A native of the wet tropical rainforests between Townsville and Cooktown, the graceful roly poly satinash is an outstanding ornamental plant. It has glorious weeping foliage highlighted by flushes of red to pink new growth for most of the year. Like most lilly pillies...
Jacarandas and Other Monsoonal Deciduous Trees This is a wonderful time of year because there are so many trees in full flower and looking absolutely spectacular. Burke’s Backyard visited the town of Grafton in northern New South Wales at the peak of jacaranda...
Japanese Apricot Prunus mume has several confusing common names, including Japanese apricot and flowering plum. Actually it is a native of China and it is an apricot, not a plum. This delicate plant has entered into the culture of China in a way that no plant has...
The word Acmena actually comes from the Greek, and it means bountiful or buxom, referring to the flowers and fruit produced by members of the genus. Commonly known as lillypillys, they are handsome rainforest trees native to Australia and south-east Asia. Acmena...
Liquidambars Liquidambars (Liquidambar styraciflua) are native to North America, where they are commonly known as sweetgums. They are large, fast growing deciduous trees, which can reach 25 metres (82′) high and spread to around 12 metres (39′)....
The loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a small, compact evergreen tree. The foliage is dull green with a downy reverse and tends to grow in bunches on the ends of the branches. The white flowers appear in late autumn and winter. The round to oval shaped fruit is plum...
Medlars: The French Alternative The medlar is an ancient fruit tree thought to have originated in the Middle East centuries ago. It was probably introduced to much of Europe by the Romans, and was a great favourite at the dinner table in Medieval England. The plant...
Two-layered tree The Western Australian willow myrtle (Agonis flexuosa) is a hardy evergreen tree with graceful weeping foliage, fibrous bark and lance-shaped leaves. It is native to Western Australia but will grow in most areas of Australia except for the mountains...
Wattles Australia’s official floral emblem is a wattle (Acacia pycnantha), which is not surprising when you consider that in this country we have more than 850 species, ranging from ground covers and shrubs to giant trees. Wattles are great colonisers or pioneer...
Witch Hazel The genus Hamamelis contains five species from North America and the Orient. They are highly prized for their fragrant flowers, which are borne on bare stems from mid winter to early spring, and also for their excellent yellow and orange autumn colour....