malleedesign - Tumblr blog

malleedesign · 2 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://malleedesign.com.au/what-to-plant-for-poorly-drained-soils/

What to Plant for Poorly Drained Soils

Wet Weather Gardening

By Kath Gadd and Hannah Preston

After yet more rain on the east coast many plants in many gardens are suffering water-logging. Even in reasonably well drained soils the inundation has been too much for some plants. Physically, the force of rain, streams and puddles of water have caused their own damage and with the increased humidity comes increased pathogen risk, it really hasn’t put many gardeners in the best mood, myself included!

Callistemon ‘In June’

The biggest issue with waterlogging is often the deprivation of oxygen from the soil. If the soil can’t breathe then anaerobic bacteria take over and start producing the yucky smells we associate with long-wet locations. Most plant roots actually need oxygen to survive as well as air space to continue growing, so when soils sit wet for too long they literally start to suffocate.

Leptospermum ‘Starry Night’

From aboveground there’s not always much we can do to immediately alleviate water-logging, but noticing and designing your garden based on how water travels is a good first step. You can also add clay breaker or organic materials like mulches to help improve the structure of the soil and its ability to drain and hold air pockets.

Melalueca viridiflora ‘Burgundy Weeper’

Be mindful that after rain soils are vulnerable to compaction, and if compacted their ability to aerate again will be compromised. Try not walk excessively on or run heavy objects over still wet areas – unless of course you’ve turning the local hillside into a mudslide for the kids 😛

Melaleuca armillaris ‘Pink’

Create some space around the base of your plants, especially young ones. After heavy rain debris and other materials sometimes accumulate around the stems of plants, which leads to increased humidity and a greater chance of pathogens taking hold. Plants can become completely covered in mulch after the rain so make sure you clear the base to allow for airflow.

Leptospermum ‘Ballerina’

Some native plants are more tolerant than others when it comes to having wet feet, sometimes this is called being hardy to ‘temporary inundation’, which just means their root system will tolerate sitting in water for a short period of time without harming the plant.

Melastoma affine

I have a heavy clay soil so am no stranger to trying to find native plants which will survive in poorly drained soil and have been trialling and testing some of the pictured natives species. As a general rule of thumb I have listed some species and genus below which don’t mind having wet feet, some of them even thrive.

Baloskion tetraphyllum

Reeds, rushes and sedges are great in boggy damp areas, they will soak up excess moisture in difficult positions and can make great borders and features.

Poa ‘Suggan Buggan’

Banksia robur or the Swamp Banks ifs a wonderful large shrub or small tree which can handle very poorly drained soils and also periods of drought.

Banksia robur

The WA peppermint will also cope with temporary inundation to its root system, this species can be found as a low shrub, large shrub and small to medium tree, so is very useful in clay soils, however it dislikes humidity so beware when growing it north of Sydney.

Agonis ‘Burgundy’

Agonis flexuosa

If you are looking for large Eucalyptus species which can handle a heavier soil and lots of rain, look no further than our beautiful Ironbarks!

Eucalyptus paniculata

Smaller hedging plants will be species which naturally grow in a wetter environment like the sub tropical rainforest, this encompasses plants like Lilly Pillys, Myrtles and Baeckea.

Syzygium wilsonii

Other moisture loving small trees which don’t mind a bit of extra rain but cant sit for very long with wet feet are Grevillea baileyana, Buckinghamia celsissima, Tristaniopsis laurina and Xanthostemon chrysanthus.

Grevillea baileyana

Please see the list below and help me add to it!

Leptospermum (not all species)

Melaleuca (not all species)

Callistemons (not all species)

Casaurina species and cultivars

Banksia robur

Sedges – Carex apressa, Ficinia nodosa, Gahnia species

Eucalyptus ampifolia, sideroxylon, paniculata

Acmena and Syzygium species

Baeckea virgata and linifolia

Backhousia anisata, citriodora, myrtifolia

Calothamnus quadrifidus

Callicoma serratifolia

Randia fitzlanni

Lomatia myricoides

Kunzea (not all species)

Melastoma affine

Native Grasses – Themeda triandra, Dianella caeurulea, Poa labillardieri, Pycnosorus globosus

Viminaria juncea

Tristaniopsis laurina

Agonis flexuosa

#Agonis 'Burgundy'#Agonis flexuosa #Baloskion tetraphyllum #Banksia robur #bee attracting #boggy soils #Casuarina 'Cousin It'#Casuarina 'Freefall'#Casuarina 'Green Wave'#Casuarina glauca prostrate form #clay soils #Grevillea baileyana #Leptospermum 'Starry Night'#Melaleuca armillaris Pink #Melaleuca viridiflora 'Burgundy Weeper'#Melastoma affine #Syzygium wilsonii #water logged soils #wet weather

1 note · View note

malleedesign · 2 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://malleedesign.com.au/gardening-for-wellbeing/

Gardening for Wellbeing

Stress Relief, Connection to Nature, Community involvement, Mood lifting, Physical Health, Personal Growth ….just to name a few!

Words by Kath Gadd and Hannah Preston @ Mallee Design

On Dharawal land

In times of great social and economic upheaval gardening can offer multiple benefits. As we are living through one of those times right now, where many of us are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed by the current chaos, why not try to increase your dose of nature?

Gardening offers us a place to come together as communities, neighbors and individuals to relieve stress, connect with nature, improve our physical health and grow (both the plants and ourselves).

For many gardeners it is the love of planting something and watching it grow that gives the most pleasure. There is a great deal of satisfaction to be gained from watching a plant you have planted and nurtured flourish and flower. By witnessing and planning the growth cycle of your garden you become connected to your environment and greater surroundings.

“We might think we are nurturing our garden, but really it is our garden nurturing us” Jenny Uglow

Acacia iteaphylla, Flinder’s Wattle

Nature connection and the sensory experience of the garden can be incredibly uplifting. To feel wriggly worms writhing amongst bare fingers or brush past a mint bush and be bombarded by its delicate perfume forces us to notice something that is right here right now. This connection with the present has the potential to heal in small or big ways and the rise of mindfulness as a strategy for approaching mental wellbeing is recognition of this fact. Allowing our hands to explore soils, leaves, flowers and texture instead of a smartphone is a sure way to bring us back to the moment.

