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Health Benefits of Gardening
Stress Relief, Connection to Nature, Connection to Community, Physical Health, Personal Growth ….just to name a few! I am no stranger to “stress weeding” or “stress pruning” for that matter. There is something indescribably satisfying about pulling unwanted weeds out of a garden bed or giving a straggly plant a much needed “hack back” 🙂…
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Portfolio: Summer Hill Garden Design
This tiny garden in Sydney’s inner west is very shady to say the least, there were three existing native trees in the garden competing for space. However, they are all relatively small and although they took up most of the direct sun they also manage to create a relaxed ‘bushy’ feel to a high density…
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Portfolio: Stanmore Landscape Design
This small garden in the inner west of Sydney is a sight to behold after the recent rains. It is hard to believe that most of these plants have only been in for 6 months, that is the beauty of gardening with native grasses, they fill out so quickly and provide structure and form in…
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Softly softly: Eucalyptus ficifolia ‘Fairy Floss’ Grafted
These soft, gentle pink flower clusters belong to another grafted Eucalyptus (Corymbia) ficifolia dwarf grafted gum, this sweet small tree is called ‘Fairy Floss’, isn’t the name just perfect? This small feature tree flowers in the warm summer months between December and March like many of the ‘Summer’ series grafted gums. It makes a wonderful…
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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 your garden becomes something you can only do under strict regulations many people are looking…
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I need to remember this fern: Blechnum cartilagineum
I am not very good with my native ground cover ferns, I have a handful which I use over and over again which I know to be hardy and pretty. I was walking in the Blue Mountains this weekend and exploring the rainforest and waterfall walks, these plants are not my favourites, I usually am…
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Potfolio: Ashfield Revisit
I was very excited to be asked back to one of my favourite clients, to do a design for the rear of her property, it also meant I was able to have a proper nosey at the establishment of the front garden. This garden is a very good example of the 3 to 4 year timeframe…
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Portfolio: Northmead Garden Design
I was lucky enough to be asked back for some follow up advice for this charming native habitat garden in the outer suburbs of Sydney today. The renovations are finally over and the garden hasn’t faired too badly with all the coming and going. This property is located backing onto bushland which in times of…
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Pink and Grey: Guichenotia ledifolia
As a colour combination pink and grey is one of my favourites, especially on a plant, grey leaves and a soft pink flower win me over every time! Luckily for me it is a fairly common combination in native Australian plants, look at this Guichenotia ledifolia I photographed in Canberra Botanic Gardens last weekend. Guichenotia’s are…
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Correas and Croweas: Special Shady Friends
I spent last weekend in Mount Victoria, staying in a log cabin surrounded by a wonderful bush garden. There were plenty of Banskias, Eucalypts and Acacias but what really filled the garden out were the swathed of Correas and Croweas planted densely under the gum trees. Both Crowea and Correa species like to grow in…
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Another Callistmon for the resurgence: Callistemon subulatus ‘Brogo Overflow’
I have written before about my love of bottlebrush and how I wish for a resurgence in their use in garden design and the general landscape. There are many new interesting forms and cultivars that are a far shot from the ratty, sparse unloved street trees we all know. They come in soft pinks, deep…
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Happy little inner city garden: Leichhardt Garden Design
This small garden in the inner west of Sydney is actually quite generous, there is room for lawn, a studio and a seperate outdoor eating area. This means there is also room for lots of different native plants! Hooray! we planted for year round flower, colour, foliage contrast, texture and wildlife habitat. There is something…
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The most weeping of the weeping: Myoporum floribundum
I am obsessed with plants with a weeping habit or drooping foliage, some people find them sad and depressing looking but they are my favourite. There are many native plants with soft long leaves or gently falling branches, they can create dense screens, focal points or backdrops. Weeping foliage in a garden gives a relaxed informal…
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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 form of Isopogon anemonifolius, a dwarf shrub that will only reach half a metre tall and…
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One My Favourite Grafted Grevillea Standards: Grevillea ‘Green Glow’
This post is about one of my favourite grafted grevillea standards, I actually have 2 or 3 favourites and unfortunately they are all a little hard to come by however all worth trying to find a place for in your native garden. Well actually in any garden as I think the semi formal appearance of…
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The Elegant Wilga: Geijera parviflora
This beautiful, weeping small tree is known as Wilga or Australian Willow and willowy it is, its long, narrow, pendulous leaves droop down creating a dense shade umbrella. Unfortunately this Australian native tree is used quite infrequently in gardens or urban horticulture, this is mainly due to availability issues but also as it is quite…
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Portfolio: Garden Design Lilyfield
This is the tiny front garden of a small cottage in Lilyfield that was planted out about about 2 years ago, during that time it has flourished! Providing well needed privacy from the street and adding a lovely sense of arrival as you step off the pavement. The feature screening tree is a grafted Dwarf…
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Beginner Friendly: Banksia paludosa ‘Little Pal’
There are many, many dwarf forms of Banksias around now, most of them are Banksia spinulosa, a few are ericifolia. You can never have enough Banksias and if all these dwarf cultivars mean more Banksias are being planted in gardens then I’m all for it. Sometimes the Banksia spinulosa Dwarfs can be a little tricky…
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Portfolio: Garden Design West Wollongong
This front garden in West Wollongong was created to function as a place for peaceful relaxation and observation, it also needed to have careful consideration in regards to levels and access to the front gate and letterbox. Originally the front garden was an awkward, uninteresting space filled with easy to grow green plants, that was…
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Portfolio: Kogarah Garden Design
This garden was planted just over 12 months ago and has thrived in a very tough dry year, establishing quickly under harsh conditions. The soil in Kogarah is sand, dry and depleted, two metres under the sand is the saline water table, challenging to say the least. Add to the mix coastal winds and loads…
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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…
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It’s Happy Wanderer Time: Hardenbergia violacea
When in flower this hardy vine or ground cover easily lives up to its common name of ‘Happy Wanderer’, the dainty pea flowers occur in purple, white and pink with a few extra colour combinations in between. Hardenbergia is a very small genus but is now widespread in cultivation due to a number of very successful cultivars. In…
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The Potential of Eucalyptus ‘Blue Veil’
This is Eucalyptus camaldulensis ‘Blue Veil’, which is one of my favourite native plants, I have been quite obsessed with it for many years now. I see so much potential in this species to be used in different ways in a garden design. Eucalyptus camaldulensis ‘Blue Veil’ is a grafted variety of Eucalyptus camaldulensis or the…
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Bulli Grevillea Park: Banksia ‘Bush Candles’
This is an amazing mass planting of Banksia spinulosa ‘Bush Candles’ at Bulli Grevillea Park which I re-visited last weekend. I remember when these were planted and how truly underwhelming this garden bed appeared, so it was so lovely to see them all beginning to fill out and flowering their heads off. Like most…
Category: Small garden