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Some like it hot! Buckinghamia celsissima
All this hot weather has certainly been of benefit to the Ivory Curl trees in and around Sydney, they are blooming themselves silly! This photos in this blog post are of a specimen in my mums garden in Wollongong, the scent is intoxicating and the bees are having a major harvest. Buckinghamia celsissima or Ivory…
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Beginner Friendly: Banksia paludosa ‘Little Pal’
There are many, many dwarf forms of Banksias around now, most of them are Banksia spinulosa, a few are ericifolia. Â You can never have enough Banksias and if all these dwarf cultivars mean more Banksias are being planted in gardens then I’m all for it. Sometimes the Banksia spinulosa Dwarfs can be a little tricky…
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Sweet: Grevillea ‘Blood Orange’
I am generally not a massive fan of the large flowering Grevilleas, mainly because they encourage the wrong birds, well not the wrong birds but birds who already have a plentiful source of food. However when someone asks for a native plant that flowers year round, they are generally the first thing that springs to…
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Woolly Pomaderris should be seen more often: Pomaderris lanigera
This is a plant that whenever I see it in the bush or in a garden situation I wonder why I don’t use it more often, I love the soft fury leaves and large structured panicle heads that hold hundreds of tiny nectar rich flowers. Pomaderris lanigera puts on a wonderful show in spring and…
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Portfolio: Mount Keira Garden Design Revisit
My, my look how things have grown đ this garden has completely filled out and become the luscious, illawarra escarpment semi-rainforest garden it was always meant to be! In the image above you can see the turf paver area is now a native lawn of Dichondra repens and Basket Grass, the Gum Vine is spilled…
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Portfolio: Garden Design West Wollongong
This front garden in West Wollongong was created to function as a place for peaceful relaxation and observation, it also needed to have careful consideration in regards to levels and access to the front gate and letterbox. Originally the front garden was an awkward, uninteresting space filled with easy to grow green plants, that was…
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The ‘New’ formal Native Garden
When most people think of a formal garden the first images that spring to mind are rows of neatly clipped Buxus borders with some Robinia topiary and maybe a screening Camellia hedge. These are some of the easiest plants to use if you are copying the European template for creating a formal style garden, they…
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The Iconic Illawarra Flame Tree: Brachychiton acerifolius
Wow it has been a dry, windy, horrible winter here on the east coast of NSW, in the last week the rain has finally reached us. However it seems to me that this is exactly the sort of weather the flame trees enjoy…so many of them are in full early bloom and what a show they…
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EXTRA Large Spun Copper Dish: The Big Mumma
I would like to introduce the mother of all the spun copper dishes the EXTRA Large, this strangely enough has been our latest edition to the family đ The extra large dish is 1100mm in diameter and holds approximately 50lt of water! The extra large sits neatly on the ground on a large corten steel…
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Another top Paperbark: Melaleuca viridiflora ‘Burgundy Weeper’
This October has been  paperbark appreciation month for me, I love melaleucas as they will grow so easily in difficult heavy soils and their flowers are rich in nectar for birds and bees alike. Melaleuca viridiflora ‘Burgundy Weeper’ is no exception, it covers itself in deep reddish purple flowers attracting honey eaters and bees. Melaleuca viridiflora…
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Some plants are just plain tough: Melaleuca âUlladulla Beaconâ
I seem to be on a bit of a Melaleuca tangent of late so I am just going to go with it, Melaleucas are tough and perform beautifully under a range of conditions especially in a heavier clay soil, this is one of the many reasons I love Melaleuca hypericifolia âUlladulla Beaconâ. Melaleuca ‘Ulladulla Beacon’ is…
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The aptly named Grey Honey Myrtle: Melaleuca incana
I took so many photos of this Melaleuca incana in full bloom a few weeks ago but I didn’t manage to capture the multitude of bees feasting on its nectar đ The whole shrub was buzzing as they collected the nectar for their hives, I’m pretty sure it was going towards making some delicious honey myrtle…
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Purple Shades: Anigozanthos ‘Landscape Violet’
The subtle purple shades in Anigozanthos ‘Landscape Violet’ are quite striking when on mass, the flowers on purple stems open to reveal bright orange and yellows on the inside adding even more contrast. Anigozanthos ‘Landscape Violet’ is part of Angus Stewart’s tall and tough series of Kangaroo paws, he has bred up some great colours in…
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Quick Screen & Habitat: Hakea salicifolia
This is the Willow Leafed Hakea or Hakea salicifolia, friend to Hakea sericea, the reason I think they are friends is that they have a lot in common, plus they were growing so happily together when I took these photos đ as you can see in the image below. Hakea salicifolia is a fast growing…
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Lane Cove Sustainability Lane @ Lane Cove Rotary Fair
We will be at the Lane Cove Rotary Fair and Sustainability Lane on Sunday 8th October 2017 from 9am – 4pm, with our birdbaths and water bowls. Be entertained by free live music, rides for the kids, great food and a variety of stalls. Visit the stalls along Sustainability Lane to find out the latest about living more sustainably. Come…
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Hakea sericea: Pink or White?
