Category: Small tree

  • Portfolio: Bexley Garden Design

    Portfolio: Bexley Garden Design

    This is a sweet little garden I designed about 4 years ago and it has been lovingly slowly built by the owner’s friend. It is a small rear garden behind a modest brick house in the south western suburbs of Sydney where the mc-mansions are taking over. On my visit today the first thing I…

  • A must have in your habitat garden: Bursaria spinosa

    A must have in your habitat garden: Bursaria spinosa

    All hail sweet Bursaria! this native plant is a superstar performer in a native habitat garden fulfilling so many critters requirements and needs. I have been collecting images of Bursaria spinosa for about 10 years now, always looking for a flattering angle and light, it is not a particularly showy plant if not in flower,…

  • Happy National Eucalypt Day! Eucalyptus leucoxylon ‘Euky Dwarf’

    Happy National Eucalypt Day! Eucalyptus leucoxylon ‘Euky Dwarf’

    Happy National Eucalypt Day everyone! I really hope you were able to appreciate a Eucalpytus tree today at the very least, or possibly able to plant one? “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now” ― Traditional Chinese proverbs, one of my favourite quotes. If you weren’t…

  • Why the name Mallee?

    Why the name Mallee?

    I am often asked if I come from Mallee country in Victoria and sadly the answer is no, Mallee Design my business name was not chosen for geographical reasons it was chosen for aesthetic reasons. I am in love with Mallee Eucalypts. A Eucalyptus becomes classed as a Mallee if it has the following attributes…

  • Native plant porn at Kuranga Nursery

    Native plant porn at Kuranga Nursery

    I finally made it to Kuranga native nursery last month in Mt Evelyn in Victoria and I wasn’t disappointed, all the hype turned out to be true, it really is the most beautiful native plant nursery. If only I lived closer… The buildings are huge and house a restaurant, gift shop and excellent book selection,…

  • The long lived Acacia pendula

    The long lived Acacia pendula

    We all know that wattles get a bad rap for growing quickly, becoming sparse and also attacked by borers, many people won’t plant Acacias purely based on their shorter lifespan, not me I plant them whenever possible and to be honest 8-10 years feels like a pretty long time to me right now 😉 However…

  • The display gardens of Austplant Nursery

    The display gardens of Austplant Nursery

    I have been away in Victoria for the past few weeks, camping on Wilsons Prom and then visiting native nurseries and gardens on the Mornington Peninsula. It was a wonderful holiday that has left me with a touch of post holiday depression but plenty of photos of native plants to share with you! One of…

  • Happy little inner city garden: Leichhardt Garden Design

    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…

  • The Elegant Wilga: Geijera parviflora

    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…

  • Portfolio: Garden Design Bulli

    Portfolio: Garden Design Bulli

    Yesterday I spent a sunny winter morning pruning and shaping in this coastal garden in Bulli, I love returning to one of my designs to do a little maintenance and tweaking, and this is one of my favourites 😉 This garden is roughly 4 years old you can see how it has filled out by…

  • Portfolio: Garden Design Lilyfield

    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…

  • Spectacular: Eucalyptus erythrocorys

    Spectacular: Eucalyptus erythrocorys

    I almost feel like writing no text necessary next to these images of Eucalyptus erythrocorys, this truly has to be one of the most wonderful eucalyptus flowers in the Australia! those colours, can it get any better? This specimen is growing on a north facing mound in my mum’s garden in Wollongong, it was a little bit…

  • The many colours of Eucalyptus ficifolia grafted

    The many colours of Eucalyptus ficifolia grafted

    I have been taking photos of grafted flowering gums for the last 10 years and have been meaning to make a colour comparison between some of my favourites. It can be very confusing deciphering the different pinks and reds, not to mention the size variance and habits, so here goes…. This is Eucalyptus ‘Summer Red’…

  • Some like it hot! Buckinghamia celsissima

    Some like it hot! Buckinghamia celsissima

    All this hot weather has certainly been of benefit to the Ivory Curl trees in and around Sydney, they are blooming themselves silly! This photos in this blog post are of a specimen in my mums garden in Wollongong, the scent is intoxicating and the bees are having a major harvest. Buckinghamia celsissima or Ivory…

  • My obsession with Breynia ‘Ironstone’

    My obsession with Breynia ‘Ironstone’

    Technically this is Breynia cernua ‘Ironstone Range’ and I absolutely adore it, these images are taken in a friends garden, he is a very talented “master” gardener and treats his Breynia ‘Ironstone’ mean….and it loves him for it 😉 I have written about Breynia ‘Ironstone’ before and have been patiently waiting to photograph a fine specimen like…

  • Portfolio: Kogarah Garden Design

    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…

  • Another Silver Leaved Beauty: Eucalyptus pulverulenta

    Another Silver Leaved Beauty: Eucalyptus pulverulenta

    This is Eucalyptus pulverulenta another of my favourite small silver foliaged feature trees, it rates highly on my list along with Leptospermum brachyandrum ‘Silver’, Calothamnus quadrifidus ‘Grey’ and Eucalyptus ceasia ‘Silver Princess’. Eucalyptus pulverulenta is known as Silver-leaved Mountain Gum, it grows to about 5-6 metres high x 2-3 metres wide, there is also a compact form called Eucalyptus…

  • 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…

  • Portfolio: Garden Design Lewisham

    Portfolio: Garden Design Lewisham

    This garden in Lewisham was built in early spring of 2016 so is roughly 6 months old at the time these images were taken. It is a special garden that was part of a new renovation and was considered very early on by the clients and architect. In the image below you can see what…

  • My Favourite Native Hibiscus

    My Favourite Native Hibiscus

    Many people are not aware of the range of native hibiscus species that grow here in Australia, they are often not seen in cultivation or mistaken for exotics. I have a few favourites that I like to incorporate in my gardens and at the moment these are my top three, however everything is subject to…

  • 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…

  • Perfect Small Feature Tree: Angophora hispida

    Perfect Small Feature Tree: Angophora hispida

    I have been waiting for two Angophora hispida that are local to my daily route to start budding up and flowering so I can photograph them.  This morning I couldn’t wait any longer and took a few snaps. The reason I say budding up as well as flowering is because these trees have stunning red…

  • The Beautiful Gardens of Zanthorrea Nursery

    The Beautiful Gardens of Zanthorrea Nursery

    I set aside a morning to visit the Zanthorrea Nursery when I was in Western Australia last August. This was a much anticipated adventure as I have heard much about the nursery and often have recommended it to Western Australians looking for native plants. I was not disappointed, it is a wonderful place, full of…