In focus

Native Plant Project Wonders

For garden lovers looking for something more unusual, hard to get or interesting to plant, these picks from the Native Plant Project e-nursery will inspire you to start something new this season…

“Our goal with Native Plant Project’s e-nursery is to offer a really diverse range of native varieties – especially those not typically seen elsewhere and ones that will provide some interest to people’s gardens large or small,” says Tamara, who oversees the ever expanding Native Plant Project nursery.

With Tamara’s keen eye for the more unusual as well as varieties gardeners will love, the e-nursery’s inventory is ever expanding with now over 100 different Australian native varieties available to order. Grown under her caring supervision at a private nursery in Bells Beach on Victoria’s Surf Coast, these recent additions are amongst her favourites for gardeners (like her) who enjoy discovering something different to plant…

A wattle with a difference…

acacia cognata lime magik 2

Acacia cognata ‘Lime Magik’ – this cheerfully bright large shrub to small tree has a pendulous habit with striking foliage in strong shades of glowing, lime-green. It makes for a stunning screen, hedge planting or a feature specimen and is particularly stunning amongst other deeper green foliage plants. An abundance of very soft yellow flowers put on a show in late Winter and Spring. Ensure an open, sunny to lightly shaded spot.   Available at the Native Plant Project E-Nursery

Dark and dramatic…

Banksia spinulosa ‘Black Magic’ – if you’re looking for a banksia with a difference, this small shrub is an ideal variety for bringing some native drama and impact to a garden either by mass planting, in small groups or dotted in rockeries and smaller gardens or added to containers for a statement on decks, courtyards or balconies. Golden flowers contrasting with black for a striking effect appear from Winter to Spring and is appreciated by nectar loving birds. Tolerates light frost and a light drought and best planted in full sun to part shade in a well-drained soil.  Add to a Native Plant Box at our E-Nursery here.

banksia spinulosa ‘black magic’ 2

Add a small bottle brush to your garden…

callistemon viminalis ‘pink alma 1 2

Callistemon viminalis ‘Pink Alma’  – mix up the classic red shades of Callistemon with the unusual, pretty mid-pink hues of ‘Pink Alma’. It’s a compact yet large shrub, forming attractive branches flowering profusely in spring and again (but less so) in autumn. Adaptable to sub-tropical to cool climates and most soil types, birds also live this adaptable variety.  Order from our e-nursery.

Curious ‘Cousin It’…

casuarina cousin it 1

Casuarina glauca ‘Cousin It’ – this unusual plant is beautiful not so much for its flowers but for its magnificent cascading foliage.  Dwarf Sheoak will cope with a variety of soil types and works well spilling over rockeries or the side of pots or draped over hillocks.  It also works as an effective weed suppressant. Like most natives, it’s low maintenance and drought and frost tolerant. If it does experience heavy frost, top foliage may brown off but new growth will follow. Order from our e-nursery. 

A highlight in your garden…

1 hymenosporum flavum ‘gold nugget

Hymenosporum flavum – ‘Gold nugget’ – this evergreen dwarf version of the popular frangipani tree flowers in Summer with cream blooms that turn bright yellow. 

This special variety makes an ideal highlight shrub in subtropical gardens, but can also be grown in pots both outdoor and indoors. It enjoys a sunny to partly shaded position, protected from wind and frost. This perfumed beauty will be fast growing in rich, well-watered soils.

Order if from our e-nursery

Pretty and practical…

backhousia citriodora lemon myrtle 4

Backhousia citriodora ‘Lemon Myrtle’ – we love this variety – for both its use as a bush food as well as its ornamental qualities. A small to medium tree with glossy green aromatic leaves and fluffy white flowerheads from Summer through to Autumn, it also offers culinary uses for flavouring all sorts of dishes. It can be kept as a shrub with regulary pruning. Be sure to plant in a sunny spot with well drained soil and feed regularly during the warmer months of the year. Typically a rainforest specimen, it can take light frosts, but the foliage will be damaged.  Add it to a Native Plant Box at our E-Nursery. 

NPP. 

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Everlasting Daisy
Endemic to Western Australia, this annual everlasting daisy is a go-to-choice for creating pretty native wildflower meadow effects in your garden. With flowers ranging from pure white to deep pink with contrasting bright yellow or deep black centres, each stem is topped with a flower appearing from August to November that opens in full sunshine, closing at night or in wet conditions. Can attract a range of bees and other pollinating insects to your garden. Be sure to grow in sandy open soil in sun to part shade, feed with native fertilizer and water in dry weather and cut back old flowers to encourage reshooting. Everlastings can also be dried by hanging upside down after cutting – pick in bud, they will open as they dry and retain their colour. H-0.2-0.7m W-0.2-0.4m
Rhodanthe chlorocephala ssp. Rosea
Everlasting Daisy
Endemic to Western Australia, this annual everlasting daisy is a go-to-choice for creating pretty native wildflower meadow effects in your garden. With flowers ranging from pure white to deep pink with contrasting bright yellow or deep black centres, each stem is topped with a flower appearing from August to November that opens in full sunshine, closing at night or in wet conditions. Can attract a range of bees and other pollinating insects to your garden. Be sure to grow in sandy open soil in sun to part shade, feed with native fertilizer and water in dry weather and cut back old flowers to encourage reshooting. Everlastings can also be dried by hanging upside down after cutting – pick in bud, they will open as they dry and retain their colour.
Rhodanthe chlorocephala ssp. Rosea