Dianella berries (November 2018) on front verge. Rich purple berries follow delicate flowers. Bought as tubestock (3), Kumbartcho, December 2016. Planted on west side of tank. Bought as tubestock (30), Kumbartcho, December 2016. Planted on south side of verge. Dianella flowering September-October 2022. This is blue tongue territory. Sweet peas in foreground, Doryanthes excelsa – Gymea [...]

commonly known as the Waxvine or Common waxflower Bought as tubestock from Kumbartcho Nursery 10/12/2016 Planted in pot with native violets at base. Wikipedia – Hoya Australis says it is an evergreen climbing vine which may reach 4–10 m (13–33 ft). It has simple opposite glabrous (shiny) leaves 3–6 cm long and 2–5 cm wide. [...]

Erect Clumping Habit Perennial Herb Green triangular stems to 8 mm thick Pale Brown flowers and fruit in clustered spikelets to 20 mm Full Sun Soil/Conditions: Moist / Water to 50 cm Family: Cyperaceae Natural Habitat: Wetlands • Frog Habitat • Dam Edge Stablising Plant From Kumbartcho 6/10/2020 for new pond in front garden

Blue tongues – taken from above. The one on the left is making its escape into the leaves. I think we have at least 3 lizards of different generations but this is the first time I have seen two in the same place at the same time. It is a sunny spot in the south-east [...]

Blue-banded bee busy this morning on the Hibbertia scandens

Chequered Swallowtail caterpillar on the host plant Cullen tenax in the front garden (19 Feb 2022. Photo includes some leaves from Hovea acutifolia) and a few weeks later… and from the side (10 March 2022) (10 March 2022) A butterfly friendly garden needs host plants, food plants, water, and to be free of herbicides and pesticides.

Eastern Garden I combined the two metal beds to eliminate the corner sections crushed be the digger during the pool renovation.  In the middle I put a reed avocado tree and created a mound of mixed soil and Activ8. On three sides there is a straw bale extended outwards to the border. This effectively breaks [...]

It’s important to have a variety of flowers all year round for the pollinators. Yesterday I brought home my first beehive so was a bit worried that there might not be enough flowers for the visiting bees as well as the new residents. Time for a flower hunt. Pandorea Jasminoides – Bower of Beauty along [...]

Verge 3/7/2024 Pathway inside front fence – shaded all year round.  Lilly pilly hedge inherited from previous owner now small trees to allow sightlines through. Lomandra and dianella on left, Plectranthus argentatus further down, bird baths and Crinum pedunculatum at end. Front bed – Acacia fimbriata (dead one still standing as a favourite perch for [...]

January 2017 was very hot, very dry. Bird baths sometimes needed topping up twice a day. On the verge: Zinnias, salvia, geranium, sedum holding up well. Gerberas have come back to life. Seems too hot for cosmos. Osteospermum struggling and a few plants have given up. Seeds planted in trays – spinach, asparagus pea, capsicum [...]

This morning, we went for a flower hunt to see how many different flowers there were in the garden, including the verge. Here’s the list: Acacia Fimbriata (Brisbane Wattle) is coming into flower. In the morning sun, it is abuzz. Also popular with birds of all sizes Subtropical Nectarine blossom Graptophyllum ilicifolium (Holly Fuchsia) popular [...]

I planted two Kangaroo Paws in a hurry on the native strip in March 2011 before I went away for 3 weeks.  They grew steadily through the winter but were doing nothing much when we went away in early September.  Six weeks later (mid-October), we returned to this… and this… It’s a west-facing wall – [...]

Kangaroo paws flower from Spring through to the end of Summer. Flowers are popular with the small brown honeyeaters. These photos were taken in the first spring after the Kangaroo Paw and other natives were planted.

Early March and it’s still very hot, very dry.  Promised rain seems to go around us. On the verge: Gerberas have come up for their second season and are flowering well. The soil has definitely improved. Zinnias are still flowering. A blue dot marks where the street tree will go. March 19, 2017: After yet [...]

Although I’ve had native bees visiting the garden for years, I’ve not had a hive – until now. Many thanks to Dianne from Brisbane Local Food for letting me have one from splitting her hive. The hive has been placed on an upturned clay pot under the acacia at the back, in the shelter with [...]

Pentas have hairy green leaves and clusters of flowers in shades of red, white, pink, and purple. I planted some in the front bed from a punnet of seedlings and forgot about them until a year on I found this one thriving despite considerable neglect.  And today I saw them again at the Bribie Island [...]

On Friday, our new street tree was installed in line with the blue dot by two friendly workmen from the BCC.  They called it a “Lop Con” short for Lophostemon confertus (Queensland Brush Box), and it’s the same as the others in the street. One neighbour who is also missing a tree has already ordered [...]

This is reason enough to grow sunflowers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYSLYrHalOs This sunflower is beside the pond and gets the morning sun. It has lots of tiny native bees and a single larger one. I’m not sure what type of bee it is. And here are some more against the fence facing west. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxJxmnMzVu0 Note to self: get [...]

Weather has been very cold, windy and dry. Days are getting longer, sun moving south. Eastern beds 13/7/2014 – Narrowed bed 2 and moved bed 1 away from the side of the pool, leaving a new path. Found ginger and a large red sweet potato. Cleared nasturiums, planted parsley seedlings. Tomatoes starting to fruit. Plan [...]

With the street tree planted in late April, the cooler weather and recent rain meant that May was the month for completing Stage 3 of the verge. It is the largest part, between the concrete path and the kerb.  The traffic calming means that I don’t have to worry about people alighting from parked cars [...]

The sunny side of the verge is starting to look more like a garden. The annuals – alyssum, nasturtiums and strawflowers are filling space while the tubestock natives are growing. The alyssum is flowering, attracting bees, keeping weeds down and making the mulch path look like a path – no hard borders are allowed under [...]

It’s two years since the main verge was planted out. The street tree is thriving. The westringia against the road are well establised. Myoporum (in the foreground right) seems to be indestructible and has tiny white flowers. Cuttings strike well.   Pink and white cosmos have come up from seed and brightens the mid-winter garden. The [...]