large flower – Mallee Design

Categories

Archive

The adaptable possibilities of: Banksia plagiocarpa

This Banksia not only has beautiful flowers but also eye-catching bright red new growth that is covered in tiny hairs giving it a velvety texture, similar to the new growth on Banksia robur. Banksia plagiocarpa has great ornamental potential in… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Small garden, Tropical garden, Winter flowering

Australian Native Garden, banksia plagiocarpa, bee attracting, bird-attracting, drought tolerant, large flower, long flowering period, medium shrub, Native Garden Design, temporary inundation, well drained soil, wet weather

Who can resist ? Melaleuca ‘Candy Sparkles’

Some plants are blessed with fantastic common or cultivar names, this is one such species which I would almost buy for the label alone. ‘Candy Sparkles’ promised to be vibrant, attractive and showy without me even seeing it in the… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Coastal, Hedge, Screening plants, Small tree

Autumn Flowering, bee attracting, clay soils, coastal garden, decorative bark, foliage contrast, heavy soils, interesting bark, large flower, Melaleuca 'Candy Sparkles', pink flowers, small tree, water logged soils, wind tolerant

Try hedging with something a bit different: Lomatia myricoides

I have already written about this large native shrub Lomatia myricoides or River or Long-leaf Lomatia, please see the link below. This post is not so much about this Lomatia as a specimen plant but about its potential as a… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Butterfly attracting, Drought hardy, Hedge, Screening plants, Shade tolerant

Autumn Flowering, bee attracting, clay soils, fine foliage, heavy soils, large flower, Lomatia myricoides, summer flowering, understory planting, water logged soils, weeping habit, well drained soil, white flower

The constantly evolving beauty of Ozothamnus diosmifolius

This small to medium native shrub is a hard one to capture both in an image and in words, I have been documenting these three specimens in my garden since they were planted a couple of years ago. It never… Read more ›

13/03/2023 1 Comment

Bird attracting, Feature shrub, Hedge, Naturalistic garden, Shade tolerant

bee attracting, clay soils, cut flower, cut flowers, habitat garden, large flower, long flowering period, native bees, Ozothamnus 'Radiance', Ozothamnus diosmifolius, pink flowers, understory planting, well drained soil, white flower, wildlife habitat

Try not to dismiss Callistemon ‘White Anzac’

I have often included this hardy little shrub as one of my least favourite native plants, it can be spotted unkempt in the gardens of petrol stations or nature strips, languishing leggy and forgotten. But if given a little attention… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Coastal, Drought hardy, Hedge

clay soils, large flower, low mounding shrub, prolific flowers, wet weather, wind tolerant

Bold Blue Tongue: Melastoma affine

The colour of this flower is contentious, is it purple or deep pink? it also looks different in the flesh as opposed to on screen and it comes in a white form. This is Melastoma affine, a medium shrub found… Read more ›

Bush tucker, Shade tolerant, Small garden

bee attracting, Bush Foods, clay soils, edible fruit, large flower, moist shade, moist soil, purple flower, spring flowering, subtropical species, tropical species, understory planting, well drained soil

Luscious, Dense and Green: Xanthostemon chrysanthus

This showy small to medium tropical tree was flowering its head off on my recent trip to Brisbane and northern NSW. It was such a welcome sight after the damp, soggy Summer we have had, finally a species revelling in… Read more ›

27/04/2022 1 Comment

Bird attracting, Butterfly attracting, Feature shrub, Hedge, Medium Tree, Screening plants, Shade tolerant, Small tree

Autumn Flowering, bee attracting, feature tree, large flower, long flowering period, privacy screen, Quick growing, rainforest species, shade tree, Street Trees, summer flowering, tropical species, Xanthostemon chrysanthus, yellow flowers

The almost native pig face: xDisphyllum ‘Sunburn’

Meet a new addition to the Australian native succulent family, well maybe more a half sibling or cousin, as technically this lovely green pig face is half south African ? shock horror! However there are so few Australian succulents I… Read more ›

25/10/2021 2 Comments

Coastal, Drought hardy, Groundcover, Natives for containers

bee attracting, carpeting ground cover, drought hardy, drought resistant, drought tolerant, fast growing, frost tolerant, full sun, large flower, well drained soil, wind tolerant, xDisphyllum Sunburn, year round flowering, yellow flowers

