My street tree – planted by council Links Street Tree has its First Trim Street Trees need Verge Gardens too

Common Name – Swamp Mazus. A native ground cover for wet to waterlogged soils. Rosettes of tiny oak-like leaves. Unusual asymmetrical lilac/blue flowers in Spring-Summer. Grows in full sun or part shade. Low perennial herb forming rosettes connected by rhizomes. Flowering: September–April Bought Native Plant Sale: September 2016 Doesn’t like to dry out. Divides easily. [...]

(was Melastoma affine, also known as Native Lassiandra) 6 March 2021 – after the rain I have found both my Melastomas in flower. But only the one in the front garden appears to be the native Melastoma malabathricum Native Lassiandra is a rounded shrub grows to three metres high with lilac flowers to five cm [...]

Bought as tubestock at Kumbartcho Nursery 10/12/2016 Label says: Round bushy, shrub to 1m in sun or semi-shade.  Likes well drained, moist soil. Dark green leaves to 5cm long. White/lavender flowers in spring and summer. Attracts birds, bees and butterflies. Planted at the base of a birdbath by the back tap. The little birds – [...]

New plant bought Kumbartcho 5/3/2021 Bought: Nambour Garden Show July 2016 and put in pot. Planted: Against back fence to climb on wires (southfacing, gets sun in summer) Survived for 2 years Links https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pararistolochia_praevenosa http://www.saveourwaterwaysnow.com.au/01_cms/details_pop.asp?ID=291 http://richmondbirdwing.org.au/

Herb to 30 cm High Shaded / Semi-Shade Rocks, Moist but not too wet, with ferns Prostrate Clumping Evergreen Perennial Grey-Green soft leaves to 3 cm, Small White flowers on spikes to 13 cm Also suits pots and indoor.

Frogsmouth shown here in a pot with some Mazus Pumilio partly submerged in the front pond. It started as a tiny tubestock from the Nambour show and was growing well with many flower spikes about  metre long. You can see how it gets its name from the yellow flowers – one just visible in the [...]

Yellow flowers on a fleshy, woolly stem. Shallow water or moist soil. Bird and frog attracting plant Tubestock from Kumbartcho October 2020 for new pond This is still doing well in the other pond, now divided into 3 plants.

Velvety silvery green foliage. Pinch out to encourage bushiness. Flowers appear from summer through to autumn. Prefers well-drained soils in shade but will grow in sun. Needs hard pruning every couple of years. Tubestock Kumbartcho 27 November 2020.  Thriving under the Acacia fimbriata facing SE corner. Two more planted in new front-west garden 4 March [...]

Herb to 10-70cm tall. Shade. A tufted perennial herb with fleshy tuberous base and mid-green soft felt-like leaves, bears non-aromatic pale blue to violet blue flowers most of the year. Tubestock from Kumbartcho Nursery Planted under Acacia fimbriata 20/12/2016 has spread in front garden

Attractive, scrambling shrub to 1m. Flowers white or pale mauve from spring to autumn. Sticky fruits adhere to clothing, skins and pets and may be a minor nuisance near walkways or other high traffic locations. (ref) Grows as an understory plant in monsoon forest and vine thickets (ref) Food plant for Zebra Blue butterfly. Bought: [...]

Eucalyptus curtisii, or Plunkett mallee, is a small tree that is native to Queensland in Australia. It is a mallee eucalyptus that grows from 2 to 7 metres in height and has smooth, grey bark that peels in long strips. The adult leaves are 6 to 13 cm long and 10 to 25 mm wide. [...]

Themeda triandra on left, Poa labillardieri  on right Tubestock from Kumbartcho 27 Nov 2020 planted in one of the grass habitat pots for the Double-Barred Finches Links: https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/trainees-2016/poa-labillardierei.html

Also known as Turkey Bush. Bushy rainforest shrub to 5 metres (some sites say less). Small white flowers in clusters in spring and summer. Can tolerate full to filtered sun in moist, well drained soil. Tubestock from Kumbartcho December 2020 Planted against the eastern wall at the top of the native bed. Links https://sown.com.au/psychotria-daphnoides-rubiaceae-smooth-psychotria-turkey-bush/

