Matthew Flinders: Supposed to grow less than 1 metre high. Red bottlebrush flowers attract small honey eating birds to your garden. Flowers are at their peak in late winter and spring but with some scattered flower throughout the year. Prune after flowering – flowers on new growth Where: – 3 planted on verge in 2020 [...]
Planting for Wildlife
Tubestock from Kumbartcho Nursery December 2019 Label says: Scrambling / Climbing Woody Vine or Ground Cover to 5 Metres, Evergreen Perennial, Bright Green leaves to 12 cm, Yellowish flowers to 5mm, Purplish-Black grape-like edible fruit Semi-Shade / Shade Soil/Conditions: Moist / Well-Drained Joseph’s Coat Moth Host Plant Bird Attracting Hanging Basket plant Indoor Plant Aboriginal [...]
Glycosmis trifoliata – known as Òrange Berry or Pink Lime Bush Rounded open habit, evergreen, perennial shrub to 4 Metres Full Sun / Semi-Shade Moist /Well-Drained Green glossy leaves to 15 cm long White flowers to 5 mm in clusters in Spring to Summer Pink soft berry fruit to 12 mm diameter Family: Rutaceae Natural Habitat: Dry [...]
Hybrid of the Grevillea ‘Honey Gem’, it’s easy to see how this small tree is got its name. As it grows taller, prunning the lower branches provides an attractive view of its twisting trunk. I have/had two, one in the main front garden which gained favourable comments from visitors. A second is near the bins [...]
A prickly grevillea with small pink flowers all year round, much loved by birds of all sizes. The Canberra Gem planted at the front in 2013 has grown to about 3m, although I have seen them kept down to 1 metre in other gardens. In 2017, the double-barred finches made a small, round nest about [...]
Known as Red Kennedy Pea or Dusky Coral Pea Erect Scrambling Plant Evergreen Perennial Vine to 3 Metres High Full Sun / Semi-Shade Soil/Conditions: Adaptable / Well-Drained Dark Green trifolate leaves to 120 mm Dark Red flowers to 40 mm in Winter/Spring Hairy slightly flattened seed pods to 100 mm Flowers are food for Lewin’s [...]
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-banded bee busy this morning on the Hibbertia scandens
Today I noticed the finger lime in the front garden was almost leafless. At first I assumed it was another casualty of the flooding rains of early March 2022. But on closer inpection… I’d say this is the chrysalis of an Orchard Swallowtail butterfly. They’ve been breeding on the K-lime on the other side of [...]
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 [...]
This is a very exposed spot, with winds from the south and winds from the west. The Acacia fimbriata split at a fork in the truck on a particularly gusty day so we lost half the tree. I cut off the side branch and the rest of the tree survived and now thrives. Other plants in the [...]
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 [...]
My garden – and verge – are part of the Brisbane Pollinator Link. Well, sort of. The Brisbane Pollinator Link is a great idea, aiming to have enough Brisbane gardens in close proximity to create connecting habitat for bees, butterflies and other bugs. But it’s based on the south side of the river, and one [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
In debates about the environment, urban planning and development, the need for greenspace is a bit of an accepted wisdom. “Protect our greenspace” is the one argument against a new development that nobody dares argue with. But what do people really mean when they talk about greenspace? Does everyone mean the same thing? Do they [...]
I was among those who was delighted when the BCC came out with their new policy allowing verge gardens in 2016. But there were also complaints from the edible verge movement that it didn’t include lots of edible foods in its suggested plants. The guidelines didn’t forbid edibles, it just didn’t push their barrow. I [...]
Our street has several street trees but for some reason there are gaps – and there’s a big gap on both sides of the street in front of our house. Did little trees die from neglect? Did someone remove them? Where they ever there? So, I phoned the Brisbane City Council call centre 3403 8888 [...]