Sit Spot in Small Native Garden

Being present in the garden also gives us a much needed respite from the digital world. Why not try having your morning coffee or tea in the garden without your phone? My current favourite sit spot is on a log in my garden (image above)

Ways to be mindful in the garden

Crush the leaves of different plants to see what they smell like

Sit in the garden rather than inside

Look for insects or beetles on trees or in the soil

Search for mushrooms (there will be lots around with all the rain we’ve had)

Observe your plants

Walk barefoot through your garden or the bush

What’s more, recent scientific studies have found there is a link between specific soil microbes and the production of serotonin in the brain. When gardening without gloves these beneficial microbes are absorbed and can act as an antidepressant.

Dirty Hands can make you Happy!

Findings like this are no surprise to regular gardeners who describe the garden as their ‘happy place’, reporting stress relief and feeling less agitated as an immediate effect of gardening. It gives people responsibility and goals to work towards without the pressures of meeting deadlines or doing things perfectly. Within a garden there is also so much room for creativity!

Why not plant a field of paper daisies this Autumn? Now is the time to sow the seed as plants will grow slowly through the winter months, developing a strong root system and flower prolifically in spring!

Rhodanthe species

The physical benefits of gardening are anecdotally well known. People who have been involved in gardening programs report feeling fitter and healthier than those who don’t garden and it has been shown that vegetable gardeners are more likely to eat a diet high in fresh fruit and veggies. Amongst the elderly, improved wrist strength and balance have been demonstrated qualities in gardeners.

Gardening can also have widespread social benefits. Whether it is being able to prepare a meal with homegrown produce for loved ones, share knowledge with other gardeners or meet people through community growing spaces, gardening can personally have a positive impact on our social wellbeing but also gives us the opportunity to create more resilient food systems and ecosystems in our community.

Community Growing Spaces in the Illawarra

Thirroul Community Garden

Woonona Community Garden

Green Connect Farm

Dapto Community Farm

As well as looking after and educating ourselves gardening can help to look after and educate our kids – especially in a time when so many families are having to transition schooling into their own homes. Gardens are a place where children get to tangibly learn about natural processes and reap the physical and mental health benefits described in the paragraphs above. “Why try to explain miracles to your kids, when you can just have them plant a garden” Robert Brault

#bee attracting #clay soils #mental health #sit spot #understory planting #weeping habit #wellbeing #wind tolerant #yellow flowers

1 note · View note

malleedesign · 2 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://malleedesign.com.au/how-to-regenerate-bushland-in-your-backyard/

How to Regenerate Bushland in your Backyard

This is a collaborative article by Kath Gadd, Hannah Preston and Emma Rooksby. It has also been published on Growing Illawarra Natives website here

Does your garden look a little like the one in the image above? It has so much potential but you don’t know where to start?

Regenerating your own patch of bushland is exciting and rewarding. You get to see first-hand the return of native birds, bees and other wildlife that follow when native vegetation re-establishes itself. Even the most degraded places can be regenerated with a bit of support, so why not have go?! It might sound daunting, but there are actually some simple steps everyone can take towards looking after whatever patch they have.

Wild Tobacco spreading on the margins of native bushland

First, it is helpful to assess how healthy your bushland is and get familiar with the weeds. Get to know the key species invading your area and learn about the best way to remove them. Here in the Illawarra region, there are some common weeds, such as Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphori), Privet (Ligustrum lucidum and L. sinese), Madeira Vine (Anredera cordifolia), African Olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata), Cotoneaster (C. glaucophyllus), Asparagus Fern (A. aethiopicus), Wild Ginger (Hedychium garderianum), Trad (Tradescantia fluminensis) and Panic Veldt Grass (Ehrharta erecta). You will soon get to know these weeds if they are on your property. Different techniques are available to manage each species, so make sure you know what weeds you’re dealing with and the best way to tackle them. You can reach out to the Growing Illawarra Natives Facebook Page, get in touch with local landcare/regen groups who sometimes put out weed guides such as this one, or check out the resources at the end of this article to get you started.

Before and after lantana (Lantana camara) removal, for tips on how to remove lantana see this post. Image by Jeff Harbrow @whipbirdenvironmental

When weeding, it’s generally a good idea to start from the least infested areas and work your way out from there. See what comes up after removal of the weeds – are there natives regenerating already or do you need to go back and weed on a few occasions before natives can re-establish? More often than not, native species will start to come up on their own after clearing and you can work with the natural regeneration process to help restore your site. Hundreds of local species will establish in spots that suit them, including trees such as Bleeding Heart (Homalanthus populifolius) and Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius), shrubs such as Sandfly Zieria (Z. smithii), groundcovers like Commelina (C. cyanea) or Native Violet (Viola hederacea), and even some of the local ferns. If nothing comes up after the weeds are gone it could mean that much of the remaining seed bank is dormant, depleted or wiped out. This is uncommon and unfortunate, but in these cases you can still plant native species based on what might have been there in the past. Check out resources such as the Growing Illawarra Natives website, Illawarra Remnant Bushland Database or the Trees Near Me NSW app to find native species lists for areas near you.

Native species germinating after this area was cleared of weeds for 12 months. Natives include Sweet Pittosporum (Pittosporum undulatum; left), Bleeding Heart (Homolanthus populifolius; right), Basket Grass (Oplismenus aemulus) and maidenhair ferns (Adiantum aethiopicum; bottom right). Image by Emma Rooksby.

Steep sites and slopes usually require a more careful weeding approach. Removing all the weeds/vegetation on a steep site results in an erosion problem, particularly in rainy weather. To stop a weed issue becoming an erosion issue avoid clearing large areas on a slope, and plant immediately with native species to help stabilise the soil. Alternatively, you can use a natural geofabric pegged into the area once cleared, which will hold the soil in place. Making holes and planting into this fabric straight away is a good idea to get some soil-binding roots growing through the site as soon as possible. With time the fabric will degrade and you might get some natives regenerating from the seed bank too.

This sloped site has been carefully weeded and replanted to allow native species to keep the soil in place in the early stages of regeneration. Image by Zoe Bell.

When regenerating your backyard follow these four principleals:

Retain. Many Illawarra properties adjoin natural areas and contain patches of native vegetation, either regrowth or sometimes older forest remnants that are already doing a lot for the surrounding ecosystem. Let them, grow, persist and if you’re struggling to work out what’s what consult the GIN page or one of the Facebook Groups.

Regenerate. Make a plan for treating and monitoring weeds and give your site the best chance for natural diversity to flourish.

Replant. In those places where the bush has lost its resilience to regenerate naturally, start to plant out with species that are native to the area and which could have grown there in the past.

Seek advice. Engage professionals if you need support. There are many conservation and land management / bush regeneration professionals living and working in this region, and some also have skills in working in urban gardens and garden design. Below is a list of local organisations and individuals who can help.

