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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…
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Butterfly attracting Pimelea ‘White Jewel’
This is a low growing form of Pimelea linifolia called ‘White Jewel’, it has proven itself to me to be very hardy and versatile. One of the main reasons I like using this plant is its shape, it grows into a thick luscious looking mound about 30cmHigh x 60cmWide which has the appearance of having…
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Low Shrubbery: Acacia howittii ‘Honey Bun’
I have had my eye on this little dwarf form of Acacia for a few years now, it isn’t as common as some of the Acacia cognata dwarfs, which is one of the reasons it appeals to me. This is Acacia howittii ‘Honey Bun’ and it is an incredibly pretty and useful low shrub, suitable for…
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Silver and Grey in the Garden
This photo was taken in Melbourne Botanic Gardens where they had a display garden made up of only silver or grey foliaged plants, it was pretty interesting to see them all planted together and pick out which ones were natives. Here you can see the Eucalyptus caesia ‘Silver Princess’ underplanted with a bit of a…
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Lovely shrub of many names: Veronica perfoliata
This is to my knowledge currently Veronica perfoliata, it has gone through several differing identities and name changes, I won’t go into all of that, it just seems a shame as I think it may have detracted people from knowing about this useful plant. Firstly I love it because it has a very Eucalypt like foliage…
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WBG: Towrie Centre Gardens
Last week I went to a fantastic seed collection workshop held at Wollongong Botanic Gardens in their Towrie Centre, I had never really been to this part of the gardens before and was really envious of the great job they have done. There is a large part of the garden that was bush tucker but…
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Portfolio: Bundeena Garden Design
A steep bush block backing onto the National Park with 180 degree stunning views of the water, how inspiring! When I saw this garden I was pretty much blown away, what a dream to be able to work on this property, the house was newly built and nearly finished, the path and boulders were in…
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Inverawe Native Gardens
On my recent trip to Tasmania I was lucky enough to be able to co-ordinate myself and my family to visit this reasonably new open garden in Margate. Inverawe Native Gardens are Tasmania’s largest Landscaped Native Gardens which is quite a feat considering it has been created by just two people, devoted gardeners Margaret and…
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Cushion Bush Breasts
I am in Tasmania driving around and camping and visiting family, its my home town. Of course we have paid our obligatory visit to MONA which in my humble opinion has the, most beautiful native gardens, they are modern and playful, hence the Leucophyta brownii pruned into breast shapes heehee…..Cushion bush prunes beautifully into spheres…
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Portfolio: Greenwich Garden Design
This is a garden that I designed back in 2011 and recently revisited to re-tweek some difficult spots and increase the planting area. The rear garden is very steep and has been terraced with sandstone retaining walls, the furthest section of the garden is in heavy shade and was suffering from erosion. There is a…
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Portfolio: Consult Figtree
I have been busy this week planting out a consult design in Wollongong, it has been very satisfying cleaning up an aged garden, digging up weeds and tree roots and planting fresh natives. The bones of the garden were already there, pathways, existing large trees and a brand new renovation and deck, what was needed…
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Bush Tucker Under-Dog: Dianella caerulea
This season is the first time I have had a decent flush of fruit on my Dianella caerulea and I have been pleasantly surprised by the taste, although it doesn’t hit the same spot as the midyim berry, it is actually tasty enough for me to pick and munch on whilst in the garden.
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How to Plant a Grass Tree
The grass tree is a very symbolic plant to have in a native garden. They can be a specimen plant, a feature plant or work well with a minimalist Japanese theme, and they look amazing in containers. Planting one can be a little daunting as there are many stories out there of them turning up…
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Polarising plants: Ozothamnus diosmifolius
I love plants that have the capacity to completely divide people, where they are either loved or hated. I think Ozothamnus diosmifolius is one such plant, I have only been recently converted and I must say it is partly by the discovery of all the new colours out there, pinks, oranges and the most amazing…
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Plum Bush Tucker: Davidsonia pruiens
This is the Davidsons Plum (Davidsonia pruiens) sending out its flower spikes, getting ready to cover itself in juicy, tart plums YUM. I saw this one in a clients rainforest garden and it was very striking, each of those like pinky and yellow flowers will turn into one of the most famous bushtucker fruits. However…
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Try growing Actinotus helianthi, its not so hard…
Yes, it was only a matter of time before I finally sung the praise of Flannel Flowers, how could I resist? I have so many photos of them in my database, however mainly of them in the bush, these were in a domestic garden in southern sydney, growing happily under some large Grevilleas. These are…
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Australian Plant Society Open Gardens: Collins Garden Gymea
This garden was at the end of my garden visiting trail, the kids were getting grotty and I was beginning to think we should just head home. However persevering paid off, as soon as my son and I entered the garden we were welcomed by a small person announcing “Come in and see my granny’s…
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Australian Plants Society Open Gardens: Aitkin Garden Bonnet Bay
So over the weekend some of the members of the Australian Plant Society Sutherland Group opened their gardens to the general public, for me this is like a dream come true, theres nothing I like more than having a sticky beak in someon-elses garden especially if it is a native garden! Unfortunately I could only…
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Yellow, Cream and White Orchids: Dendrobium speciosum
It is a most fabulous season for the Dendrobium speciosums this year, there is no other word for it, they are putting on a massive show whenever I see them, and they seem to be everywhere all of a sudden, many of them in non native gardens which is always great to see.
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Favourites for Shady Planting: Leionema ‘Green Screen’
I collect a lot of favourites for shady planting, it has become somewhat of a hobby to find natives that will grow in difficult shady spots. Dry shade, moist shade, windy shade, winter shade and summer sun…..screening for shade, you get the picture. So this is one of my new discoveries, Leionema ‘Green Screen’ I…
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Winter Reds
I have been away a little bit lately, well more away from my garden than anywhere else. So I haven’t been noticing all the details, just madly rushing about planting, watering and spending more time in other peoples gardens than my own. So when I returned home on the weekend I was greeted by the…
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Black Stump
This is a native garden I visited when it was open in April 2012, it shows you what can be done when someone with a lot of drive and passion finds a blank canvas. It truly amazes me that so many beautiful garden are created by one or two people. Black Stump Natives is located on the…
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Daisies make me happy
I went to the Blue Mountains over the long weekend and not only at Mt Tomah gardens, but also on the property I was staying, the paper daisies were popping up their sunny heads.
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Buttery Blueberry Bush Tucker: Austromyrtus dulcis
Buttery Blueberries is what I think the flavour of the Midyim Berry is, by far the most delicious of the bush tucker I have tried, and also one of the easiest to grow! I have half a dozen plants in my garden and although they are small they are surprisingly productive.
Tag: understory planting