Shrub to 4 Metres High Dense Rounded Habit Evergreen Perennial Aspect: Full Sun / Shaded Soil/Conditions: Adaptable/Moist Green glossy leaves to 14 cm long White perfumed 4-petalled 8 mm flowers in clusters in Spring Black 8 mm globular berry fruit Family: Rubiaceae Natural Habitat: Dry Rain Forest Special Features: • Butterfly and Moth Attracting • [...]
Blue tongue in the back garden near the cycad. They have a burrow near the post of the retaining wall.
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 [...]
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.
This not so little bug – about 1.5 cm long – is enjoying the sun on the native hibiscus out the front. Cotton Harlequin Bug (Tectocoris diophthalmus) See more about them at http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_stinkbugs/Harlequin.htm
Just before the rain on 25 January 2021, we found this large green tree frog (Litoria caerulea) on the back wall. Maybe it was getting some insects attached to the lights. Links Green, blue and yellow tree frogs https://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Animals+of+Queensland/Frogs/Common+frogs/Common+Green+Treefrog
3/2/2021 about 4pm – this beautiful green tree snake was enjoying the sun on top of the front fence. These snakes are not venomous, and eat mainly frogs, fish and small reptiles. More than 1.5 metres long – if you look closely you can see the end of its tail in the bushes. He/she didn’t [...]
A kookaburra has been visiting the garden most days. It likes to perch on the small roof near the pond and I was worried that it had its eye on the frog. But today, it swooped down and dug out a large worm from the garden bed. You can hear the small brown honeyeaters and the [...]
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 [...]
There seem to be more Noisy Friarbirds than ever this spring. Here are two noisy friarbirds shooting the breeze today in the Graptophyllum ilicifolium (Holly Fuschia) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q4Wi2BZKpk Noisy Friarbirds are large honeyeaters. They don’t seem to bother the smaller birds in the garden.
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 [...]
The Brisbane City Council guidelines are at https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/clean-and-green/natural-environment-and-water/plants-trees-and-gardens/verge-gardens What about trip hazards? A common trip hazard is border edges so your garden must be flush with the concrete path if you have one. The BCC permits organic mulch and I use a thin layer of mulch to protect the soil while waiting for the plants [...]
When I started this garden and looked around at options, there was talk about low maintenance, sustainability (a much misused word), permaculture, and even using a garden as an extension of the house – with massive outdoor kitchens. So much choice, opinion, and conflicting advice. What to do? Priorities The first thing to consider is [...]
