Surprisingly, this beautiful Australian rainforest native is not as popular as it deserves to be. It is a member of the family Proteaceae, which includes grevilleas, banksias and waratahs. The tree is fairly slow growing and may not flower for seven or eight years,...
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....
Yuccas Members of the Agave family, yuccas are native to southern USA and Mexico. There are around thirty species, and most have stout woody trunks, rosettes of spiky leaves and big clusters of creamy white flowers. In the wild these fascinating plants have a mutually...
It’s hard to have just one favourite camellia. Not only are there hundreds of excellent cultivars already available, but exciting new ones are being released all the time. There are also many collectors’ camellias around, and although some of these obscure...
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...