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The benefits of salt bush: Rhagodia spinescens
There are several species of salt bush that I like to put in gardens, this one is one of my favourites Rhagodia spinescens, it comes in varying shapes and forms, some a little more silver leaved some a little more compact. It is growing here as a pathway and garden edge and does a great job…
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The double flowers of the Swamp Banksia: Banksia robur
Whenever there is decent rain Banksia robur puts on a wonderful show of growing new leaves that emerge like the buds of red flowers, deep and furry.
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Soft Screening: Westringia ‘Snow Flurry’
This is Westringia ‘Snow Flurry’ or pretty close to Westringia longifolia, it is the most useful plant to put in a garden. It will grow almost anywhere, including in a reasonable amount of shade!
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Eremophilas as ground cover: Eremophila ‘Kalbarri Carpet’
I have been experimenting more and more with Eremophilas, starting off with the easy to grow ones like Eremophila maculata in its many forms, but this one here, that is super hardy even in humidity and clay soils, is by far my favourite.
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Grass tree spheres
Xanthorrhoea species or Grass Trees are a pretty standard ‘feature plant’ in a native garden, with their showy black trunk and perfect grass head on top they are almost a signature plant for a lot of Australian gardens.
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Layers
I saw this little entrance garden to a Leisure centre last weekend and thought that the layers of different foliage were really well done. A little bit formal with the three tiered hedges of Acacia cognata dwarf, Austromyrtus inopholia and Westringia in the front.
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shady planting
This is a great example of colourful planting in shade, it is a simple combination of Baekea virgata dwarf, Indigofera australis and Thryptomene FC Payne. The Baekea is the lime green mound on the left which naturally looks like it has had a shapely prune, the Indigofera is above it with its arching branches and…
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Spear Lily: Doryanthes palmeri
This is Doryanthes palmeri or the Spear Lily, a striking feature plant similar to the Gymea Lily except that it has a flower spike that leans over and isn’t spherical and the foliage is less clumping and more linear.
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Over Planting
I love the combination of native plants in this tiny front garden and if my front garden was tiny i too would probably try to cram as many of my favourite plants in as possible. However this garden is over-planted, there is a WA grafted flowering gum, a tall Leptospermum scoparium, Westringia fruticosa, Melaleuca ‘Revolution Gold’…
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Dense Cycads
Macrozamias as far as the eye can see, it is so amazing witnessing what a dense understory these plants make, it is impossible to walk through even to get a better photo much to my frustration.
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Grey ground cover
Acacia baileyana prostrate or the Cootamundra wattle ground cover makes a stunning display and looks great planted under Eucalypts like this one especially with the dark bark of the Ironbark.
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Super hardy Grevillea ‘Winpara Gem’
Grevillea ‘Winpara Gem’ is one of my favourite Grevilleas, I love the colour grey green leaves that are deeply deivided which look soft and feathery from a distance.
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Texture and contrast
This is a beautiful example of a planting made with foliage in mind, the leaves of these two small trees are in every way complimenting each other.
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Casuarina ground cover
This is a Casuarina ground cover called ‘Shagpile’, it creates the most amazing spill over plant and when grown straight along the ground develops its own bumps and waves, it is the most tactile plant.
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Bold broad leaf “Architectural Plant”
This is Moraea robinsoniana in flower, to match its bold foliage it has this large striking flower head which is also then followed by decorative blue fruit.
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Banksia ground cover
This is Banksia blechnifolia, possibly one of the easiest WA banksia ground covers to grow on the east coast.
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Drum sticks
Isopogon anemonifolius is a local shrub that is found in many bushland areas around Sydney and also on top of Illawarra Escarpment.
Tag: foliage contrast