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Shady Reds: Breynia ‘Ironstone’
This is one of those special native plants that has deep red to burgundy foliage when it receives lots of sun, like Agonis ‘Burgundy’. It is also one of those special native plants that seems to have no height restriction, or rather non that is published, therefore when I found one that is about 10…
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Extremely fast growing screen: Homalanthus populifolius
You have to love a species that can pop up by itself, grow a couple of metres in a year and will do so in full shade. Well I do anyway, although it may appear uninvited in your garden (it is easy to pull out) I have had the experience of it growing in just…
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Portfolio: Connells Point Consults
I had the pleasure today of revisiting some regular clients in Connells Point for some follow up advice. I first began helping with this garden in 2013 and then planted and weeded some areas that were more difficult to get to. You see, this is an amazing garden, it has three distinct areas and is…
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Verge Gardens
I am a big fan of a front garden that makes a statement in the street-scape or somehow breaks up the monotony of the suburban front garden ‘norm’. I often kick myself for not being able to stop or being without my camera when I spot a front garden that goes out of its way…
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Bright, Thick and Floriferous: Banksia marginata ‘Bright’
Check out the flowers on this baby, it was absolutely covered, I have never seen anything like it before and was suitably impressed. This is Banksia marginata ‘Bright’. A compact of the Silver Banksia, it grows as a dense shrub to 2 metres high and 2 metres wide – this one looks like it has…
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Portfolio: Garden Design Lillyfield
Thanks so much for our garden Kath, we love it! I love this garden too! I love its quirky, modern feel where details are appreciated, the client pushed me to think out of the box more than I normally do. This is a small garden by suburban standards but large by inner city ones. It…
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One of the Best Street Trees: Buckinghamia celsissima
This is Buckinghamia celsissima or the Ivory Curl tree, it is another small to medium tree that is in flower over the summer months, chances are you have seen it around, it is VERY hard to miss. I saw this one on a street in Mosman, I think it was planted by a resident as there…
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Grevillea ‘Lady O’ the new Robyn Gordon?
This will be a short post as it is based purely on one of my un-founded theories and could potentially turn into a rant. I have a Grevillea ‘Robyn Gordon’ in my garden, it is a relic from the original gardener whom we bought the house from. Upon seeing it my initial reaction was to…
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Portfolio: Leichhardt Garden Design
This garden was finished yesterday (Hoooray!) except for three plants I am still waiting for to complete the front, then it will be something else front and back. This small terrace was renovated a year ago and after a much protracted waiting period for clean up we were able to start work on the garden…
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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,…
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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…
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Super Showy Waratah: Alloxylon flammeum
This is the QLD Tree Waratah, I have mixed feelings about this plant, there is something a little too showy about its blooms and whenever I see it growing in NSW it is always strangely devoid of bird life…why is that? However, now I have seen it growing in its home state I can appreciate…
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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…
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Shade Tolerant Grevillea: Grevillea oleoides
There aren’t that many Grevilleas that grow well in shade, let alone also flower in positions with limited sun. Grevillea oleoides is one of them, along with Grevillea sericea, sherissii and rhyolitica then you have a small group of faithfully. I love the shape of oleo ides the best though, it is un-usual how the…
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Shady Winter Purple: Hovea acutifolia
Hovea acutifolia always takes my breath away when I see it in full bloom, it is quite something. For most of the year it is an almost nondescript medium sized shrub that is useful for filling shady spots in the garden. Then BAM it covers itself in these happy little purple flowers that are almost…
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Truly Wind Tolerant Natives
It has been pretty windy at my place in the last month or so, actually it has been extremely windy, I have been away a fair bit and keep coming back to a very wind stressed garden. I live on the coast, my garden isn’t front line coastal but lately it has been feeling that…
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Bush Food Spheres: Citriobatus pauciflorus
I was quite taken when I saw these well clipped Orange Thorn a few weeks back in the edible section at Mount Anan Botanic Gardens, this section of the garden is kept quite manicured, bringing out the ornamental potential of all of the local Bush Food plants. And lets face it, I am a sucker…
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Portfolio: Crows Nest Garden Design
This garden in Crows Nest was designed at the beginning of last year and has been slowly and steadily taking shape. It is being lovingly built by the owner on weekends and through his careful attention and patience it will be a great success. However, unfinished as it is I couldn’t resist posting a few…
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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…
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Ode to Banksia spinulosa
Banksia’s may possibly be my favourite Genus of Native plants and this particular species could well be top of that list. I was at a clients garden this afternoon and we were lovingly looking at his Banksia spinulosa and stroking the new growth and commenting on what a wonderful plant it is. There is something…
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In Support of Agonis ‘Burgundy’
So there is an out break of a plant disease that started in Australia a couple of years ago in nurseries called ‘Myrtle Rust‘ it affects all plants in the Myrtaceae family and it is incredibly dramatic. It is still about and is moving through our bushland at rapid rate. These rusts are serious pathogens…
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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…
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Silver Tea Tree: Leptospermum brachyandrum ‘Silver’
This has been my favourite Tea tree for a few years now, it is Leptospermum brachyandrum ‘Silver’ and for the first time I saw some more mature specimens when I visited Cranbourne Botanic Gardens in January. I was overjoyed as I have two in my garden that are only head height so far and three…
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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.
Category: Screening plants