Bush Regen Professionals

Jeff Harbrow, founder of Whipbird Environmental, is an experienced bush regenerator. Contact him via his website.

Zoe Bell is a gardener and landscaper from Plantlandia, she runs a small team which includes qualified Bush regenerators. Email her to enquire about regeneration services: [email protected]

If you know of anyone else who specialises in the area of domestic Bush Region please get in touch.

1 note · View note

malleedesign · 2 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://malleedesign.com.au/luscious-dense-and-green-xanthostemon-chrysanthus/

Luscious, Dense and Green: Xanthostemon chrysanthus

This showy small to medium tropical tree was flowering its head off on my recent trip to Brisbane and northern NSW. It was such a welcome sight after the damp, soggy Summer we have had, finally a species revelling in all the rain!

Xanthostemon chrysanthus

Xanthostemon chrysanthus is also known as ‘Golden Penda’ and comes in a large shrub form named ‘Expo Gold’ which gets to a height of around 4-5 metres high and a smaller shrub ‘Little Penda’ which grows from 2-4m high.

Xanthostemon chrysanthus

The right yellow flowers are attractive to all nectar feeding birds and insects and are followed by large fruits which are again eaten by parrots and fruit doves.

Golden Penda is a rainforest tree and in its natural habitat in northern Qld it can reach unto 40m high, however in an urban environment it will usually max out at around 8-10 metres. It can be pruned heavily and turned into a dense topiary or hedging plant and to generally promote flowering.

I spotted this tree everywhere in and around Brisbane, it is used as a shade and screening tree in residential gardens as seen above. A habitat tree in parklands and as a street tree all abut town.

Xanthostemon chrysanthus

Golden Penda enjoys a warm humid environment with a moist well drained soil, as it grows naturally in northern QLD it thrives in a rainforest environment. It can be grown as far south as Wollongong as long as it is protected from cold drying winds and given plenty of water during a dry period.

Xanthostemon chrysanthus

This is a wonderful feature tree and copes well with shade, as our seasons are becoming more moist and we are no longer getting the cool evenings which can usually be expected in the Autumn months, I think some of these tropical trees may become quite viable solutions for NSW gardens.

Xanthostemon chrysanthus

Think of Buckinghamia celsissima, Stenocarpus sinuatus and Alloxylon flammeum they all grow up north and cope quite well around Sydney. It may be time to start rethinking some of our trees considering the rapidly changing climate, just a thought 😉

#Autumn Flowering #bee attracting #feature tree #large flower #long flowering period #privacy screen #Quick growing #rainforest species #shade tree #Street Trees #summer flowering #tropical species #Xanthostemon chrysanthus #yellow flowers

0 notes

malleedesign · 2 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://malleedesign.com.au/help-whats-wrong-with-my-plants/

Help! What's wrong with my Plants?

By Kath Gadd and Hannah Preston

Well it would seem La Niña is here with a vengence along the NSW and QLD east coast, resulting in way too much rain and very uncomfortable humidity. It has been a tough summer for many plants. Not only have the weeds enjoyed an extreme growth spurt but the bugs and insects are out in full force too and the extra moisture in the air is also great for moulds and fungus to flourish. Many of you may have noticed plants being affected by this or just looking downright unhappy!

There are four factors that may be challenging your plants health at the moment and we are going to give you a quick run down…

Sap Suckers

Sap-sucking insects, such as scale, aphids and mealybugs, feed on the sugary-liquid that travels through plant tissues, slurping up the nutritious solution that should be feeding the plant! They tend to multiply quickly, weakening plants and often deform foliage. Many have tiny waxy bodies and secrete honeydew as a by-product of feeding. The honeydew attracts fungal diseases like sooty mould and also ants, which may protect the sap-suckers from predators and carry them to new plants.

Because they can be so prolific and so tiny the best way to treat them is with an insect spray. A white oil treatment is effective for many sap suckers, it coats the breathing pores of insects, suffocating them, and can be easily made up at home with dishwashing liquid and oil (you can also use other home-made mixtures like a chilli or garlic oil). Shop-bought pest oils also work – they usually operate on the same principle of suffocating pests and may contain other compounds to ensure knock-out. Pyrethrum, another good option, is slightly different. The active compound is naturally-derived from the pyrethrum Daisy and works by inhibiting an insect’s nervous system.

Whatever spray you’re using try to spray only the affected areas on both sides of the leaves/branches. Chemicals like pyrethrum are non-specific so will also kill the good insects and bees around your plants if you use them too much. Another option is manual removal. Some people have removed sap suckers by patiently scraping the leaves, or if the infestation is too large, blasting them off with a pressure hose.

Eucalypt with scale

Leaf chewers

Leaf chewing insects have specialised mouthparts and often target young, tastier leaves and little seedlings. They include things like caterpillars, sawfly larvae and slugs. They’ll often secrete toxins that make them unpalatable to potential predators like birds, and in that way, continue feeding on plants unharmed.

Some of the pest oils/sprays work for leaf chewers but you can also try manual strategies depending on the insect and its lifecycle. For example, the caterpillar on this White Cedar (Melia azedarach) below has been absolutely decimating the foliage. The grubs eat the leaves during the day then fall to the ground at night. Putting up a foil barrier around the base of the tree’s trunk seems to have stopped them being able to climb back up in the morning.

In the case of sawfly larvae, pruning off affected foliage before the infestation gets too large may be enough. Sawfly larvae feed mostly on bottlebrush. If found on established, adult plants they shouldn’t be a problem but on vulnerable, young plants you need to remove them before it’s too late.

Caterpillars on White Cedar

Foil barrier to stop caterpillers climbing up to the leaves of the tree

Deficiencies

Deficiencies usually present as discolouration in the leaves and are more common in rainy weather. Heavy rain washes out nutrients in poor soils – the washing out of nitrogen (N) and iron (Fe) can be a particular issue for natives and there have been devastating amounts of runoff and erosion in my region.

Yellowing of the leaves is one of the most common signs of deficiency. It can be hard to tell exactly what a plant is deficient in but providing some slow-release native fertiliser, iron chelates and/or adding trace elements like manganese, zinc and boron can help. Trace elements play a role in unlocking nutrients to plants, often via soil microorganisms. Soil microorganisms are the main underground energy hubs that convert inorganic forms of nutrients like nitrogen into bioavailable forms that plants can use.

