If you live in the cooler parts of Australia, there are many wonderful plants you can grow that flower in winter and early spring. These are very useful to have in the garden, because they provide a welcome splash of colour and a little bit of cheer at an otherwise...
Winter Flowering Natives Nothing beats Australian native plants for colour all year round, and most importantly in winter when birds too will benefit from the nectar when food is scarce. Don looked at some of the plants in the garden that have been flowering during...
Hardenbergias Hardenbergia violacea is an excellent Australian native plant that can be used either as a ground cover to scramble over a bank or an ugly area, or as a climber if you give it some support. Plant details Common name: Hardenbergia, False sarsaparilla...
Philodendron ‘Xanadu’ If you’re after a dramatic effect and a tropical look in your garden, consider Philodendron ‘Xanadu’, one of the world’s great landscaping plants. Discovered in Western Australia in 1983 as a chance seedling,...
Gymea Lily Don looked at an extremely rare, white flowering form of Gymea lily (Doryanthes excelsa). The white flowering form is rare because Gymea lily flowers produce nectar and are pollinated by nectar feeding birds, but birds prefer the colour red. Therefore a...
Helleborus Native to the mountainous regions of Europe, Greece and Asia Minor, Helleborus niger is a member of the Ranunculaceae, or buttercup family. It has pure white blossoms which bloom at Christmas time in the northern hemisphere, hence the common name Christmas...
Hippeastrums are big, bold, voluptuous and brassy and their strong colours work particularly well in our bright Australian light. Wild species grow in South America, but the varieties sold today are the result of years of intensive hybridising. Blooms are now large,...
Fact Sheet: Hydrangeas Hydrangeas are wonderful, hardy shrubs that would certainly have to be included on a list of the ten best flowering plants in the world. Some people remember hydrangeas growing in their grandmother’s garden, and think of them as old...
Kalmia Kalmia latifolia is an unusual shrub which is native to eastern North America. It is a beautiful shrub with interesting flowers that is suitable in the cooler regions of Australia. Plant details Common name: Mountain Laurel, Calico Bush Botanical name: Kalmia...
Kennedia nigricans Plants with black foliage or flowers can be very stylish in particular landscaping situations, for example used as borders in bright areas, with white concrete, or near a white house. Don looked at two plants which might make an interesting...