Succulent Garden Suzie Forge is an interior decorator who loves colour and texture. She has put her decorating skills to good use in her small Melbourne courtyard, which has been ‘furnished’ with a variety of colourful succulents and cacti. Suzie has used...
Peter Valder discussed two autumn flowering plants with the common name of ‘Naked Ladies’. Amaryllis are closely related to cliviasand hippeastrums. These large, pear-shaped bulbs flower in autumn. The flowering stems, which may be up to 1m (3′)...
The Japanese Sacred Bamboo (Nandina domestica) grows naturally in Japan, China and south-east Asia through to eastern India. It is said to be the most commonly used plant in Japan. Even more popular in Australian gardens is its dwarf form, Nandina domestica...
New Clivias Clivias (Clivia miniata) are being more widely planted now than ever before, because they are green and leafy year-round and they thrive in shaded spots. They can be grown in clumps, en masse, in a shady position beneath a tree, in pots or on the shaded...
Grevillea ‘Poorinda Royal Mantle’ ‘Poorinda Royal Mantle’ is a ground cover grevillea which is often grafted onto silky oak (Grevillea robusta) understock to form a weeping standard. Don came across a mature grafted specimen that looked like...
Grevillea ‘Sunset Bronze’ Don looked at a fascinating new grevillea hybrid of unknown parentage. Grevillea ‘Sunset Bronze’ was a chance seedling found in a Brisbane garden and is thought to be a cross with G. ‘Honey Gem’. It was...
Linum This member of the flax family comes from the foothills of the Himalayas. It is a particularly useful plant because it produces bright yellow flowers in the middle of winter, bringing some much-needed cheer when the rest of the garden is bare. Plant details...
Luculia In winter some of the most gorgeous perfumed plants flower, including daphne (Daphne odora), winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) and the shrub that Peter Valder looked at in our segment, the luculia (Luculia gratissima). It has rose pink flowers with...
Michaelmas Daisies Michaelmas or Easter daisies (Aster novi-belgii) were once popular in gardens, but are rarely seen now. They are herbaceous perennials with upright, much-branched stems on which masses of small daisies are produced in late summer and autumn....
Mystique Don looked at a new silvery foliaged variety of syngonium called ‘Mystique’. Plant details Common name: Mystique Botanic name: Syngonium ‘Mystique’ Description An excellent foliage plant with very compact, rounded growth that supports...