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More Stenocarpus ‘Doreen’ please
These photo’s were taken of my very own Stenocarpus angustifolius ‘Doreen’ flowering in Autumn. A rainforest shrub native to QLD has delicate ferny foliage, and curly white flowers. Related to Stenocarpus sinuatus (Firewheel tree) but not as large, making it a better option for an urban garden. A cultivar of Stenocarpur angustifolius, we cannot find…
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the always blooming Grevillea × semperflorens
This is a little known Grevillea Hybrid which has been around for a long time, I have never really understood why this Grevillea isn’t more widely used. It is highly ornamental and spends much of the year in flower. In fact semperflorens actually means always blooming. It is a hrybrid between G. thelemanniana and a yellow-flowered…
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The Bronze Highlights of Gymnostoma australianum
This almost Christmas like tree is part of the Casuarina family, at first glance can look like a conifer or pine tree, but fuller in habit. Its overall texture and colour is very similar to She Oaks when they are flowering, which is probably why this specimen caught me eye. The male and female flowers…
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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 it can become a stunning floriferous show stopper! Callistemon ‘White Anzac’ is a low mounding…
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The purple punch of Prostanthera ovalifolia
There is something about this particular shade of purple that is both eye catching and calming at the same time, it’s a lovely vibrant lilac which covers the entire shrub and lights up a shady corner. This native Mint Bush also does well in full sun as well as part shade, making it quite a…
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The Partying Pea: Chorizema cordatum
This outrageous little pea flower is growing in my daughters primary school, it thinks it is unassuming and doing its own thing, little does it realise what a show off it is! Chorizema cordatum is a wonderful South West Australian species which grows in moist gravelly well drained soil. It will grow in full sun…
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Screening with Hardenbergia violacea
This climber always surprises me every year with how aptly it lives up to its common name of Happy Wanderer. The little pea flower spikes really do have tiny smiling faces with bright green eyes. Hardenbergia violacea is a local native climber or scrambler to most of the east coast of Australia, growing naturally on…
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An oldie but a goodie: Thryptomene saxicola ‘FC Payne’
This is a classic 70’s native garden plant, a WA species which doesn’t need to be grafted to grow elsewhere in Australia and for good reason it has stood the test of time. Thryptomene saxicola ‘FC Payne’ is hardy and tough, growing and flowering through shade, frost, drought and a harsh prune. It enjoys a…
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Hot Tea-trees: Leptospermum ‘Pageant’ and ‘Outrageous’
I love tea trees but don’t often think of them as particularly showy when in flower, except for ‘Cardwell’ of course which almost flowers until on the verge of collapse 😉 Leptospermums for me are a super useful and beautiful screening plant, often with scented foliage and pretty bark. They can have leaves in colours…
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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…
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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…
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Good Old Native Daisy: Brachyscome multifida
Brachyscomes are one of those native plants that have multiple uses in a garden, they brighten up a dull corner, keep weeds at bay with their dense mounding habit and add interest and contrast to a layered mixed planting. They are easy to care for and will perform under many different conditions. They are…