Yellowing of grass tree leaves indicating nutrient deficiency

Moulds and Fungus

Mould and fungus can spread to plants via wind, water, soil and animals. Sooty mould is one of the most common variants on garden plants and it settles on the honeydew secreted by sap-suckers. It doesn’t directly damage the plant itself but when it smothers lots of leaves it can stop the plant from being able to photosynthesise. The best way to treat the mould is by treating the source of the problem, the sap-sucker! But, you can also manually wipe off thickly coated mould with a damp cloth.

Other funguses and mould to to look out for are myrtle rust, which is detrimental to many of out native tree and shrubs, beginning as purple spots and turning into yellow pustules on the under-side of leaves, this fungus needs to be removed immediately by cutting off affected leaves and branches and disposing of them appropriately, so the spores don’t spread.

Phytophora is another fungal mould that appears in humid, wet weather – it can appear as dieback on the leaf, turning into blight or rust, but also as root rot on larger specimens. It is caused by plants not coping with poor drainage and may begin as a problem around the root zone and not show up on the leaves until it’s too late.

Fungicides have limited scope and should not be expected to cure heavily infected plants, it is better to take a note of what is suffering and try to improve drainage and air flow around the plant.

The most important thing to do is keep an eye on your plants by checking them closely and regularly, especially in this weather when pests and diseases are rife.

Goodluck and I hope we get a good break from heavy rainfall soon!

Sooty mold on Lilly Pilly

Mint bush with Phytophora mould

#disease #garden maintenance #gardening #humidity #la nina #native plants #pest #plant health

0 notes

malleedesign · 2 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://malleedesign.com.au/happy-eucalyptus-day-eucalyptus-risdonii/

Happy Eucalyptus Day! Eucalyptus risdonii

This is a Eucalypt species very close to my heart, you can see it in my banner at the top of the website. Yes, I took photos of it almost 10 years ago and have recently revisited the vegetation community where it can be found. Eucalyptus risdonii grows only on the eastern shore of Hobart on gravelly, dry, clay-stone soils, it is a small population which is in danger of being lost.

Eucalyptus risdonii on Fisher’s Hill

During lock down over the past couple of years when I couldn’t travel interstate to Tasmanian, where I grew up, I day dreamed about walking the hills behind Geilston Bay into Shag Bay. This short bay walk is ironically where I used to do cross country training when I was in high school (I hated it then), when it felt like a long torturous trek from one bay to the next. Strange how now I take solace wandering around these hills…

Eucalyptus viminalis Geilston Bay

Now I look back on this landscape with fondness or more than that I feel in some ways it has formed my appreciation and love for Eucalypts and native grasslands. I can think of no landscape which speaks to me more than open forests dominated by sparse canopies of Mallee Eucalyptus!

Eucalyptus risdonii

This time as I wandered up from Geilston Bay in search of Eucalyptus risdonii, I became a little alarmed as for a couple of hundred metres I could only find the odd stand alone specimen. This part of Hobart is undergoing some rapid sub division and also the extension of walking tracks and mountain biking, so the pockets of forest which are endangered are under threats which are literally closing in on them. This type of forest requires bush fire to regenerate and is therefore difficult to manage and keep healthy.

Eucalyptus risdonii on Fisher’s Hill

As I continued up Fisher’s Hill I finally found stands of risdonii, mainly regrowth, which is the suckering new growth from the lignotuber. The new growth is stunning, it is almost purple at the tips and the peppermint smell on the leaves is pungent.

Eucalyptus risdonii on Fisher’s Hill looking out to East Risdon State Reserve

In the image above you can see how there is a tract of E. risdonii growing in a line on the opposite hill in the East Risdon State Reserve, it appears to be following the power lines or has been cut back along the fire trails. Either way it was not in its natural state, where each tree can reach unto 8 metres and has an understory of wattles, Bursaria, grasses and ground covers.

Eucalyptus risdonii on Fisher’s Hill

I still find this landscape beautiful regardless of the shrubby nature of one of my favourite Mallees, the contrasting foliage combined with the pale earth and distant view of Kunanyi, it is enough to make me weep with homesickness. But what is that about? it is not my ‘home’ that I am sick for, I am missing the plants and light, basically I am missing this particular Tasmanian Landscape.

Eucalyptus viminalis

So as I wander back into Geilston Bay, down memory lane, I would like to introduce you to my weather-beaton friends Eucalyptus viminalis. There are some amazing tortured specimens lower down the slope, closer to the river, which I like to check in with whenever I am in the neighbourhood.

Eucalyptus viminalis

Isn’t their bark incredible? unfortunately I wasn’t there with my camera during ‘magic hour’ when their bark turns a deep rose colour. As long as I know they are there and will be waiting for me next visit, along with the purple new growth of the risdonii, everything will be alright. Happy Eucalypt Day!

#bee attracting #Eucalyptus risdonii #Eucalyptus viminalis #foliage contrast #grey green leaves #silver foliage #Tasmanian species #threatened species #well drained soil #white flowers #wind tolerant

0 notes

malleedesign · 3 years

Photo

New Post has been published on http://malleedesign.com.au/the-almost-native-pig-face-xdisphyllum-sunburn/

The almost native pig face: xDisphyllum 'Sunburn'

Meet a new addition to the Australian native succulent family, well maybe more a half sibling or cousin, as technically this lovely green pig face is half south African 😳 shock horror! However there are so few Australian succulents I am calling this a native!

xDisphyllum ‘Sunburn’

xDisphyllum ‘Sunburn’ is a cross between two plant genera, one Autstralian and one South African. The seed parent is Disphyma crassifolium ssp. clavellatum an Australian native, and the pollen parent is Glottiphyllum longum, a native of South Africa. The leaf is finer than Carpobrotus and shorter giving the plant a denser cover, it is a fast growing grounfcover when in full sun and makes an excellent weed suppressant.

xDisphyllum ‘Sunburn’

This ground cover covers around 1m2 and prefers well drained soil, however in the image above you can see it growing in a garden bed at Mt Annan Botanic garden which is far from a sand dune.

I am going to combine xDisphyllum ‘Sunburn’ with Carpobrotus ‘White Hot’ to get a lovely contrast with the lime green leaves against the more glaucous grey of ‘White Hot’, its a fun plant to play around with and a needed addition to our native coastal plants.

#bee attracting #carpeting ground cover #drought hardy #drought resistant #drought tolerant #fast growing #frost tolerant #full sun #large flower #well drained soil #wind tolerant #xDisphyllum Sunburn #year round flowering #yellow flowers

0 notes

malleedesign · 3 years

Photo

New Post has been published on http://malleedesign.com.au/wildflowers-of-the-illawarra/

Wildflowers of the Illawarra

This wildflower season I have stayed local due to travel restrictions, which has meant I have walked the Illawarra escarpment a lot more than I normally would. Usually in the winter wildflower season we would travel to the Blue mountains or further west or even north for outdoor adventuring and bush exploring. So it has been a nice change to notice more closely the bush at my back door.

