Natives

Syzygium australe Resilience is a fast-growing compact lilly pilly with tightly packed pale green foliage that emerges with a reddish bronze tinge. Fluffy, creamy-white flowers in spring attract bees, birds and butterflies, followed by edible fruit. Excellent for hedging and screening, and topiary and bonsai.

Soil: Most well-drained soils.
Conditions: Full sun to partial shade. Drought and coastal hardy.
Size: Height 5m x width 3m

Blechnum nudum, commonly known as Fish Bone Water Fern, is a delightful, evergreen fern appearing within moist areas of the Eastern Australia rainforest. Naturally found along river beds and other cool damp areas, this attractive fern is an excellent choice for adding a tropical touch. In the right conditions they can be fast growing and can spread rapidly. They can be grow under trees or in damper areas to give the garden woodland or tropical feel depending on where you live. They will grow in pots but it is important to use a potting mix with good water holding capacity and to water them regularly. Keep well watered and don't let it dry out.

Soil: A good, rich, fertile soil with plenty of humus.
Conditions: They are frost hardy and will tolerant full sun but will need some shade to protect them from the hot summer sun.
Size: Height 0.5-1m x width 0.5-1m

Grevillea Honey Barbara is a stunning shrub with honey-orange flowers that are tipped with yellow. It blooms all year round on a relatively compact shrub and attracts nectar-feeding birds to your garden. You can use it as a screen as it has lush foliage that reaches the ground, providing a beautiful wall of fluorescent blooms. After each major flush of blooms, make sure to trim it back lightly behind the spent flower heads and feed it with an Australian native fertiliser.

Soil: Tolerates loam, clay and sand as long as it is well-drained.
Conditions: Full or partial sun. Drought, light frost tolerant.
Size: Height 3m x width 2m

A popular Australian native, Scaevola albida White Carpet puts on a terrific flower show from spring to autumn. The long-lived, spreading ground cover has a thick carpet of tight, mid-green foliage with clusters of fan-shaped, white flowers. It looks incredible planted around the house in hanging baskets or as a ground cover and landscapes needing a pop of colour. Prune lightly after flowering to maintain a tidy appearance, and feed with a slow-release native fertiliser in spring.

Soil: Well-drained soil
Conditions: Full sun
Size: Height 0.15m x width 1m

Myoporum parvifolium Creeping Boobialla is a dense native ground-cover that forms a thick mat of fine foliage, dotted with white flowers in spring-autumn or winter-summer, depending on where you live. Great as a ground cover, spilling over embankments and helping to control weeds in hard-to-reach places. Prune yearly to encourage new growth and flowering. Feed with a controlled release native fertiliser once a year.

Soil: Plant in free-draining soil rich in organic matter.
Conditions: Prefers a full sun position. Coastal, frost and drought hardy.
Size: Height 15-30cm x width 3m

Highland Gold is an attractive, hardy native groundcover with a beautiful display of golden yellow button flowers held above soft grey foliage. The groundcover flowers sporadically throughout spring and heavily in summer and autumn. In cold climates, Highland Gold can go winter dormant. Native bees and butterflies find this nectar-rich plant hard to resist and will visit continuously throughout the flowering period. Plant as a border, amongst other small groundcovers and shrubs, Highland Gold makes an excellent pot specimen.

Soil: Well-drained soil. If the soil is poorly-drained, a raised garden bed is recommended.
Conditions: Plant in a full sun position in the garden to maximise flowering, though it will tolerate part shade. Frost, drought and coastal tolerant.
Size: Height 0.30m x width 0.50m

Leucadendron ‘Safari Sunset’ is a dense growing shrub that produces a stunning mass of burgundy and gold flowers throughout late Summer, Autumn and Winter. With long stems and strong roots, this vigorous and hardy variety is perfect for cut flowers. These look at home in display pots or in garden beds, a feature and filler plant bringing some colour and contrast to your landscape.

Conditions: Prefers full sun, These plants are coast, heat, drought and frost tolerant once established.
Soil: Well-drained native soil mix. If you have clay soils, use mounds to plant into to facilitate drainage.
Size: 2.5m H 2m W

Callistemon pachyphyllus is a small-to-medium sized shrub with a soft cascading habit. The lime green flowers are the perfect compliment to its graceful weeping structure and grey-green foliage. Its beautiful green flowers adorn the plant throughout the year, and it has the unique ability to produce two large flushes of flowers in spring and autumn (if you dead-head regularly before the seed heads form, it will spot flower the rest of the year). It is an excellent hedging or screening plant and makes a wonderful centrepiece in any garden.

Soil: Adaptable to most soil types.
Conditions: Full sun. Drought, heat, wind and coastal tolerant.
Size: Height 1.5-2m x width 1.5-2m