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Luscious green screen: Myoporum acuminatum
Some native plants are just so useful and practical I really don’t understand why we don’t see them being utilised everywhere…. and Myoporum acuminatum is one of them. It is a mystery to me why this very fast growing , dense small tree or large shrub is not used more often in our residential streetscape…
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Portfolio: Summer Hill Garden Design
This tiny garden in Sydney’s inner west is very shady to say the least, there were three existing native trees in the garden competing for space. However, they are all relatively small and although they took up most of the direct sun they also manage to create a relaxed ‘bushy’ feel to a high density…
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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…
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Portfolio: Garden Design West Wollongong
“In short, can’t thank you enough for the difference your design and expertise have made to our street frontage, never mind our well- being during lockdown.” September 14th 2021 The brief for this garden was inspired by another Mallee Design garden two doors up the street, which always helps 😉 The clients wanted to get…
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The small tree Emu Bush: Eremophila longifolia
This is another Emu Bush to add to my database, Eremophila longifolia is classically not so bushy in habit but more upright and weeping. I think it makes a lovely small feature tree with its long, droopy leaves and clusters of pink bell flowers. It can be pruned into other shapes if needed but the…
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Softly softly: Eucalyptus ficifolia ‘Fairy Floss’ Grafted
These soft, gentle pink flower clusters belong to another grafted Eucalyptus (Corymbia) ficifolia dwarf grafted gum, this sweet small tree is called ‘Fairy Floss’, isn’t the name just perfect? This small feature tree flowers in the warm summer months between December and March like many of the ‘Summer’ series grafted gums. It makes a wonderful…
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‘Snow in Summer’ in the streets of Sydney: Melaleuca linariifolia
This is ‘Snow in Summer’! and even though it is not Summer yet the Melaleucas have been out for the last couple of months, I found this fabulous street of Melaleuca linariifolia in the inner west earlier this week. This avenue of Melaleuca would have been planted back in the days when Councils weren’t afraid of…
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Portfolio: Gladesville Front Garden Design
This sweet front garden was built earlier this year after a quite extensive house renovation in Gladesville, it is somewhat of a “treat” for the client and the house to have a fresh start after a year of messing building work. I have been looking for the before photos on my hard drive for half…
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The weepiest of them all: Acacia cognata
Ahhh the river wattle, flopping about just like a willow 😉 Acacia cognata surely must be the weepiest and most cultivated of wattles, it is being remade and re branded everywhere! and for good reason too. Acacia cognata has a weeping habit like no other and creates a soft gentle screen or eye catching feature…
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Prune me! I am Eucalyptus pulverulenta!
This is without a doubt one of my favourite small Mallee Eucalypts, it is a very malleable mallee 😉 it responds so well to pruning that if you don’t prune it you are almost doing the plant a disservice. These photos were taken at the Arboretum in Canberra where there is a stand of Eucalyptus pulverulenta…
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Portfolio: Bexley Garden Design
This is a sweet little garden I designed about 4 years ago and it has been lovingly slowly built by the owner’s friend. It is a small rear garden behind a modest brick house in the south western suburbs of Sydney where the mc-mansions are taking over. On my visit today the first thing I…
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A must have in your habitat garden: Bursaria spinosa
All hail sweet Bursaria! this native plant is a superstar performer in a native habitat garden fulfilling so many critters requirements and needs. I have been collecting images of Bursaria spinosa for about 10 years now, always looking for a flattering angle and light, it is not a particularly showy plant if not in flower,…
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Another special Dwarf Eucalyptus for small gardens: Eucalyptus citriodora ‘Scentuous’
The lemon scented gum is one of my favourite fragrances, that pungent citronella smell released after the rain or at dusk on a summer evening makes me all sentimental about our incredible flora. Unfortunately Eucalyptus or Corymbia citriodora doesn’t mix so well with the urban landscape, firstly they get tall, very tall and secondly as…
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Happy National Eucalypt Day! Eucalyptus leucoxylon ‘Euky Dwarf’
Happy National Eucalypt Day everyone! I really hope you were able to appreciate a Eucalpytus tree today at the very least, or possibly able to plant one? “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now” ― Traditional Chinese proverbs, one of my favourite quotes. If you weren’t…
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Why the name Mallee?
I am often asked if I come from Mallee country in Victoria and sadly the answer is no, Mallee Design my business name was not chosen for geographical reasons it was chosen for aesthetic reasons. I am in love with Mallee Eucalypts. A Eucalyptus becomes classed as a Mallee if it has the following attributes…
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Native plant porn at Kuranga Nursery
I finally made it to Kuranga native nursery last month in Mt Evelyn in Victoria and I wasn’t disappointed, all the hype turned out to be true, it really is the most beautiful native plant nursery. If only I lived closer… The buildings are huge and house a restaurant, gift shop and excellent book selection,…
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The long lived Acacia pendula
We all know that wattles get a bad rap for growing quickly, becoming sparse and also attacked by borers, many people won’t plant Acacias purely based on their shorter lifespan, not me I plant them whenever possible and to be honest 8-10 years feels like a pretty long time to me right now 😉 However…
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The display gardens of Austplant Nursery
I have been away in Victoria for the past few weeks, camping on Wilsons Prom and then visiting native nurseries and gardens on the Mornington Peninsula. It was a wonderful holiday that has left me with a touch of post holiday depression but plenty of photos of native plants to share with you! One of…
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Happy little inner city garden: Leichhardt Garden Design
This small garden in the inner west of Sydney is actually quite generous, there is room for lawn, a studio and a seperate outdoor eating area. This means there is also room for lots of different native plants! Hooray! we planted for year round flower, colour, foliage contrast, texture and wildlife habitat. There is something…
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The Elegant Wilga: Geijera parviflora
This beautiful, weeping small tree is known as Wilga or Australian Willow and willowy it is, its long, narrow, pendulous leaves droop down creating a dense shade umbrella. Unfortunately this Australian native tree is used quite infrequently in gardens or urban horticulture, this is mainly due to availability issues but also as it is quite…
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Portfolio: Garden Design Bulli
Yesterday I spent a sunny winter morning pruning and shaping in this coastal garden in Bulli, I love returning to one of my designs to do a little maintenance and tweaking, and this is one of my favourites 😉 This garden is roughly 4 years old you can see how it has filled out by…
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Portfolio: Garden Design Lilyfield
This is the tiny front garden of a small cottage in Lilyfield that was planted out about about 2 years ago, during that time it has flourished! Providing well needed privacy from the street and adding a lovely sense of arrival as you step off the pavement. The feature screening tree is a grafted Dwarf…
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Spectacular: Eucalyptus erythrocorys
I almost feel like writing no text necessary next to these images of Eucalyptus erythrocorys, this truly has to be one of the most wonderful eucalyptus flowers in the Australia! those colours, can it get any better? This specimen is growing on a north facing mound in my mum’s garden in Wollongong, it was a little bit…
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The many colours of Eucalyptus ficifolia grafted
I have been taking photos of grafted flowering gums for the last 10 years and have been meaning to make a colour comparison between some of my favourites. It can be very confusing deciphering the different pinks and reds, not to mention the size variance and habits, so here goes…. This is Eucalyptus ‘Summer Red’…
Category: Small tree