Boronia pinnata

This post is just a sample of the glory on offer, above you can see Boronia pinnata in full bloom, there is a stand of these as you walk along the top of the escarpment from Stanwell Park to Sublime Point and the smell is well …’Sublime’

Boronia pinnata

Boronia pinnata is loved by bees as well as humans but in my opinion is best admired in the bush rather than battling to grow it at home.

Thelymitra ixioides – Sun Orchid

A little further done the track were plenty of Sun Orchids or Thelymitra ixioides, these seem to pop their pretty heads up out of seemingly dry rocky soil.

Ricinocarpos pinifolius

The wedding Bush or Ricinocarpos pinifolius is also having a wonderful flowering season, I spotted it in Maddens Plains, Kellys Falls, Robertson Lookout and Dark’s Forest, it really is the purest white and the picture of innocence 😉

Ricinocarpos pinifolius

This shrub is worth a trying to grow yourself, it likes great drainage and a full sun to part shade position and it should reward you with a stunning flower display from Winter through to Spring.

Bauera rubioides

Bauera rubioides of course is everywhere, what a wonderful wildflower! it flowers for a long time and is quite common, unfortunately it is another one that can be difficult to grow in a home garden as it requires steady moisture on a well drained sandstone 🤔

Epacris microphylla

Epacris microphylla is a dainty scrambling low shrub which can flower for much of the year and as long as it doesn’t dry out completely is a rewarding wildflower to try in your garden.

Epacris microphylla

I have found Epacris microphylla easier to grow then longiflora but not as easy as impressa, what is your experience with growing Epacris?

Hakea sericea

This specimen of Hakea sericea was in Darks Forest, this is a fantastic habitat shrub and caters for many different birds, not to mention the bees. Watch out as it is super prickly but always so spectacular when in flower.

Phebalium squamulosum

This is my favourite wildflowerof the Illawarra, Phebalium squamulosum now this could be a sub species I am not sure. There are quite a few variations of the species and they can look different depending where they grow. The Phevalium above was growing 20kms from the one below….

Phebalium squamulosum

Phebalium is also one of my favourite understory plants to use in native garden design, it is very versatile and quite forgiving as long as you don’t over water it!

Actinotus helianthi

And last but not least the Flannel Flower, these are not really that common in the Illawarra so when you see them it is pretty special. Lucky for us they are easy to grow in your garden and well worth a try as a first time wildflower grower. I am very thankful to live in such a beautiful and unique part of the world and lucky to have the time to observe it in more detail, happy wandering everyone!

#Actinotus helianthi #Bauera rubioides #bee attracting #Boronia pinnata #Epacris microphylla #fragrant #Hakea sericea #Phebalium squamulosum #pink flowers #Ricinocarpos pinifolius #Sydney Sandstone #Thelymitra ixioides #understory planting #well drained soil

0 notes

malleedesign · 3 years

Photo

New Post has been published on http://malleedesign.com.au/portfolio-helensburgh-consult/

Portfolio: Helensburgh Consult

Front gardens play such an important role in most streetscapes but especially in suburbia where the repetition of built form and front lawns can become almost claustrophobic. These clients wanted something different to look out on from inside of their home but also a welcoming garden on arrival home from work.

The new native garden replaces a weedy garden bed and houses two small native trees which will provide privacy to the front windows and respite from the western sun. Acacia cognata ‘Lime Magic’ is planted closer to the house to soften the extensive brick, and Eucalyptus ‘Euky Dwarf’ is placed closer to the street to give dappled shade to the rest of the lower planting.

Several large sandstone boulders were placed around the garden, Helensburgh is surrounded by Sydney Sandstone bushland and we wanted to bring some of that into the front as a reminder of where these homes have been built.

Casuarina ‘Cousin It’ and Scaevola ‘Mauve Clusters’ can be seen in the image above happily spilling over the brick retaining wall and climbing up it! I also used Grevillea ‘Gin Gin Gem’ as a ground cover and it has happily spread out to cover much of the understory as can be seen in the image below.

This garden is well into its second year and the Conostylis candicans ‘Silver Sunrise’ are in full flower, they provide great contrast with the other grassy mounds of Lomandra ‘Little Lime’.

My favourite plant in this garden is this Olearia languinosa ‘Ghost Town’, I often grow this is shade where it is extremely resilient but here in full sun it is much more stunning. It looks very smart with the sandstone boulders seen below 😉

The front 1/4 of the garden is actually a curved section of crushed decomposed granite ‘Deco Gold’, which meets up with the timber retaining wall, this adds interest when the garden is viewed from the upstairs living room windows.

Another quite spectacular silver beauty is of course Eremophila Nivea ‘Gulburra Bells’ Grafted, if you look very closely you can see the flowers of this specimen are full of native bees.

This native garden attracts many passerby to stop and have a chat, it provides much interest to in the street and is beginning to be a major attraction to the birds and bees.

0 notes

malleedesign · 3 years

Photo

New Post has been published on http://malleedesign.com.au/happy-national-wattle-day-acacia-binervia-sterling-silver/

Happy National Wattle Day: Acacia binervia 'Sterling Silver'

Spring! if ever there is a seasonal change to bring hope and excitement for the future surely Spring is it? I have been watching the Wattles all Winter long, they have been lovely this year and very appreciated during extended lockdown wanders. But now we have made it to Spring (Hooray) a time for growth and renewal so Happy Wattle Day everyone I hope you all get to smell a Wattle flower this month.

This silver and lemon beauty is Acacia binervia ‘Sterling Silver’, a dwarf shrub form of the Coastal Myall Wattle. Instead of growing into a small tree this will become a sprawling shrub around 2-3 metres wide and around 1.5 metres high.

This particular specimen has only been in the ground a bit over a year and is already cascading over the rockery edge.

Acacia binervia ‘Sterling Silver’ enjoys a full sun to part shade position in a well drained soil and responds well to a light prune to keep it from getting too leggy.

The broad silver leaves are a definite highlight making it an excellent foliage contrast plant in the garden or giving a planting palette a distinctly coastal feel. It is also very wind resistant and will withstand extended periods of drought.

