Tag: understory planting

  • the always blooming Grevillea × semperflorens

    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…

  • Another striking Australian Ornamental Grass: Austrostipa verticillata

    Another striking Australian Ornamental Grass: Austrostipa verticillata

    I saw this species of Austrostipa growing in Canberra a few weeks back, and photographed it thinking it was Austrostipa ramosissima. However, on closer inspection I realised it was a native grass which I hadn’t come across before, how exciting! a newbie to add to my native ornamental grass planting palette. After much research I…

  • Hide it with Hibbertia scandens

    Hide it with Hibbertia scandens

    Hibbertia scandens or Guinea Flower is one of the most hardy and useful native plants I know of. It can be used as a ground cover, a low shrub, climber or it can even be pruned and shaped into lovely topiary shapes. In the images of this post I used it as a screening species…

  • Two top Thomasias: Thomasia macrocarpa and Thomasia solanacea

    Two top Thomasias: Thomasia macrocarpa and Thomasia solanacea

    Thomasia is a native shrub species which can be found largely in the south of Western Australia, like many of the species located in that area of Australia it is quite adaptable. For some reason all of this genus is endowed with showy, textured foliage like few other native species, making them a wonderful edition…

  • The glossy leafed Eupomatia laurina

    The glossy leafed Eupomatia laurina

    This ancient flowering plant has a fossil record of 120 million years, it’s primitive flowers are a legacy from Gondwana. Isn’t that mind blowing!? The perfumed, glossy screen tree with edible fruits is the perfect addition to a bush food garden. My Mum has a Eupomatia laurina in her garden that is flowering at the…

  • Phenomenal Phebaliums: the delicate blooms of Phebalium nottii and squamulosum

    Phenomenal Phebaliums: the delicate blooms of Phebalium nottii and squamulosum

    I am a long time fan of the Phebalium genus, these small to large shrubs which belong in the Rutaceae family can be found growing over much of the south and east coast of Australia. However Phebalium squamulosum is an extremely variable species which means it contains a number of forms and subspecies. So I must…

  • Pittosporum revolutum and its eye catching fruit

    Pittosporum revolutum and its eye catching fruit

    This is Pittosporum revolutum, a medium shrub with jasmine-scented blossoms which flowers profusley in Spring and then is covered in decorative fruit in Autumn. When flowering the scent permeates the whole garden and is often commented on by visitors. In the bush it grows as an understory plant and often gets quite leggy, but pruning…

  • Lucious, Shade-loving: Trochocarpa laurina

    Lucious, Shade-loving: Trochocarpa laurina

    Note: The photos on this post were originally misidentified as Decaspermum humile. Thanks to @nightjarnatives who corrected the id on instagram! Trochocarpa laurina or ‘Tree Heath’ is a large shrub to small tree which loves the shade. I have recently spotted it growing under large Eucalyptus in full shade, it also enjoys dappled light. It…

  • Native plants in the Melbourne City Streetscape

    Native plants in the Melbourne City Streetscape

    This post is all about praising the plant selection used in the ‘Grey to Green’ project in the City of Melbourne. Much of the plant palate features native species, and on a recent tour I was so impressed with the combinations and utilisation of these species that I felt the need to share some photos…

  • Try hedging with something a bit different: Lomatia myricoides

    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 fabulous tall screening shrub. I have found Lomatia myricoides to be extremely versatile in the…

  • The constantly evolving beauty of Ozothamnus diosmifolius

    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 seemed the right time to photograph them as the flowers are always changing colour and…

  • Emu Bush Challenge No. 10: Eremophila ‘Meringur Crimson’

    Emu Bush Challenge No. 10: Eremophila ‘Meringur Crimson’

    And so it continues … documenting my Eremophila discoveries, I will get to 12 one day! As we approach the end of another La Niña Summer, where heavy downpours are common and the humidity is high, it is a great chance to reflect on hardy, flexible native plants. Amongst the surprises are many species of Eremophilas…

  • Chorilaena quercifolia: Another WA toughie

    Chorilaena quercifolia: Another WA toughie

    I can’t help myself, I seem always to be drawn to the unique foliage and flowers of the native plants which grow naturally in Western Australia. Which then leads me to buy many grafted native plants or grow them in pots or try the ‘see how she goes’ test in my garden. This is Chorilaena…

  • A true carpeting ground cover: Pratia pedunculata

    A true carpeting ground cover: Pratia pedunculata

    This is a native ground cover which sometimes gets classed as a steppable (not a real word ;)), meaning it works well between steppers and pavers and can be walked on occasionally without too much fuss. I like to use it mixed with other low growing ground covers like Dichondra and native violet to get…

  • The purple punch of Prostanthera ovalifolia

    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…

  • A tough and useful Bushfood: Lomandra longifolia

    A tough and useful Bushfood: Lomandra longifolia

    Lomandra longifolia, or Common Mat Rush, is abundant along the NSW coast growing and in SA, Victoria and Tasmania in a range of environments from coastal dunes to dry Sclerophyll forest. It can also be seen growing in median strips and petrol station garden beds 😉 Little do most people know it is also a tasty…

  • Bold Blue Tongue: Melastoma affine

    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 naturally in tea tree swamps or on creek edges in our sub tropical and tropical…

  • Happy National Wattle Day!

    Happy National Wattle Day!

    We hope your gardens are in full bloom and continue to bring you and the native wildlife joy throughout the month of Spring. This years Wattle is Acacia linifolia or Flax Wattle, it flowers from Summer through to Winter. Changes are afoot this month and we have some some exciting announcements which we thought worthwhile…

  • Most Memorable Planting Combinations at the National Arboretum

    Most Memorable Planting Combinations at the National Arboretum

    Every time I visit our nations lovely Capital I seem to find myself at the National Arboretum, by default I manage to eke out at least half an hour to check in on some of my favourite plantings. I have posted previously about two of these species but when I was looking over my photos…

  • Gardening for Wellbeing

    Gardening for Wellbeing

    Stress Relief, Connection to Nature, Community involvement, Mood lifting, Physical Health, Personal Growth ….just to name a few! Words by Kath Gadd and Hannah Preston at Mallee Design In times of great social and economic upheaval gardening can offer multiple benefits. As we are living through one of those times right now, where many of…

  • How to Regenerate Bushland in your Backyard

    How to Regenerate Bushland in your Backyard

    Does your garden look a little like the one in the image above? It has so much potential but you don’t know where to start? Regenerating your own patch of bushland is exciting and rewarding. You get to see first-hand the return of native birds, bees and other wildlife that follow when native vegetation re-establishes…

  • My Favourite Poa: Poa ‘Suggan Buggan’

    My Favourite Poa: Poa ‘Suggan Buggan’

    Since discovering this super blue grey form of Poa labillardieri I have been throwing it around with gay abandon 😉 my love for native grasses and Poas in particular is something which is pretty obvious when you see some of my designs. They are soft and weeping, quick growing and hardy and make a wonderful…

  • 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: Haberfield Landscape Design

    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 front garden now addresses and interacts with the street and also provides a sense of…