And how's it going?

Our backyard at dusk.

A Callistemon in our backyard.

Figure 7: Eucalyptus Leaf Beetle larvae
Source: http://lifeunseen.com/index2_item_683.php 

Our garden, currently...

For the most part, our garden is flourishing. The Grevilleas are in flower, the Lime Tuffs have grown astronomically and are producing small yellow flowers on stalks and, possibly the most striking feature, our Eucalyptus scoparia is HUGE!!! It’s nearly as tall as a two storey house! The Little Spotty is coming along quite nicely, too. It’s not quite as tall as the E. scoparia, but that could have something to do with the infestation of Eucalyptus Leaf Beetle larvae it had a year or so ago (see Figure 7). Considering both Eucalypts came from small tubestock no more than 5 years ago, I think they’re doing very well. The lemon tree was producing an abundance of lemons, but then it got cut back – not mentioning any names here... – and grew too thick and bushy so we couldn’t reach the lemons without being severely spiked.  L Then I got home one day, not all that long ago, and the tree had been thinned out... in excess! So now we’re a little short on lemons. But they’ll come back... I hope. The lime tree is coming along nicely – it hasn’t produced any fruit yet, but it’s growing. J All our other natives are really bushing up, too. We’ve had a few casualties over the years, but most have survived and are doing really well. Even in the Google Earth image (see Figures 1 and 2 from the blog titled 'In the beginning...') you can easily see the increase in vegetation on our property. Although our garden has not been designed by a landscaper and is really just a bunch of native plants that took our fancy at the time of buying them, our garden here at home is a lovely place to relax and admire the beauty of Australian native plants!

And there you have it... My garden haven!

Fauna in the Flora

Figure 5: The Pobblebonk I found under a dead Grevillea.

Figure 6: Me holding the Pobblebonk. :)

Animals in our garden.

I love our Australian native garden. It may not be properly designed, but it suits us perfectly. We get so much Australian native wildlife in our garden! It’s wonderful! There’s always New Holland Honeyeaters and the occasional Eastern Spinebill feeding on the nectar from the Grevilleas, and the croaking of different frog species is fantastic! Waking up to different bird calls is so peaceful. J

Not all that long ago we had a Grevillea shrub that died so I pulled it out and underneath was a Pobblebonk frog! He was quite cute!! (Figures 5 and 6). Once I even saw what looked like a native rat running behind the flower boxes on our verandah, but I can’t be sure – it definitely wasn’t your typical introduced mouse or rat... it moved differently and had the most adorable face! I love all the native fauna our garden brings in! 

Not only does the native wildlife love our garden, but our pets do as well! On a hot Summer’s day, our pet rabbits love digging shallow holes in the mulch in the shade of the bigger shrubs and trees and laying there to keep cool. My guinea pig loves to hide under some of the more dense shrubs... she’s so cute when she pokes her little head out to see where we are! Our three chickens love messing up the garden by scratching mulch everywhere, looking for worms and other bugs.  You always have to follow them and re-cover the garden with the mulch. But it’s all good fun. J Both the native wildlife and our pets love our garden, as do I.

In the beginning...

Figure 1: Google Earth image from 2007

Figure 2: Google Earth image from 2010

Figure 3: Eucalyptus scoparia in our backyard.

Figure 4: Eucalyptus Little Spotty in our backyard.

The creation of a (dominantly) native garden...