The flowers are like many Acacias being strongly fragrant, they also attract bees and the seed pods will entice seed eating birds like Rosellas. So if you are looking for a quick growing wildlife friendly species to plant on an embankment or rockery which is also a feature when in or out of flower give this wattle a try. And Happy National Wattle Day, I hope you are enjoying the garden, the bush or wanders around your neighbourhood plant spotting 😉

#Acacia binervia Stirling Silver #bee attracting #foliage contrast #fragrant #large flower #low spreading shrub #National Wattle Day #perfume #Quick growing #silver foliage #well drained soil #wind tolerant #yellow flowers

0 notes

malleedesign · 3 years

Photo

New Post has been published on http://malleedesign.com.au/portfolio-gardening-in-wind/

Portfolio: Gardening in Wind

This is my sisters garden on ‘Windy Hill’ as we like to call it, it gets so windy here the rubbish bins get blown down the street, gates are blown off their hinges and plants find it tough! Her front garden bears the brunt of the Westerlies and southerlies and used to be bare lawn with only a lonely Frangipani in the front.

Not only does this front garden cop the wind it also fries in the Summer sun, so I have included several small trees which are quickly growing up to provide the house and garden with some respite.

In the image above you can see the Eucalyptus ‘Euky Dwarf’ provided lovely dappled shade and beginning to screen the house across the road, on the right is Acacia cardiophylla in full bud.

Another great small tree for full sun and windy conditions is Eucalyptus pulveralenta ‘Baby Blue’ this has shot up so fast! Behind it you can see privacy screening of Banksia ‘Sentinel’ and Calothamnus quadrifidus Grey.

The héros of this garden are the Casuarina ‘Green Wave’, they are positioned throughout to screen the street and buffer the wind and they get regular clipping to keep them nice and compact.

The spillover planting is thriving and attempting to take over the nature strip and seems undaunted by the exposed position. In the foreground above you can see Grevillea banks Prostrate White.

Grevillea ‘Red Hooks’ grew really quickly and has been sheltering the other screening plants nicely, it does loose the odd branch in the wind but has generally been a trooper. Below it you can see Banksia ‘Roller Coaster’ flowering freely.

On the other side of the Grevillea ‘Red Hooks’ is Acacia binervia ‘Stirling Silver’ this is a very hardy small to medium shrub which needs to be kept in check with regular pruning.

And last but not least is some good old Westringia ‘Smokey’, I love combining this with the Casuarina ‘Green Wave’ for a relaxed coastal look. Other natives in the garden which are very wind tolerant but not shown in the images above are: Melaleuca viridiflora ‘Burgundy Weeper’, Carpobrotus ‘White Hot’ Ficinia nodosa, Themeda ‘True Blue’, Poa ‘Kingsdale’, Anigoxanthos ‘Landscape Yellow’, Xerochrysum ‘Dargon Hill Monarch’, Callistemon ‘In June’ and Baeckea linifolia. Hope this garden provides you with some more ideas for Wind tolerant planting 😊

#Acacia baileyana prostrate #Acacia binervia Stirling Silver #Acacia cardiophylla #Baeckea linifolia #Banksia 'Sentinel'#Banksia integrifolia 'Roller Coaster'#Calothamnus quadrifidus grey form #Casuarina 'Green Wave'#clay soils #Eucalyptus 'Euky Dwarf'#Eucalyptus pulverulenta 'Baby Blue'#foliage contrast #Grevillea 'Amber Blaze'#Grevillea &039;Red Hooks&039;#Grevillea banksii prostrate White #grey green leaves #Poa 'Kingsdale'#weeping habit #wind tolerant

2 notes · View notes

malleedesign · 3 years

Photo

New Post has been published on http://malleedesign.com.au/instagram-ineedabirdbathhere-winner-and-entries/

Instagram #INeedABirdbathHere Winner and Entries!

We’ve been simply blown away by the beautiful garden entries we received in our most recent birdbath competition #INeedABirdbathHere. We asked our followers to send us photos of their gardens for the chance to win a Freshly Spun Medium Copper Dish and couldn’t be happier with the result. It’s always inspiring to see wonderful native gardens growing across the country.

The Winner is Suzie Barry who has a beautiful native habitat garden on the Gold Coast, she submitted many wonderful shots including images of the wildlife who would benefit from having a Mallee Birdbath in the garden.

Pale Headed Rosella

It was so hard to pick choose just one winner, there are so many talented gardeners out there creating enticing bird habitat environments. So we have chosen a few of our favourites in the interest of inspiring more gardeners to consider making their gardens wildlife friendly and beautiful.

I was particularly captivated by this plinth, ready to support a beautiful copper birdbath, with its soft grass under plantings. The banksias framed either side of the plinth are certain to bring many birds to a birdbath here for years to come and no doubt the forest background will serve as an important corridor for native birds hopping in and out of the bush and into the gardenscape.

The tree stump in this image looks like its crying out for a birdbath and the Calothamnus qudrifidus Grey in the background would provide great habitat and nectar for small honeyeaters. You also can’t help but notice the cute purple Brachyscome flowering in front of the stump.

Another garden entry, clearly habitat rich and suitable for birds can be seen in the following two photos. The Chrysocephalum ‘Silver Sunburst’ lining the rocky creek attract insects, which in turn attract insectivorous birds, and the flowering Kangaroo Paw and Callistemon in the second photo is great food for honeyeaters. Not to mention the magnificent layout of the plantings and shelter available for all kinds of wildlife. Really, really well done.

This lush, native rainforest garden was a bit of a change of scene from most of entries, we love the natural rocky platforms and fern-rich habitat, which is likely to attract some different species from what you’d usually get in a suburban garden.

The sandstone plinths really give this rainforest garden a lift by bringing in a lighter element and some structure.

There is nothing quite like placing a birdbath underneath a flowering gum tree, this offers shade and protection from the sun and a wonderful food source and perching point for the birds.

And we all know what a sucker I am for grass trees, gravel and rock 😉 I adore this simple garden and the smooth tree stump is a great height for racing a birdbath out of the way of predators.

I love the understorey textural planting in this garden combined with the sculpture, the birds would be very happy here protected under the tree surrounded by native grasses.

So thank you again to all who entered, it has been an absolute pleasure viewing your photos and we hope you continue to plant and garden with our native wildlife in mind.

#bird-attracting #birdbaths #birdsinbackyards #habitat garden #nativegarden

0 notes

malleedesign · 3 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://malleedesign.com.au/portfolio-haberfield-landscape-design/

Portfolio: Haberfield Landscape Design

The brief for this front garden in Sydney’s inner west was to create a modern native garden which is sympathetic to the era of the house and show cases an Art Deco water feature passed down through the family.

