Nielsen’s Native Nursery
There are hundreds of sensational Australian native plants available to home gardeners these days, so it’s not surprising that they’re undergoing a whole new wave of popularity. Natives first rose to prominence through the 1960s and 70s, but quite a few of the varieties sold then were difficult to grow and often tended to drop dead. Now there are improved varieties of many of the plants that were once so hard to grow. Grafting delicate plants onto strong, robust rootstocks has also made a tremendous difference. A good example is Grevillea dryandri, which used to be a drop dead grevillea, but when it’s grafted onto a silky oak (Grevillea robusta) it is a very hardy plant. This is a wonderful grevillea for the warmer areas of Australia.
Grevillea dryandri
It’s not only better plant varieties and growing techniques that make life easier for native plant enthusiasts. They can also take advantage of the expertise available at specialist native plant nurseries across Australia. Not all native plants grow well in every part of the country, and the big advantage of visiting a specialist nursery is that you can find out which ones are suitable for your area. A customer wanting to grow a plant such as Grevillea banksii ‘Ruby Red’ can easily check with nursery staff, and find out that it’s best in the warmer zones, and that even as far south as Coff’s Harbour it’s reaching it’s limit.
One of the newest specialist native nurseries is Nielsen’s Native Nursery at Loganholme in Queensland, which began trading only three years ago but has already won a number of awards. The nursery stocks a wide range of native plants suitable for growing in suburban gardens.
Grevillea banskii ‘Ruby Red’
Nielsen’s display garden features bracteanthas, chrysocephalums and grafted grevilleas, including Grevillea dryandri, Grevillea intricata and Grevillea wickhamii. Grevilleas are the most popular Australian native plants, because they are versatile, long flowering and they attract native birds. Don was surprised to see so many birds in the garden, considering that the nursery was open and there were plenty of customers around at the time of the visit. He also thought that quite a few of the native plants on display would look very good in a cottage style garden, for example rock daisies (Brachyscome multifida), lechenaultias (Lechenaultia formosa ‘Scarlett O’Hara’) and even little plants like dampieras with their beautiful dark blue flowers. Dampiera diversifolia comes from Western Australia, and grows well in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne. It is also worth a try in areas from Sydney to Brisbane in a well-drained sheltered position.
Dampiera diversifolia
Native flower arrangement
By using some of the better varieties of native plants it’s possible to put together a cut flower arrangement featuring glorious colour combinations. A beautiful native flower display at Nielsen’s was made up of Grevillea’Sandra Gordon’ with its bright yellow flower spikes, the cylindrical grey/green flowers of Banksia aemula, and the lovely orange/ yellow flowers of Banksia spinulosa.
Contact information
Our segment was filmed at Nielsen’s Native Nursery, 49-51 Beenleigh Redland Bay Road, Loganholme, QLD. Phone: (07) 3806 1414 Fax: (07) 3806 1706.
You can obtain advise on suitable plants for your climate and conditions at a specialist native plant nursery in your state, for example:
Sydney Wildflower Nursery West, Marsden Park, NSW. Phone: (02) 9628 4448
Annangrove Grevilleas Native Nursery, Kenthurst, NSW. Phone: (02) 9654 1380
Zanthorrea Nursery, Maida Vale, WA. Phone: (08) 9454 6260
Fairhill Native Plants, Yandina, QLD. Phone: (07) 5446 7088
Kuranga Native Nursery, Ringwood, VIC. Phone: (03) 9879 4076
Nellie Nursery, Mannum, SA. Phone: (08) 8569 1762