When we first moved to our current house in 2004, the garden was almost non-existent. The only plants were a couple of palm trees, which the previous owners removed and took with them, and some conifers... and a grass lawn. So we got straight to it. The first thing to go was the conifers (after they’d removed the palm trees). We had some delicious marshmallows toasted on the bonfires fuelled by them!  We then had clean-fill brought in to level out the ground. We sewed grass seed and then began my favourite part... choosing the plants to fill the garden! Two of the biggest plants to go in were a Eucalyptus scoparia (where the red cross is in Figure 1), and a Eucalyptus Little Spotty (where the red circle is in picture a)). Both trees look fantastic now (Figures 3 and 4 respectively). Soon after the Eucalypts, we put in one of only three non-native plants, a Lisbon lemon tree (the other two being a Japanese Maple and a Tahitian lime tree, which we planted about 6 months ago). Next we mulched the garden and planted an assortment of native plants along the border of the backyard, including Banksias, Grevilleas, Callistemons, Anigozanthos (Kangaroo Paw), an Acacia boormanii and many others. We later built a chicken pen to house three chickens around one of the Callistemons – it takes a beating but it lives on! The front yard is mostly gravel driveway, but we did plant out a small area with... yep, you guessed it! Even more native plants! They are an assortment of some of our favourites. My favourite would have to be either the Acacia cognata EmeraldCurl or the Agonis flexuosa Dwarf. The EmeraldCurl makes such a fantastic feature plant – I love the slight curvature of the leaves and its brilliant bright green colour (see picture along right hand side of blog titled 'EmeraldCurl'). I love the Agonis flexuosa Dwarf because of the bizarre zig-zag appearance of the branches. I was so amazed the first time I saw it, I just had to grow one!

Most recently, we have created two narrow strips of garden, lining each side of the driveway. The side closest to the house was first filled with an assortment of native shrubs, but some died and others were ill-considered, so it is now home to a border of Lomandra Lime Tuff which  are growing extremely well and look spectacular, especially when they flower. The other side of the driveway, lining the fence, is a hedge of Leptospermum Copper Glow. The flowers of Leptospermum are some of my favourites of all native flowers, so I think this will look pretty spectacular when it flowers!

Acacia Mini Cog PBR

I adore Acacia Mini Cog – it has always reminded me of a small, shaggy animal, or Cousin Itt (as Mini Cog is known in the US). At home, we have one in a large pot (see picture titled ‘Acacia ‘Mini Cog’ – Home garden) which makes me smile just looking at it. One of my favourite plantings of Mini Cog is at the Atkins Conference Centre, where there are dozens of these plants spaced out in a garden bed alongside a walkway (for a photo, see the Bush Magik website (link below)), and they look just like little balls of green fluff, poking their little heads out of the ground. The word ‘cute’ comes to mind... Below is some information on Acacia ‘Mini Cog’, taken from the Bush Magik website (www.bushmagik.com).

Acacia cognata ‘Mini Cog’ is a dwarf form of the original Acacia cognata and was selected by Peter Goldup (plant breeder). It is now grown as a line of the Bush Magik range. Acacia Mini Cog comes highly recommended by the Retail and Landscape industry and is used as a substitute for a number of other dwarf forms of Acacia cognata, such as Acacia Limelight, Acacia Dazzler and Acacia Green Mist.

The light green new growth of Acacia Mini Cog matures into emerald green foliage, whose weeping effect creates a stunning waterfall of different shades of green, all year round. While it is not a profusely flowering plant, pale yellow ball flowers may appear in late Winter to early Spring.

Acacia Mini Cog grows 0.75 - 1 metre high and up to 1.8 metres wide and requires little to no maintenance. Acacia Mini Cog is highly drought tolerant and is suitable for areas of full sun to part shade with well drained soil and a very low water requirement.

The weeping effect of the foliage makes this small shrub an ideal feature or border plant and it is perfect for rockeries and pots alike.



References:

Bush Magik 2012, Acacia Mini Cog, Bush Magik, viewed 28 April 2012, <http://www.bushmagik.com/bm-acacia-cognata-mini-cog.php >

Bush Magik 2012, Acacia cognata dwarf - Mini Cog PBR, Bush Magik, viewed 28 April 2012, <http://www.bushmagik.com/australiannativeplants/Acacia-cognata-dwarf-Mini-Cog-PBR.php>

Bushland Flora 2012, Genus/species: Acacia cognata Common/product name: Mini Cog PBR, Bushland Flora, viewed 28 April 2012, <http://www.bushlandflora.com.au/individual_plant.php?p=Acacia cognata&uid=1007>

Lomandra Mist PBR

My favourite grass plant is Bush Magik’s Lomandra Mist. I love the contrast between the grey-blue-green foliage and the bright golden-yellow flowers that emerge from purple buds. It is a very visually striking plant. The very fine foliage weeps down, creating a waterfall effect that, when planted as a border, creates a magical effect. This is how Mist differs from other Lomandra confertifolia ssp. rubiginosa selections, as well as being highly drought and frost tolerant. Below is some information on Lomandra ‘Mist’, taken from the Bush Magik website (www.bushmagik.com).

