Category: Winter flowering

  • Correas and Croweas: Special Shady Friends

    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…

  • 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…

  • Another true blue Banksia ground cover: Banksia petiolaris

    Another true blue Banksia ground cover: Banksia petiolaris

    This is another great WA prostrate ground cover Banksia that grows and flowers directly on the ground like Banksia blechnifolia. They have a very similar habit, however their leaves and flowers are quite different. Banksia petiolaris has a lovely bluish hue to its leaf, in the image above you can see it growing amongst Themeda…

  • A true blue Banksia ground cover: Banksia blechnifolia

    A true blue Banksia ground cover: Banksia blechnifolia

    This is the real deal when it comes to a Banksia ground cover, it naturally grows along the ground it is not a cultivar or hybrid, it “wants” to grow like this! And I love it for that, happily creeping along with its soft red furry new stems and hilarious flowers that sit on the…

  • The silver cascading Banksia ‘Roller Coaster’

    The silver cascading Banksia ‘Roller Coaster’

    This is one of the most useful native plants around, a prostrate form of the coast Banksia, Banksia integrifolia. I like to use it for covering embankments like the one in these images at the Bulli Grevillea Park. It also layers upon itself giving it some height and density and therefore creating a useful mounding shape.…

  • Two more lovelies for the Emu Bush Challenge: Eremophila cuneifolia and rotundifolia

    Two more lovelies for the Emu Bush Challenge: Eremophila cuneifolia and rotundifolia

    I am still very, very slowly working on my Emu Bush plant palette, adding these two beauties Eremophila cuneifolia and Eremophila rotundifolia makes six, I’m halfway to my desired dozen…phew Both these species were grafted where I saw them in the Bulli Grevillea Park, so if you live in coastal NSW as I do it…

  • A job done well: Pandorea pandorana ‘Snowbells’

    A job done well: Pandorea pandorana ‘Snowbells’

    If you need a reliable, quick growing climber to screen or cover an area, that attracts birds and bees and generally looks healthy and flowers profusely… well then what do you think of Pandorea pandorana ‘Snowbells’? This is form of Pandora produces masses of snowy white trumpet-like flowers in late winter and early spring, attracting…

  • Why raised Birdbaths are better!

    Why raised Birdbaths are better!

    In this post I am going to touch on a contentious topic for some people and as I am completely not wishing to offend anybody here is a little warning to cat lovers and owners out there; basically I think cats are completely inappropriate pets in Australia because of the destruction they cause to our…

  • The multifaceted Eremophila oppositifolia

    The multifaceted Eremophila oppositifolia

    I am returning to a challenge I set myself over a year ago to increase my knowledge of the many beautiful and useful Eremophila species, I am quite behind the time line I set myself, but better late than never! This stunning Emu bush is Eremophila oppositifolia, I have been on the look out for one…

  • Eye catching Kennedia nigricans

    Eye catching Kennedia nigricans

    There is a lack of black in our national floral range, I can think of only three off the top of my head and this striking Kennedia is one of them, this is Kennedia nigricans! the others are Macropedia and a Gastrolobium, if you know of more please let me know. Kennedia nigricans is a…

  • One My Favourite Grafted Grevillea Standards: Grevillea ‘Green Glow’

    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…

  • Happy Wattle Day! Acacia ‘Little Nugget’: Foliage before flowers

    Happy Wattle Day! Acacia ‘Little Nugget’: Foliage before flowers

    It’s the first of August again and so Happy Wattle Day! along with all the historic connotations of this wonderful day I do truly rejoice in the wonderful genus that is the Acacia, and not only for its flower but the foliage of the Acacias are equally diverse and interesting. The wattle in these images…

  • I went walking in Bouddi National Park

    I went walking in Bouddi National Park

    I went walking last week along the stunning coastal track in Bouddi National Park, and was blown away by the winter flowers in the bush. The track winds along the sandstone cliffs, dipping into moist forest and creeks providing a varied glimpse of the different plant communities in the Bouddi National Park. This blog post is…

  • 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…

  • Tasmanian Winter Correas

    Tasmanian Winter Correas

    Ohhh my pretties! Correas are so, so sweet… sometimes I catch myself speaking to them using my special voice reserved for babies, dogs and small birds 😉 Correas were out everywhere in Tasmania when I was there last month, they are used on council verges, carparks and kids playgrounds and they look spectacular! The pink…

  • Another furry leaved beauty: Lasiopetalum baueri

    Another furry leaved beauty: Lasiopetalum baueri

    This is commonly known as Slender Velvet Bush, which is a most apt description of this interesting under-storey shrub. Lasiopetalum baueri has rusty coloured , furry new growth and pretty delicate pink flowers in Winter. The dried flowers are long-lasting and have potential as a cut flower and the attractive foliage lasts for ages in…

  • The delicate floral leaves of Spyridium parvifolium

    The delicate floral leaves of Spyridium parvifolium

    This year I have become somewhat obsessed with native shrubs that have a tendency towards growing in part to full shade and have rusty, furry leaves or flowers. I am always looking for plants that are happy with a little shade and have a certain texture to their foliage, Spyridium parvifolium is one of them. The…

  • The distinctive Pin Cushion Flower of Hakea laurina

    The distinctive Pin Cushion Flower of Hakea laurina

    This must be one of the most recognisable Australian native flowers, its incredible two toned spherical flower pops out at you from quite a distance. I love Hakea laurina it is such an obvious Australian bloom, it lasts well cut in a vase and looks fascinating even in bud. These images are taken of a couple…

  • Brilliant Banksia ‘Orange Glow’

    Brilliant Banksia ‘Orange Glow’

    I have written a lot about the dwarf varieties of Banksia spinulosa but virtually nothing about the dwarf forms of Banksia ericifolia, I must rectify this! They are also prolific flowerers and have a wonderful dense habit and are equally bird attracting. There are several varieties, however the one in these images is Banksia ericifolia ‘Orange…

  • The much anticipated Hakea ‘Burrendong Beauty’

    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 petiolaris ‘Burrendong Beauty’ has stunning dense masses of red flowers with pink stamens that cover…

  • One for that difficult damp spot: Bauera rubioides

    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 wonderful low hedge or border plant if pruned, other wise it likes to scramble all…

  • Beginner Friendly: Banksia paludosa ‘Little Pal’

    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…

  • Sweet: Grevillea ‘Blood Orange’

    Sweet: Grevillea ‘Blood Orange’

    I am generally not a massive fan of the large flowering Grevilleas, mainly because they encourage the wrong birds, well not the wrong birds but birds who already have a plentiful source of food. However when someone asks for a native plant that flowers year round, they are generally the first thing that springs to…