The front garden now addresses and interacts with the street and also provides a sense of arrival for the residents when coming home either on foot or by parking in the existing onsite car space.

The front of the house is partly overshadowed by an enormous street fig tree, this tree also sucks a lot of available moisture from the soil.

Haberfield is an area of Sydney with strong Italian heritage and many of the houses and gardens reflect the culture with a Mediterranean style. The front lawn was removed and replaced with crushed decomposed granite ‘Deco Gold’ with a pathway of Porphyry stone to tie in as closely with the granite tiles of the exisitng car parking space.

Porphyry Stone Step

The stone stepper pathway leads through the front garden around the water fountain and to the existing terracotta tile entrance pathway. Low border planting gives the garden structure and a slightly formal style which ties in with Acacia ‘Limelight’ Standards.

Acacia ‘Limelight’ Grafted Standard

I used Melaleuca ‘Mini Quini’ as a low hedge against the street facing wall and Banksia ‘Coastal Cushions’ against the house and around the Acacia Standards.

Acacia ‘Limelight’ Grafted Standard

Along the entrance pathway screening and height are provided by more Acacia standards, Grevillea candelabra Grafted and Xanthorrhoea johnsonii with border plantings of Banksia ‘Coastal Cushions’, Lomandra ‘Mist’ and Melaleuca ‘Mini Quini’. Next year I really must get to this garden to take photos whilst the Banksias are in flower as there are some 30 odd in this front garden!

Grevillea ‘Cherry Cluster’

A raised garden bed built into the house is home to Grevillea ‘Cherry Cluster’ which provides plenty of year round flowers for the birds, this can also be clipped to create a more formal border later down the track.

Hakea francisiana Grafted has been placed on the lower level of the garden with the blank house wall as a back drop. This showy shrub will create a contrasting feature opposite the fountain and also has the grey leaves of many front garden olive trees in the area.

Hakea francisiana Grafted and Lomandra ‘Mist’

The Hakea is surrounded by Lomandra ‘Mist’ as is the Water feature, this Lomandra grows to around hard a metre wide with a very soft weeping habit and will soften the garden palette with the granite.

The garden was built by Ash from ‘Living on the Hedge’, the rear garden was designed at the same time but is quite different. Work will commence on the back in the coming months, COVID permitting 🤞

#Acacia 'Limelight' grafted Standard #Banksia 'Coastal Cushions'#Border planting #clay soils #Decomposed Crushed Granite #foliage contrast #Grevillea rhyolitica &039;Cherry Cluster&039;#Hakea francisiana Grafted #large flower #Lomandra &039;Mist&039;#low mounding shrub #Melaleuca 'Mini Quini'#Porphyry stone #understory planting #water feature #weeping habit #Xanthorrhoea johnsonii

0 notes

malleedesign · 3 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://malleedesign.com.au/search-for-sustainable-packaging-solutions/

Search for Sustainable Packaging Solutions

For years now, we have been searching for a way to make our birdbath packaging more sustainable. Our starting idea is that the packaging should be able to be composted in the very gardens our birdbaths occupy. It doesn’t make sense to offer a product that beautifies one part of our landscape but sullies another with discarded packaging.

It turns out that this is an unexpectedly difficult challenge. The packaging industry has very limited options for offering accessible, flexible, compostable packaging that can adequately protect objects in transit. Innovative technologies do exist, but they generally serve specific uses such as food packaging. In this blog post we detail some of our own home-grown Research and Development, exploring how mycelial structures (mushroom roots) can be grown over recycled organic substrates. So far, we have discovered that mycelial structures are an amazing natural resource that will functionally satisfy our needs but, for various reasons, fail to meet the business case.

–

Currently, we use plastic pool noodles wrapped around the edges of our dishes. They work wonderfully in cushioning the birdbaths and protecting them from damage during shipping, but they go straight to landfill after one use. Pool noodles are made from a type of expanded polyethylene foam, which is not easily recycled and takes thousands of years to break down in the environment.

Our main difficulty has been finding a sustainable material that is robust enough to cushion the bird baths from damage without collapsing. Starch-based packing peanuts and paper-based materials just haven’t been strong enough to protect the edge of the birdbaths from their own weight when dropped on their edge.

Hannah, one of the Mallee Design team, is a mycophile: a person who loves fungi. Hannah suggested growing our own sustainable packaging using mushroom roots. Mushroom ‘roots’, scientifically called mycelium, can be grown on waste materials such as wood, straw, coffee grounds and husks to create compostable materials. The cell walls of mycelium are made out of chitin, the same fibrous substance that builds the exoskeletons of crustaceans such lobsters and crabs. This is what makes it a structural sound material that can have similar properties to plastics. Several companies have already been using the technology to make biodegradable packaging and leather-like textiles in America and Europe (eg. see Ecovative Design).

We began some small scale experiments to see if we could successfully grow the fungi ourselves. We chose a species called Ganoderma (a type of reishi mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicine) because it produces 3 types of mycelium. This makes it better able to hold a substrate together and in science jargon is called ‘trimitic’. Some of the mycelium is very thin and highly branched, some is thick and skeletal, and some is great at binding different parts of the mycelium together, making it very structurally robust overall. There are other timitic species available, such as Turkey Tails (Trametes versicolor), but we chose a Ganoderma because it is known to be used successfully in mushroom biotechnologies already.

Our first test used waste hardwood sawdust, from a local woodwork workshop, as the growing substrate. A second substrate we tested was sugarcane mulch, a less dense material that has the benefit of longer strands which, we thought, might help hold the finished product together. To each base substrate (sawdust/sugarcane) we added wheatbran, which acts as a high-protein, easily digestible supplement for the mycelium to use as food. Because sawdust and sugarcane is relatively nutrient poor and difficult for the mycelium to digest, adding wheatbran gives growth a head start. A third element we added was water, crucial for the metabolism of almost all life, including fungi!

After creating our supplemented substrate mix, our next step was to kill off any contaminants (such as bacteria or other fungi) already present in the substrate, which would interfere with the Ganoderma’s growth. We did this by placing the substrate in grow bags and heating them to temperatures above 100°C in a standard kitchen pressure cooker for several hours. Grow bags are made from industry standard polypropylene plastic, which can withstand the high temperatures of the pressure cooker, and which also have filter patches that prevent pathogens entering the bag once they’ve been taken out of the pressure cooker. The filter patches stop pathogens getting in, but still allow the exchange of gases such as oxygen and CO2, which are important for the mycelium’s growth.