Happy National Wattle Day: Acacia binervia ‘Sterling Silver’

Spring! if ever there is a seasonal change to bring hope and excitement for the future surely Spring is it? I have been watching the Wattles all Winter long, they have been lovely this year and very appreciated during extended… Read more ›

Coastal, Drought hardy, Feature shrub

Acacia binervia Stirling Silver, bee attracting, foliage contrast, fragrant, large flower, low spreading shrub, National Wattle Day, perfume, Quick growing, silver foliage, well drained soil, wind tolerant, yellow flowers

Portfolio: Haberfield Landscape Design

The brief for this front garden in Sydney’s inner west was to create a modern native garden which is sympathetic to the era of the house and show cases an Art Deco water feature passed down through the family. The… Read more ›

AILDM, Bird attracting, Feature shrub, Formal gardens, Landscape Design, Ornamental grass, Portfolio, Shade tolerant, Small tree, Uncategorized, Water plants, Winter flowering

Acacia 'Limelight' grafted Standard, Banksia 'Coastal Cushions', Border planting, clay soils, Decomposed Crushed Granite, foliage contrast, Grevillea rhyolitica 'Cherry Cluster', Hakea francisiana Grafted, large flower, Lomandra 'Mist', low mounding shrub, Melaleuca 'Mini Quini', Porphyry stone, understory planting, water feature, weeping habit, Xanthorrhoea johnsonii

A Portrait of a Flower: Hakea francisiana

Look at this thing! is it not one of the most spectacular flowers you have ever seen? I have been impatiently waiting for this moment in my Hakea francisiana Grafted life cycle since I planted it 6 months ago. It… Read more ›

23/07/2021 6 Comments

Bird attracting, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Frost tolerant, Screening plants, Small tree, Uncategorized, Winter flowering

bee attracting, bird-attracting, cut flowers, frost tolerant, grey green leaves, Hakea francisiana Grafted, large flower, long flowering period, pink flowers, winter flowering

But what’s the difference? Banksia spinulosa Dwarfs

There are so many different cultivars now of Banksia spinulosa that it is difficult to know which to choose… although they all look similar independently when you see them next to each other whilst they are flowering they really do… Read more ›

28/04/2021 2 Comments

Bird attracting, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Frost tolerant, Groundcover, Natives for containers, Small garden, Winter flowering

Autumn Flowering, Banksia 'Birthday Candles', Banksia 'Cherry Candles', Banksia 'Coastal Cushions', Banksia 'Honey Pots', Banksia 'Stumpy Gold', banksia spinulosa cultivar, Banksia spinulosa dwarf, Banksia spinulosa Dwarfs, bee attracting, dense habit, drought tolerant, large flower, low mounding shrub, low spreading habit, slow growing

Try something exotic! Tecomanthe hillii

How non native does this spectacular flower look?! It is the flower of the Fraser Island Vine or Tecomanthe hillii a gentle climber which is endemic to North Eastern Queensland. Tecomanthe hillii enjoys fun sun to part shade in a… Read more ›

20/10/2020 2 Comments

Butterfly attracting, Natives for containers, Shade tolerant, Small garden, Tropical garden

bee attracting, climber, large flower, native bees, pink flowers, shade tolerant, Tecomanthe hillii, tropical species, understory planting, warm climate, well drained soil

Low and Large: Grevillea ‘Cooroora Cascade’

This Grevillea ground cover always looks optimistic to me, with its large sunny gold flowers and luscious green fine leaves, it scrambles around the garden filling gaps with its happy go lucky stems. Grevillea ‘Cooroora Cascade’ is a prostrate form of… Read more ›

05/02/2020 1 Comment

Bird attracting, Coastal, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Groundcover, Natives for containers

carpeting ground cover, dense habit, drought resistant, Grevillea 'Cooroora Cascade', large flower, small bird attracting, spill over, summer flowering, weeping habit, well drained soil, yellow flowers

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… Read more ›

29/01/2020 23 Comments

Bird attracting, Screening plants, Small garden, Small tree

bee attracting, Corymbia ficifolia 'Fairy Floss', Eucalyptus ficifolia 'Fairy Floss', Eucalyptus ficifolia grafted, feature tree, large flower, pink flowers, summer flowering, WA, well drained soil

