Monday, December 4, 2023

Plant Palette

Pacific Sky™ Lomandra (Image: Ozbreed)
Plant Palette

Pacific Sky™ Lomandra confertifolia ‘LM700’ PBR

Combining the hardiness of Lomandra, the uniqueness of sky-inky-blue stems and beautiful blue-velvet weeping foliage, this plant is not just a visual spectacle but also a resilient and useful addition to your garden, landscape, or nursery.

Pacific Sky™ Lomandra’s striking appearance creates an immediate sense of intrigue, transforming landscapes into an artistic canvas.… Continue reading

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Evergreen Baby™ Lomandra (Image: Ozbreed)
Plant Palette

Low-growing marvels: compact plants with high impact

Could the two best low-growing Lomandra of all time be Evergreen Baby™ and Pacific Sky™? These low-growing Lomandra are a perfect blend of aesthetic appeal and resilience. Evergreen Baby™ captivates with its year-round green allure, while Pacific Sky™ fascinates with its unique weeping blue foliage.… Continue reading

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Aussie Flat Bush™ Rhagodia ‘SAB01’ PBR
Plant Palette

Aussie Flat Bush™ Rhagodia ‘SAB01’ PBR: Resilience meets beauty

Immerse yourself in the beauty of Australia’s native flora with the Aussie Flat Bush™ Rhagodia spinescens, a low-growing, compact shrub with fine blue foliage.

Found throughout mainland Australia, Aussie Flat Bush™ Rhagodia has adapted to both inland and coastal situations, demonstrating its versatility.… Continue reading

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Blue Horizon™ Eremophila glabra ‘EREM1’ PBR
Plant Palette

Unleashing the magic of nature with Blue Horizon™ Eremophila glabra ‘EREM1’ PBR

Presenting the marvel of Blue Horizon™ Eremophila glabra prostrate, a game-changer in the world of gardening and landscaping. This plant isn’t just a pretty face; it’s a hardy, adaptable ground cover that transforms ordinary landscapes into extraordinary vistas.

Blue Horizon™ Eremophila, with its denser ground cover form and fewer gaps, offers a lush carpet of blue-grey foliage that adds a touch of serene beauty to gardens.… Continue reading

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A tough plant that will pop out of wall crevices (Image: Clive Larkman)
Plant Palette

Capparis – more than just capers

By Clive Larkman

On a recent trip to the central Mediterranean I observed some tough growing conditions. Most of the plants were non-native but one that stood out was Capparis spinosa – the Caper Bush. It is a tough plant that is able to establish itself in poor conditions with minimal water and virtually no soil.Continue reading

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Zen Grass
Plant Palette

Transforming Australian Lawns – Ozbreed Zen Grass® Zoysia spp. ‘ZOY01’ PBR

Imagine a lawn that ripples and undulates, creating a serene, Zen-like atmosphere in your garden. Picture a low-maintenance, high-density turf that greatly reduces weeds and fills in quickly. Envision a versatile grass that can be manicured for a traditional lawn look, or left natural and mown every two to three years to create a wavy, flowing green carpet.… Continue reading

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Rustic™ Poa
Plant Palette

Unleash the beauty of rustic brown foliage – Rustic™ Poa spp.‘POL11’ PBR

Visualise a garden where emerald green is gracefully punctuated by hues of summer rustic brown, where the sun’s rays illuminate the landscape creating a warm, vibrant glow that transforms your outdoor space into a stunning visual masterpiece.

Rustic™ Poa is a breed of ornamental grass that seasonally possesses an enchanting brown hue, a distinctive visual attribute obtained through a natural process called senescence which generally occurs in the dryer months.… Continue reading

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Nerium oleander (Image: Hans, Pixabay)
Plant Palette

Naturalised plants

By Clive Larkman

My wife Di and I and a good friend were invited to a birthday celebration for two friends. One was turning 50 and the other 40! The catch was the party was happening on the island of Vulcano of the coast of Sicily.… Continue reading

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Pineapple (Image: Security, Pixabay)
Plant Palette

Pineapple – A dinosaur of a fruit

By Clive Larkman

Our modern world is made up of fruits from all parts of the world that have undergone a range of breeding from nil to full-blown commercialised and targeted selection. Western nations have the widest range due to their wealth and the resultant ability to transport fruit around the world and/or develop the complex growing conditions many of these fruits need.… Continue reading

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Ginkgo ‘Lemonlime Spire’ is an attractive compact Ginkgo cultivar (Image: Plants Management Australia)
Plant Palette

Ginkgo biloba – a botanic anomaly

By Clive Larkman

The world of botany is full of commonplace plants as well as some standout weirdos. Australia has its own Wollemi Pine which was ‘discovered’ in 1994 in a nature reserve just north of Sydney. It is not really known how old these wild plants are nor how old the species is.… Continue reading

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Beautiful bird-attracting flowers
Plant Palette

Dream plant you have been searching for

Syzygium ‘Up and Away’ is the dream plant you have been searching for. With an unrivalled neat, columnar habit, and stunning foliage colour year-round, what more is there to be desired? White flowers are borne throughout the warmer months. Flowers are pollinator-friendly, attracting some of our beautiful native birds.… Continue reading

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Plant Palette

‘Living fossil’ from Gondwana

Sure to turn heads with its striking foliage and eye-catching narrow growth habit, Ginkgo ‘Lemonlime Spire’ is the perfect addition to any garden or landscape design.

Famous for its foliage colour throughout the year, ‘Lemonlime Spire’ won’t disappoint. Its light-green spring foliage deepens to darker shades of green as the season progresses.… Continue reading

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Juniper berries (Image: Bronislaw Drozka, Pixabay)
Plant Palette

Gin – juniper and ?

By Clive Larkman

When it comes to food and drink, like many other items in daily life, we are dictated by fashion and trends. Currently, we are in the middle of a boom in gin distillation. This has replaced the mass development of boutique, artisan or small batch breweries.… Continue reading

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Clive Larkman (left) with Lloyd Traven from Peace Tree Farm, Pennsylvania. (Image: Clive Larkman)
Plant Palette

USA Lavender farming

By Clive Larkman

As a plant for ornamental and medicinal use, lavender has a history as long as European settlement. Even with this history, there has been very little research and understanding of how to farm this tough little plant. There are numerous thoughts that the plant needs neither food nor water making it an interesting plant for the lazy farmer or those in poor countries with little rainfall.… Continue reading

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Plant Palette

Bird loving ‘Honey Pots’

By Paul Carmen

Label Name: Banksia spinulosa

ACRA Registration: 1337

Family: Proteaceae

Origin: Collected from a coastal area in southern Victoria. Selected by Rod & Robyn Parsons for the strong honey fragrance of the flowers. Received in June 1999.

Characteristics: A moderately dense small shrub that grows to 1m(h) x 1.5m(w), The flowers are golden in colour with red styles, 50-200mm long x 40-80mm in diameter and bloom from  March to  August.… Continue reading

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