Tag: Sydney Sandstone

  • vulnerable Epacris purpurascens

    vulnerable Epacris purpurascens

    For me this species signifies everything incredible about our local sandstone sclerophyll forest. The extraordinary stems of Epacris purpurascens cover themselves in tiny pinky white flowers and reach for the sun. There is something about them which is delicate but also symbolises endurance, they are a pretty wildflower in our bushland environment which can be…

  • Wispy and Light: Grevillea linearifolia

    Wispy and Light: Grevillea linearifolia

    As the name suggests this is a Grevillea with linear leaves, long skinny leaves which give it a gentle wispy habit. Combined with the pink new growth on the end of each stem, this is a showy species whether in flower or not. Grevillea linearifolia can be found naturally in the Greater Sydney Basin bushland…

  • Wildflowers of the Illawarra

    Wildflowers of the Illawarra

    This wildflower season I have stayed local due to travel restrictions, which has meant I have walked the Illawarra escarpment a lot more than I normally would. Usually in the winter wildflower season we would travel to the Blue mountains or further west or even north for outdoor adventuring and bush exploring. So it has…

  • Portfolio: Bundeena Tree House

    Portfolio: Bundeena Tree House

    This an amazing house which spills over a sandstone outcrop and is placed underneath a giant fig tree. It is sheltered by a stand of Casuarinas and hidden from the street by its rapidly growing native garden. The garden has been in for a couple of years and benefitted greatly from our recent wet Summer.…

  • Portfolio: Stanmore Landscape Design

    Portfolio: Stanmore Landscape Design

    This small garden in the inner west of Sydney is a sight to behold after the recent rains. It is hard to believe that most of these plants have only been in for 6 months, that is the beauty of gardening with native grasses, they fill out so quickly and provide structure and form in…

  • Portfolio: Woolooware Garden Design

    Portfolio: Woolooware Garden Design

    This residential garden was designed at the beginning of 2017 and built later that year, to complete the property’s brand new modern extension. The owners had acquired some beautiful, large sandstone boulders from offsite to be used in the new landscape and these and the existing Eucalyptus in the rear neighbours garden informed the the…

  • 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…

  • Acid Drops: Leptomeria acida

    Acid Drops: Leptomeria acida

    This was a new discovery for me on a recent bush walk on  the northern  Illawarra escarpment, and even just looking at the images again now makes my mouth water…..yum sour berries, not everyones cup of tea but at the time after 5 hours of walking and with limited drinking water they were a very…

  • Portfolio: North Balgowlah Consults

    Portfolio: North Balgowlah Consults

    This is a ‘work in progress’ garden that I visit from time to time, it is being built by the owners and is a labour of love. The garden backs onto a nature reserve that is in pristine condition, the rear fence has had every 2nd paling taken out to try and use the bush…

  • One of my favourite Mallees…Eucalyptus luehmanniana

    One of my favourite Mallees…Eucalyptus luehmanniana

    This is Eucalyptus leuhmanniana or Yellow Topped Ash, it is a rare species to the east coast of NSW and grows in high rainfall areas on sandstone soils, it comes in a glaucous and non-glaucus form, the glaucous form is my first choice. Above you can see the whitish-silver stems and buds of the glaucous…

  • Portfolio: Heathcote Garden Design

    Portfolio: Heathcote Garden Design

      Some gardens are more like Bush Regeneration projects, and this is one of them! This is in Heathcote and it is truly a Sydney Sandstone cliff face garden, it is made up almost entirely of rock shelves, with large scribbly gums growing out of the crevices, it is home to many native birds and…