Category: Winter interest
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Mahonia oiwakensis
Well here we go again, another much loved plant has had a name change. So if you are looking for this stunning shrub in a book more than a few months old then look up Mahonia lomariifolia and it will have the same description as it is the same plant. What ever the name is
Stephen Ryan
Salix cuprea ‘Pendula’
It is a shame that the Australian weed assessment people decided to ban almost the whole willow Genus instead of doing the assessments one at a time as many benign species are now banned. Was it expediency or worse “the more you ban the more important your job is seen to be!” One willow that has
Stephen Ryan
Staphylea holocarpa
This deciduous Chinese shrub or small tree is rarely met with in horticulture here and although it isn’t likely to set the world on fire it is a pretty and interesting addition to any garden. It produces drooping spikes of whitish flowers in spring followed by entertaining papery seed pods that give the Genus the
Stephen Ryan
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snowflake’
If you are looking for a shrub that pays its way all year round it is hard to beat this form of North American Oak Leafed Hydrangea. It does everything that the species can do and then some. The large handsome leaves look good all year and as the autumn cold sets in they turn
Stephen Ryan
Arbutus glandulosa
This is one of the best small evergreen trees for the quality of its bark. Not only that but it is hardy in our climate, has attractive foliage, lovely pale pink flowers beloved by Honeyeaters, charming reddish fruit also bird attracting and will only grow to about 7metres or so. What more could you want.
Stephen Ryan
Fessia grielhuberi
Until just a few moments ago when I was about to blog this plant I would have done so under the name Scilla greilhuberi but such is the flux in plant nomenclature that it doesn’t pay to assume anything! What ever this rarely grown Iranian Blue Bells botanical name is it is a great garden plant.
Stephen Ryan
Pachyphragma macrophyllum
This woodland perennial has become one of my favourites. In late winter and spring its newly erupting leaves surround the clusters of pristine white flowers and as it builds into sizable drifts via self-seeding it is very telling in the deciduous tree shade afforded it in my garden. The rounded wrinkly foliage gets larger during
Stephen Ryan
Oemleria cerasiformis
This attractive shrub has never found itself in the limelight here in Australia and in my humble opinion unfairly so. It is hardy, coping with sun and cold well and not fussy about soil types. Its habit is upright to about 3metres and it will make a suckering clump which makes it ideal as a
Stephen Ryan
Agathis moorei
The Kauri trees of the Southern Hemisphere aren’t usually the first things that come to mind when looking for interesting plants for the garden after all they are usually very tall growing trees. Although they are conifers their large leaves would suggest that they are something else. So why bother? Well many of the species
Stephen Ryan
Euonymus europeus
The European Spindle berry, so called because its hard wood was used to make spindles for spinning wheels and it apparently was also used for rolling pins as well, how useful! It is however for its hardiness and ornamental values that I plant and recommend this small tree. It is a deciduous plant to 4metres
Stephen Ryan