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Peter Valder thinks that this dramatic, South African native should be planted more often. Plant details Common name: Honey bush, touch-me-not Botanic name: Melianthus major Description: Evergreen perennial shrub with a height and spread of around 3m (10′). It...
In recent years, ornamental pear trees have been very popular in Australian gardens. A favourite in cool climate areas is the beautiful Manchurian pear (Pyrus ussuriensis), with its heart-shaped leaves, scented white flowers and spectacular autumn colour. However, the...
This popular garden favourite has long been valued for its sweetly scented flowers. However, osmanthus also makes a good flowering hedge, as seen in our segment. It flowers on old wood, which means it can be pruned and shaped without cutting off the flower buds and...
Heliotrope or cherry pie (Heliotrope arborescens) is an evergreen shrub from tropical Peru. It grows to around 1m (3′) tall and 1.5m (5′) wide. The foliage is dark green and crinkled, with golden (‘Aurea’) or purple leaved (‘Lord...
Recently introduced into cultivation, Agonis flexuosa ‘After Dark’, is a variety of the West Australian willow myrtle. It has burgundy to purple coloured foliage all year round, with tiny white flowers in spring. It grows around 6m (18′) high and...
The Hibiscus Although widely known as Hawaiian hibiscus, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis was probably native to Southern China and south-east Asia, then spread to the Pacific Islands long before Europeans reached that part of the world. Today it is very popular as an...
Don looked at holly, a native of Europe, north Africa and western Asia. In the Northern Hemisphere holly is associated with Christmas time, because it produces bright red berries around December. In the Southern Hemisphere the berries are produced between May and...
In recent years an exciting new range of cordylines has become available. They are hybrids of the tropical Cordyline fruticosa (also known and sold as C. terminalis). They come in a wide range of fabulous leaf colours, including bronze, purple and even pink. In Hawaii...
Many plants are associated with Easter and the passion of Jesus Christ, although nobody really knows what sort of wood the cross was made of, or what plant was used to make the crown of thorns. In our segment Peter Valder looked at two South American plants that were...
Many people make the mistake of trying to grow the Australian native bauera, or dog rose, in ordinary garden positions. Don explained that in the wild these plants thrive in boggy situations, so the trick is to plant them at the edge of a pond, with a thin layer of...