The Greatest Geebung: Persoonia pinifolia

Geebungs are a wonderful Genus of native plant, they below in the Proteaceae family like Banksias and possess a variety of flowers, leaves and habits. In fact I have already written about Persoonia pinifolia a couple of years ago, see here. … Read more ›

08/12/2019 10 Comments

Bird attracting, Bush tucker, Feature shrub, Frost tolerant, Screening plants, Shade tolerant

bird-attracting, Cranbourne Botanic Gardens, fast growing, frost tolerant, Honeyeater, large flower, Persoonia pinifolia, small bird attracting, summer flowering, weeping habit, well drained soil, wildlife habitat, yellow flowers

The Grevillea screen that could: Grevillea ‘Dorothy Gordon’

This is a Grevillea that can…screen out neighbours, fill an empty hole quickly, attract nectar feeding birds, give privacy, flowers profusely and is quite unusual looking. I would say its closest cousin is Grevillea ‘Strawberry Blonde’ another favourite of mine… Read more ›

08/10/2019 3 Comments

Bird attracting, Feature shrub, Hedge, Screening plants, Winter flowering

dense habit, fast growing, foliage contrast, full sun, Grevillea 'Dorothy Gordon', large flower, part shade, pink flowers, well drained soil

It’s that time of year again! Banksia ‘Coastal Cushions’

It’s my favourite time of year again Autumn! Hooray! goodbye humidity, I will not miss you and neither will my favourite native plants. Autumn is also wonderful because the Banksias are budding up or out already and everywhere I go… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Coastal, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Groundcover, Natives for containers, Shade tolerant

Autumn Flowering, Banksia 'Coastal Cushions', bee attracting, clay soils, large flower, low mounding shrub, Modern Australian Native Garden, understory planting, well drained soil

Expert Grass Tree advice!

My favourite supplier for Grass Trees is located on the Northern NSW coast they are called Bruinsma Grass Trees and stock lovely healthy specimens, however that is not all they do… They also follow up and offer excellent advice through… Read more ›

01/03/2019 52 Comments

Bird attracting, Bush tucker, Feature shrub, Natives for containers, Ornamental grass

bee attracting, Bruinsma Grass Trees, large flower, Modern Australian Native Garden, street address, understory planting, well drained soil, Xanthorrhoea, Xanthorrhoea johnsonii

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… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Bush tucker, Butterfly attracting, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Frost tolerant, Hedge, Small garden

Autumn Flowering, bee attracting, Callistemon subulatus ‘Brogo Overflow’, clay soils, fast growing, large flower, Red flowers, spring flowering, understory planting, weeping habit, wildlife habitat, wind tolerant

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… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Coastal, Drought hardy, Frost tolerant, Groundcover, Shade tolerant, Winter flowering

Banksia petiolaris, grey green leaves, large flower, understory planting, WA, wildlife habitat, wind tolerant

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… Read more ›

21/10/2018 7 Comments

Bird attracting, Coastal, Frost tolerant, Natives for containers, Small garden

bee attracting, bird-attracting, compact habit, cut flowers, Honeyeater, Isopogon anemonifolius 'Little Drumsticks', large flower, Parrot, spring flowering, srub wren, thornbill, understory planting, wind tolerant, yellow flowers

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… Read more ›

Bird attracting, Coastal, Drought hardy, Groundcover, Winter flowering

Banksia integrifolia 'Roller Coaster', carpeting ground cover, cut flowers, fast growing, foliage contrast, large flower, silver foliage, weeping habit, wildlife habitat, wind tolerant, yellow flowers

The arching canes of Old Socks: Grevillea leucopteris

There are a group of Grevilleas which throw their flowers out on tall leggy canes, up into the air far away from their foliage. Grevillea petrophiloides is probably one of the better known and more available ones in NSW, but… Read more ›

31/08/2018 2 Comments

Bird attracting, Coastal, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Frost tolerant, Screening plants

foliage contrast, fragrant, Grevillea leucopteris, grey green leaves, large flower, Modern Australian Native Garden, WA, white flower, wildlife habitat