Category: Frost tolerant

  • Horizontal Contrast: Homoranthus flavescens

    Horizontal Contrast: Homoranthus flavescens

    Homoranthus flavescens is a striking plant, the foliage appears succulent and conifer like and the branches grow almost horizontally and appear to layer on top of each other, plus it has a beautiful grey green leaf, making it a wonderful feature shrub in a planting.

  • Casuarina Groundcovers: Casuarina glauca prostrate

    Casuarina Groundcovers: Casuarina glauca prostrate

    I adore Casuarinas, in all shapes and forms, so I’m pretty happy with the number of ground cover Casuarinas that are around at the moment. They are tough, quick growing and have a lovely weeping soft look about them, they also can grow to form interesting shapes and textures in the garden. By the way…

  • Shade-loving Ornamental Grass: Libertia paniculata

    Shade-loving Ornamental Grass: Libertia paniculata

    This is the first time I have seen Libertia paniculata growing naturally in the bush, I was quite taken aback to see it flowering and spreading out naturally almost like it had been mass planted. It truly is super hardy, even here it was looking lush and green, growing in full shade as an understory…

  • Winter Reds

    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…

  • Daisies make me happy 2

    Daisies make me happy 2

    This is the second instalment of my ode to native daisies, there are too many types and cvs. to choose from so I have grouped these together as they are more of a ground cover with a smaller flower. They are beautiful mixed together planted as a native meadow.

  • Stunning Arid Plant: Ptilotus exaltatus

    Stunning Arid Plant: Ptilotus exaltatus

    This is Ptilotus exaltatus, Lambs tail or Pink Mulla, in full bloom at Mt Annan Botanic gardens. Here it has been mass planted for full effect, to replicate what you would see in the desert, a field of soft pink flower heads it is most impressive.

  • My favourite Acacia cognata dwarfs

    My favourite Acacia cognata dwarfs

    I used to be completely devoted to Acacia ‘Mini Cog’, one of the many dwarf shrub forms of Acacia cognata or the River Wattle. This image is of ‘Green Mist’ weeping over the edge of a large stone retaining wall, I couldn’t think of a better use for it. Acacia cognata has very narrow long lime…

  • Green Bottlebrush: Callistemon pinifolius

    Green Bottlebrush: Callistemon pinifolius

    I know many people don’t like bottlebrush and consider them totally out of fashion and scraggly, but for me they are so useful within a garden design. This is Callistemon pinifolius, and it is a special in my eyes for the amazing flower colour, which is a subtle lime green (most of the time, sometimes…

  • Eremophilas as ground cover: Eremophila ‘Kalbarri Carpet’

    Eremophilas as ground cover: Eremophila ‘Kalbarri Carpet’

    I have been experimenting more and more with Eremophilas, starting off with the easy to grow ones like Eremophila maculata in its many forms, but this one here, that is super hardy even in humidity and clay soils, is by far my favourite.

  • Hanging leaf pattern

    Hanging leaf pattern

    Myoporum floribundum would have to be the most delicate looking shrub around, the long leaves hang down almost vertically and when it is in flower the tiny white buds sit atop the stems in a unusual arrangement.

  • Casuarina ground cover

    Casuarina ground cover

    This is a Casuarina ground cover called ‘Shagpile’, it creates the most amazing spill over plant and when grown straight along the ground develops its own bumps and waves, it is the most tactile plant.