-
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…
-
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…
-
Happy Yellows: Senna artemisioides
I love the colour combination of grey and yellow especially when its in the garden and is on a lone flowering plant! Senna artemisioides grows on well-drained sandy soils in a variety of habitats, through out many states located inland Australia. Senna artemisioides grows to between 1 and 3 metres tall and can get to…
-
The Native Red Poker: Hakea bucculenta
OK, so its not really red, its hot pink but it is poker like…and very showy, this is Hakea bucculenta another wonderful WA species that has been successfully grafted to grow over here in the Eastern States. If you provide it with lots of sun, a well drained soil and not too much wind it will…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Outstanding: Grevillea arenaria
This is an outstanding plant for attracting birds, providing nesting habitat, shelter and nectar for honeyeaters and insectivorous birds. George Adams ‘Birdscaping Australian Gardens’ Thanks George I couldn’t have said it any better! I love my copy of the above book and use it all the time, I also love Grevillea arenaria or the Nepaean…
-
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…
-
Bee Friendly Grevillea: Grevillea sericea
Grevillea sericea is a very useful shrub in a native garden, it makes a wonderful small bird habitat plant with its prickly leaves and small spider flowers, it will grow and flower in part to heavy shade and it can be pruned into a dense low screen, plus it lasts for weeks as a cut…
-
Sooooo many Emu Bush: Eremophila maculata
There are soooo many Eremophilas and I only know of and use a handful, I would like to rectify this situation, I am going to set myself a challenge to be able to recognise and utilise at least a dozen Eremophila species in the next 12 months. These images are of Eremophila maculata ssp. maculata, which…
-
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
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…
-
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…
-
The Granite and Woodlands Discovery Trail
On my recent WA wildflower expedition I had a longing to get as far east as possible, to the desert areas to see the wildflowers. This is no mean feat when you have two young children for whom sitting in a car for more than 4 hours is a waste of a day. However, armed…
-
Wonderful West Australian Mallees
I love Mallees, obviously hence my business name, and Western Australia has an amazing array of these characteristic Eucalypts. As part of my recent trip to WA I stayed in an area called Dryandra, a short drive south east of Perth. We stayed in the Dryandra Forest and within this area there was the iconic…
-
Hi Vallee Farm: Kwongan Country
We stayed at an amazing property 3 and a half-hours north of Perth in mid-August, where the local flora did not disappoint. I must admit I found it quite difficult to plan my Western Australia wild flower trip and after many hours of internet research discovered Hi Vallee Farm. And no, I have not pushed…
-
Kings Park Favourites
This post is about one of my visits to Kings Park last month, I went twice and still felt as though I hadn’t seen everything, however the images I took were mainly of plants that I think can be grown on the east coast of NSW. This blog post is about some of my favourites. The…
-
Happy National Wattle Day: Acacia glaucoptera
How wonderful is the smell of Wattles flowering right now? I have an Acacia fimbriata Dwarf growing next to my driveway and at the moment wherever I go I seem to be leaving a trail of pale yellow wattle flowers behind me, as they like to hitch a ride on my clothes as I get…
-
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…
-
The colour combinations of Grevillea ‘Amber Blaze’
I am not a massive fan of the larger flower spike type of Grevilleas species, I often associate them with attracting noisy miners and rainbow lorikeets, not desirable native birds for me. However, this Winter I have had two Grevillea ‘Amber Blaze’ specimens take my breath away. The photos in this blog post are…
-
‘Red Iron Bark’ – Eucalyptus sideroxylon Rosea
I live in Iron Bark territory, on a clay soil, near the coast, the local Iron Barks stand up to the strong coastal winds and often boggy soil. One introduced Iron bark that does very well in my area is Eucalyptus sideroxylon Rosea, this is a stunning medium sized tree, that I giggly recommend for…
-
Showy Winter Flowers: Grevillea ‘Winter Delight’
I have been noticing in the past few weeks the large numbers of Grevilleas that seem to be flowering profusely all through Autumn and welcoming Winter with a colourful wave. This particular Grevillea ‘Winter Delight’ began budding up in late Summer and I have been anticipating the show for weeks. These photos have been…
-
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…
-
The plant every native garden should have: Lambertia formosa
Every garden should have a specimen of this reliable plant That’s what Wriggly and Fagg have to say about the much loved Mountain Devil and I couldn’t agree more with the authors of the legendary ‘Australian Native Plants’ bible. Lambertia formosa is a common under storey shrub growing 1 to 2 metres high and about…
Category: Winter flowering