Released in 2011, Mist is a low growing form of Lomandra confertifolia ssp. rubiginosa with very fine, blue-grey-green, weeping foliage and a tufted habit. In Summer, beautifully fragranced, small, golden-yellow flowers emerge from purple buds, providing a stunning visual effect against the fine foliage.

Mist originated from Lomandra Grey Cascade and has taken Ian Shimmen ten years to perfect. It is more vigorous in habit than Lomandra Grey Cascade, allowing Mist to tolerate more severe conditions than its ‘parent’ plant species.

Mist requires very low maintenance and is extremely hardy, tolerating moderate frost and dry conditions, such as periods of drought. Its small size of 0.3 - 0.5 metres high and wide make it the perfect plant for low profile plantings such as urban streetscapes, and its stunning visual effects make it an ideal feature plant or border plant. Mist also requires no pruning or maintenance, making it an even more attractive choice for areas with these requirements. As Mist requires little water once established, it is also perfect for understorey plantings. Mist can also be mass planted for erosion control.


References:

Bush Magik 2012, Lomandra Mist, Bush Magik, viewed 28 April 2012, <http://www.bushmagik.com/bm-lomandra-confertifolia-mist.php>

Bush Magik 2012, Lomandra confertifolia ssp. rubiginosa– Mist PBR, Bush Magik, viewed 28 April 2012, <http://www.bushmagik.com/australiannativeplants/Lomandra-confertifolia-rubiginosa-Mist.php>

Lomanrda Lime Tuff PBR

One of my favourite plants in the Bush Magik range is Lomandra Lime Tuff. At home, we have it planted in a narrow strip of garden along our fence (see picture to the left, titled ‘Lomandra ‘Lime Tuff’ – home garden’). It has grown so quickly and the flower spikes are just amazing to look at! While it does not have a completely ‘traditional’ Australian-native-plant appearance, it still fits in very nicely with the more indigenous flora. Below is some information on Lomandra ‘Lime Tuff’, taken from the Bush Magik website (www.bushmagik.com).

Lime Tuff is a compact form of Lomandra with fine, lush, lime green foliage that never needs pruning and stays green all year round. In Summer, lightly fragranced, small, yellow-golden flowers emerge from purplish-brown buds, providing a beautiful contrast with the evergreen foliage. It grows to a height of 0.5 – 1 metre and a width of 0.5 – 0.7 metre.

Lime Tuff is a species of Lomandra longifolia x confertifolia ssp. pallida that has been growing in the gardens at Bushland Flora for more than 10 years. It has been selected for its hardiness, high frost tolerance, low water requirements once established, large range of planting conditions – such as full sun to heavy shade – and low maintenance requirement. It is suitable to plant under established trees, and mass planted for erosion control. It also makes a fantastic feature plant and is great for borders and low level plantings.


References:

Bush Magik 2012, Lomandra Lime Tuff, Bush Magik, viewed 28 April 2012, <http://www.bushmagik.com/bm-lomandra-lime-tuff.php >

Bush Magik 2012, Lomandra species – Lime Tuff PBR, Bush Magik, viewed 28 April 2012, <http://www.bushmagik.com/australiannativeplants/Lomandra-species-Lime-Tuff-PBR.php>

Bushland Flora 2012, Genus/species: Lomandra species Common/product name: Lime Tuff PBR, Bushland Flora, viewed 28 April 2012, <http://www.bushlandflora.com.au/individual_plant.php?p=Lomandra species&uid=1568>