Viburnums must be one of the most useful groups of garden shrubs, some offer scent, some autumn foliage,some bold evergreenness, some structural form and some fabulous berries. My selection in this blog has probably my favourite for berries and at least in my garden the birds leave them alone so that I get to enjoy …
This is the Chinese walking stick bamboo and is also sometimes seen listed as Qiongzhuea tumidinoda which is a wonderful name although I’m not sure how one should pronounce it! It only found its way into Western horticulture in 1987 but had long been used in China to make said walking sticks. Be warned it …
There can’t be a more useful group of small deciduous trees than the Crabapples. They will happily grow in almost any soil (not water logged) in a very wide range of climates coping well with summer heat and drought as well as winter frosts and cold. Many can be grown as specimen trees or as …
The Japanese wine berry is a close relative to the ubiquitous Blackberry and as the common name would suggest is Asian. It makes a suckering clump with arching stems to 2metres or so long, which when the plant is bare in winter are covered with masses of tiny bright red bristles. For me this is …
There has been some dispute over the name of this small extremely hardy tree but there can be no dispute over its ornamental value! You may see it listed as C. stipulacea or C. pubescens or even a mixture of any of the afore mentioned. It can of course be called the Mexican Hawthorn and …
If you can get beyond or even say the botanical name of the Shuttlecock Fern you are well on your way to being elected as the president of the local garden club! It is however a fabulous herbaceous fern from the Northern Hemisphere rarely grown in Australia unfortunately. Unlike evergreen ferns this plant goes through …
Red Veined Dock does’t sound too good but it is a great plant in so many ways. Yes it is a Dock weed but its stunning bright green leaves with a network of blood red veins makes it a foliage plant with great presence in any garden. The leaves can be blanched and added to …
Apparently the name of this plant at least for now. I brought it in to Australia without the nigra bit in its name. What ever you call it it is a great hardy suckering deciduous shrub to 3metres with heads of tiny white scented flowers in late spring and early summer that can be over …
The Chilean Wine Palm is endangered in the wild and rarely grown in Australia for sale. Understandably considering that the seed can take more than two years to germinate and the plants that I have at the nursery in 10″ pots are at least six years on from germination! I have done the hard work …
The Monkey puzzle tree is one of the worlds most easily spotted trees with its dark prickly foliage and very symetrical form. It was well loved as a new novelty in Victorian times and seems to have recently come back into fashion. I put it down to the discovery of the Wollemi Pine which made …