Whenever I am asked what is a great small bird attracting shrub for native gardens Hakea sericea is often on the top of my recommended list. It is a medium to large shrub with a dense habit and sharp needle like leaves for the small birds to seek refuge in. Thornbills, finches and honeyeaters will…
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Illawarra Festival of Wood: Friday 6th to Saturday 7th October 2017 @ Bulli Showground
We will be at the Illawarra Festival of Wood next weekend selling our spun copper water bowls and birdbaths. The festival will be showcasing local & regional wood artisans as well as celebrating a variety of wood related crafts & forest industries. The Festival runs from Friday 6th to Saturday 7th October 10am to 5pm I…
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The Native Red Poker: Hakea bucculenta
OK, so its not really red, its hot pink but it is poker like…and very showy, this is Hakea bucculenta another wonderful WA species that has been successfully grafted to grow over here in the Eastern States. If you provide it with lots of sun, a well drained soil and not too much wind it will…
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Outstanding: Grevillea arenaria
This is an outstanding plant for attracting birds, providing nesting habitat, shelter and nectar for honeyeaters and insectivorous birds. George Adams ‘Birdscaping Australian Gardens’ Thanks George I couldn’t have said it any better! I love my copy of the above book and use it all the time, I also love Grevillea arenaria or the Nepaean…
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Marvellous Banksia ‘Mini Marg’!
This is another form of Banksia marginata, a dwarf form that grows dense and low but still covers itself with bright yellow insect and bird attracting flowers in Summer through to Autumn. Banksia ‘Mini Marg’ is quite variable in height growing to between 1 and 3 metres, however it responds very well to pruning as…
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Bee Friendly Grevillea: Grevillea sericea
Grevillea sericea is a very useful shrub in a native garden, it makes a wonderful small bird habitat plant with its prickly leaves and small spider flowers, it will grow and flower in part to heavy shade and it can be pruned into a dense low screen, plus it lasts for weeks as a cut…
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Autumn Bush Foods
This is a little collection of bush foods collected in late May this year, isn’t it an amazing haul? oh how we did feast! My children and I seem to have a high tolerance for the sour and bitter flavours that many bush foods offer. This was my first taste of raw Davidson’s plums the big…
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Sooooo many Emu Bush: Eremophila maculata
There are soooo many Eremophilas and I only know of and use a handful, I would like to rectify this situation, I am going to set myself a challenge to be able to recognise and utilise at least a dozen Eremophila species in the next 12 months. These images are of Eremophila maculata ssp. maculata, which…
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Another Silver Leaved Beauty: Eucalyptus pulverulenta
This is Eucalyptus pulverulenta another of my favourite small silver foliaged feature trees, it rates highly on my list along with Leptospermum brachyandrum ‘Silver’, Calothamnus quadrifidus ‘Grey’ and Eucalyptus ceasia ‘Silver Princess’. Eucalyptus pulverulenta is known as Silver-leaved Mountain Gum, it grows to about 5-6 metres high x 2-3 metres wide, there is also a compact form called Eucalyptus…
Category: Bird attracting