Once the substrate had cooled we inoculated it by manually mixing grain spawn through the material with our sanitised, gloved hands. Grain spawn is sterilised grain coated in the spores of a mushroom species and we purchased ours from an Australian supplier. When the spores on the grain encounter an appropriate substate they start to grow into baby pieces of mycelium which look like fuzzy, white threads. These threads work their way through the substrate by digesting the sugars in the wood until they eventually colonise the material and prepare for fruiting (producing mushroom bodies).

Our mycelium formed a spongy white shell around the outside of our blocks. Once enough of a structure had formed, we removed the blocks from the grow bags and baked them in the oven until completely dried out. The oven drying process and heat desiccates the mycelium, basically killing it, and prevents it from fruiting (producing mushrooms). Drying it this way also makes sure the material is sterile and won’t carry spores or go mouldy when we use it as packaging.

The images below show our blocks grown on sawdust and sugarcane respectively.

The dried sawdust blocks were relatively heavy (~500g) with a smooth, leathery texture on the outer surface. They were denser than the pool noodles we’d been using but still had the bit of give needed to cushion the birdbaths and absorb shock. In the photo below you can see how the material still held its shape when squeezed. The sugarcane mulch blocks were lighter with a more crackly texture. They tended to break apart a little or collapse when firmly squeezed but maintained their overall shape on impact. Both substrates had the potential to work well as packaging replacement to the pool noodles.

What we produced was the beginnings of a viable packaging solution! A material that mimicked the characteristics of plastics that we wanted, but which would degrade easily in the environment and could be added to people’s home composts. We placed some of the finished material in our own composts and as a light mulch on pots plants. It was well on its way to breaking down within a couple of months

The business case

Once the physical properties of the finished material were deemed satisfactory, we then started planning a production schedule. This is where our research hit real problems. The effort, time and physical space required to manufacture these compostables for our small-scale enterprise is excessive.

Firstly, we’d need to figure out a way to make moulds in the shape of the packaging we wanted and/or invest in someone to make them for us. A run of enough packaging for 20 birdbaths would require 80 moulds. Creating the moulds is do-able but requires careful consideration and testing of the design and an initial start-up cost. We may also need to adapt the growing process to ensure the sterilised substrate can be transferred into the moulds with very low risk of contamination.

A second difficulty would be sourcing a reliable and local supplier of waste substrate appropriate for growing the mycelium. For those 80 moulds we would need approximately 40kg of sawdust or 16kg of sugarcane per run. Also do-able, but potentially time-consuming if it required picking up from the supplier.

Sterilising 16-40kg of substrate per run is one of the biggest challenges and extremely difficult without a commercial size autoclave. With our home pressure cooker we can only sterilise about 1.5kg of substrate at a time, every two hours. That would equal over 50 hours of sterilising per run using our current equipment, and isn’t at all feasible. Drying the mycelium blocks in the oven at the end of the growing process would also need to be scaled-up somehow.

Another big drawback is the time required to grow each packaging block. It takes one full month from the day sterilisation starts to oven-drying process at the end to get the finished packaging product. This time-lag means there needs to be a large amount buffer stock in storage to meet fluctuating demand for products throughout the year. The physical space required to hold 80 moulds for one month is approximately 1.8m3. The cost of a workshop rental for that space is***.

The final consideration is the labour and time investment required even if we streamlined the above processes at much as we possibly could. Even in this case we estimate that it would take one employee at least 16 hours or two days/week to make this happen for us. Overall, producing this packaging it is an entirely new business, waiting to happen, in its own right.

So, where to now? Now, we are collaborating with designers in Sydney to create a packaging material out of cardboard pulp – a material similar to that which is used in egg cartons. This cardboard packaging is recyclable and can be mass produced in China but is not without its own challenges. It has proven difficult to design a packaging piece sturdy enough to protect our birdbaths during travel but we are close to finalising the design now. Manufacturing in China has the downside of having to ship the packaging pieces to us (more use of fossil fuels) but it is the most viable and cost-effective solution we have found.

Below is a photo of all the packaging options we’ve tried so far, from pool noodles to mycelium blocks to cardboard moulds. None of them are perfect but we are doing our best to make our business as sustainable as we can.

Despite not choosing the mycelium blocks as our final packaging solution, we were inspired by the ability to create such a practical, organic material! One that also has the potential to be used aesthetically in other design projects. Our next endeavour is to try to create an outdoor chair made from mycelium using a similar method.

Stay tuned,

Hannah and Etienne

0 notes

malleedesign · 3 years

Photo

New Post has been published on http://malleedesign.com.au/a-portrait-of-a-flower-hakea-francisiana/

A Portrait of a Flower: Hakea francisiana

Look at this thing! is it not one of the most spectacular flowers you have ever seen? I have been impatiently waiting for this moment in my Hakea francisiana Grafted life cycle since I planted it 6 months ago. It began flowering a couple of weeks ago, just as we went into COVID lockdown again, it must have known it spirit lifting powers were needed.

Hakea francisiana Grafted

This is a grafted form of Hakea francisiana or Emu Tree, as it naturally grows in Western Australia and South Australia where they don’t experience high levels of humidity.

Hakea francisiana ‘Intensity’ Grafted

My apologies but this blog post is simply a celebration of a flower, my specimen hasn’t been in long enough to display the mature habit of the large shrub or small tree it will finally become.

Hakea francisiana ‘Intensity’ Grafted

I am absolutely obsessed with the colour of these flowers as they open and mature, the gradient of pale yellow through to peach and then finally hot pink is delicious. Combined with the long, grey green upright leaves as a back drop makes the flower colour super punchy.

Hakea francisiana ‘Intensity’ Grafted

In the image above you can see the axillary flower buds on the stem, these seem to develop sporadically, I am assuming they will not all form flowers this year, however it is supposed to flower from Winter into Spring so who knows? Hakea francisiana can be sourced as a grafted plant from specialist native nurseries, this particular grafted form is called ‘Intensity’.

Hakea francisiana ‘Intensity’ Grafted

This Hakea is a tall bushy shrub to small tree growing up to 4 metres high x 3 metres wide. It likes a sunny open position in a well drained soil, however mine is very happy in part shade with a clay sub-soil 🤞

There is also a similar Hakea called Hakea bucculenta (which you can find in this post …) which can also be purchased grafted. Hakea bucculenta has a narrower leaf and the flower colour is more an organgy red than pink.

#bee attracting #bird-attracting #cut flowers #frost tolerant #grey green leaves #Hakea francisiana Grafted #large flower #long flowering period #pink flowers #winter flowering

0 notes