of intensive clearing out by the client, then I came in for the fun part 🙂 Two large Frangipani trees shade the west facing front garden in Summer but let the well needed sun through in winter, it is practically illegal to remove…

  • Year round flowering: Grevillea ‘Elegance’

    Year round flowering: Grevillea ‘Elegance’

    This is Grevillea longistyla x johnsonii or better known as Grevillea ‘Elegance’, it is a star performer when it comes to speed of growth, constant flowers and attractive fine leaved foliage, plus the birds adore it! Grevillea ‘Elegance’ gets BIG that is my only warning, if the label says it grows to 2 metres it is…

  • Portfolio: Glebe Re-visit

    Portfolio: Glebe Re-visit

    I have done it again, another sneaky drive by whilst in the area, and another very pleasant discovery. This garden is looking wonderful and full of flower and interest as we enter the dull colder months.   This tiny front garden in Glebe received a little extra attention about 6 months ago where I added…

  • Eucalyptus ‘Summer Beauty’ and ‘Summer Red’

    Eucalyptus ‘Summer Beauty’ and ‘Summer Red’

    I know some people think that the Grafted Eucalyptus ficifolia Flowering gums are getting a little bit common, and in some respects I tend to agree. However, it is with very good reason, as whenever I see one in flower it still takes my breath away, they are just so amazingly beautiful! And not only…

  • Portfolio: Bulli Garden Design

    Portfolio: Bulli Garden Design

    This garden is located in the costal northern Wollongong suburb of Wollongong, on a low ridge and midway down a slope. When I saw the garden for the first time it was directly after the new house had been built, lawn, new soil and mulch had been installed already. The garden was planted out on…

  • Wombat Berry: Pretty Bush Food

    Wombat Berry: Pretty Bush Food

    This is one of those wonderful plants where the fruits are more decorative and showy than the flower, Eustrephus latifolius produces deep golden berries that are edible but not particularly palatable, perhaps the fleshy roots are more tasty, but I haven’t tried then also though I’m told you can eat them. Eustrephus latifolius flowers in spring with…

  • Rarely seen in cultivation: Banksia oblongifolia

    Rarely seen in cultivation: Banksia oblongifolia

    I had to pull over again and stop and take photos as soon as this Banksia caught my eye in a quiet inner city suburb. It was planted in the prize position next to the front gate near the letter box on a corner block and was stealing the show of a lovely native front…

  • Bundeena Garden Design: Update

    Bundeena Garden Design: Update

    Last week I made a quick visit to one of my favourite gardens in Bundeena and snapped  some photos before the sun went down. The first is of Anigozanthos ‘Landscape Lilac’. A few months ago I plant 12 each of Angus Stewarts new Kangaroo Paws ‘Landcape Lime’ and ‘Landscape Lilac’ in this garden and they…

  • Portfolio: Coledale Consults

    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 a beautiful mosaic letterbox made by his sister, it is large and bright and a…

  • Illawarra native garden full of fresh ideas!

    Illawarra native garden full of fresh ideas!

    I visited the native garden of a passionate native plant lover last week to grab some inspiring photos and ideas; and the garden did not disapoint. This is the 4 th native garden for the owner and she began building it about 8 years ago after moving from a large property in the Snowy Mountains.…

  • Happy Wattle Day: Acacia cognata

    Happy Wattle Day: Acacia cognata

    September the 1st is National Wattle day, did you know that? I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t until fairly recently…whoops! Wattle Day has quite a long history going back to when the Wattle became our National emblem, you can read more about it here http://www.wattleday.asn.au/about-wattle-day-1 What I find particularly interesting about this National Day of celebration is…

  • My Favourite Frost Tolerant Grevillea: Grevillea victoriae

    My Favourite Frost Tolerant Grevillea: Grevillea victoriae

    This winter has been a bit of a learning curve for me in the frost tolerant Grevillea department; for some reason I have been asked again and again which Grevilleas will withstand medium to heavy frosts.  Many grevilleas with smaller needle like leaves such as Grevillea lanigera, alpina and rosmarinifolia are good at coping in heavy…

  • Dodonaea Hedges

    Dodonaea Hedges

    Dodonaea is a very useful shrub, it grows in heavy to dappled shade and also in full sun, it is a fast growing species that prunes and clips well and it is thick and therefore provides excellent privacy. Dodonaea viscosa purpurea is seen above with its striking red foliage, the leaves turn this colour when…

  • Fast Growing, Weeping Screen: Acacia cognata ‘Burgundy Cascade’

    Fast Growing, Weeping Screen: Acacia cognata ‘Burgundy Cascade’

    It seems that there are endless forms of Acacia cognata all battling for attention, all beautiful with their soft weeping habit and mostly with a hardy nature. I personally will never tire of them and if the market continues to be flooded with choice I am quite happy. There are more than a dozen Acacia…

  • Trialling Casuarina ‘Green Wave’

    Trialling Casuarina ‘Green Wave’

    I love Casuarinas, all of them, from ground covers through to trees, their rusty red hue when they are in flower or lush green shaggy habit. They are tough, versatile and very varied in their shapes and forms.  I discovered Casuarina glauca ‘Green Wave’ a couple of years ago, there wasn’t much information out about…