Tubestock from Kumbartcho 1 December 2020 Full sun to lightly shaded. Up to 1m high x 1-1.5m Will try this one on the verge – west bed. Not sure if the one at H26 is Pultenaea retusa or Pultenaea villosa Links: https://www.australianplantsonline.com.au/notched-bush-pea-pultenaea-retusa.html

Commonly called hairy pea bush or ‘Eggs and Bacon’, member of the pea-flower family Fabaceae. Tubestock from Kumbartcho 1 December 2020 planted in from bed under acacia fimbriata Not sure if the one at H26 is Pultenaea retusa or Pultenaea villosa

Shrub to 4m, dense rounded habit, evergreen perennial, white flowers, yellow globular fruit Semi-shade, rainforest understory, edible fruit From Kumbartcho 5/3/2021. Planted in back garden between Eureka lemon and Stenocarpus ‘Doreen’

SHRUB TO 1 METRE TALL BY 40 CM ACROSS Low, open habit, fine foliage and white flowers and green berries throughout the year. An excellent understorey plant in shady positions. (Paten Park Nursery) Tubestock from Kumbartcho December 2019 Planted half way along the back fence in a very shady spot.

Scaevola is suddenly fashionable. It’s a pretty plant with flowers that look like half a daisy – hence fan flowers. In the new bed between the tank and the house, I have Aussie Winners – aemula which has larger, softer leaves and larger flowers, and some slightly smaller cheaper versions from Ridgy-Didge. They have morning [...]

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

The native senna shrub growing to 3 m in height, not the invasive one. Tubestock from Kumbartcho. It’s had its first flowers and now developing seed pods Links: Species profile— Senna acclinis – Queensland Government https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedSpeciesApp/profile.aspx?id=10753

Tubestock from Kumbartcho 1 Dec 2020 Planted in front bed between pond and acacia fimbriata Small Leaved Necklace Pod. Sparsely branched shrub to two metres with bright pea-like yellow flowers Full Sun / Shaded Soil Conditions: Adaptable, prefers Moist Description: Erect Spreading Habit Evergreen Perennial Yellow pea flowers to 10mm long in sprays to 10 [...]

Tubestock from Kumbartcho 1 December 2020 Shrub to 6 Metres High ( much taller than Sophora fraseri) Full Sun / Shaded Soil/  Conditions: Adaptable, prefers Moist Description: Erect Spreading Habit Evergreen Perennial Sparsely branched Yellow pea flowers to 25 mm long in sprays to 15 cm long in Spring to Summer Green cylindrical seed pods [...]

Endemic to Queensland and New South Wales. Common names are Native Broom, Square-stemmed Broom or Bead Bush Evergreen perennial shrub to 1.5 Metres High, Full Sun / Semi-shade Almost leafless with tiny white 5-petalled flowers, orange / red globular fruit most of the year Dry Rainforest said to attract birds but I will be watching to [...]

Known as Kangaroo Grass.  According to Kumbartcho, local habit is Tussock Forming Erect Habit Evergreen Perennial to 60 cm High Full Sun, Adaptable / Well-Drained Green slender leaves to 50 cm Flowers in spikes to 1.5 Metres high in Spring to Summer Brown pointed seed capsules to 7 cm, often pendulous Family: Poaceae Natural Habitat: Eucalypt Forest [...]

I call the native violet my weed of choice. This is not meant in a derogatory sense. Bare soil will always be colonised by something so why not encourage this friendly little plant to out-compete less attractive weeds and be the default groundcover. Native Violets grow in all sorts of places from full shade to [...]

Westringia is a very hardy, versatile little shrub. You can let it grow wild or trim into neat balls. It’s an ideal plant for the nature strip. Westringia fruticosa has white flowers right through the year Westringia eremicola has slightly finer, greener leaves and purple/lilac flowers. Westringia just needs an occasional trim to keep a ball [...]

I bought one small Aloe Vera in 2010… From that one, I now have many plants. The aloe vera is the one plant that thrives just about anywhere and can withstand the wind. I plant it anywhere there is a gap so that there is some handy for ant and wasp bites. The flowers are a [...]

Perennial, erect stems with dark green leaves and purple/ blue flowers in Spring/Summer. Shade tolerant, moist. Use as hanging basket, pot plant, or in a rockery. Will grow bushier when cut right back after flowering. Herb/Shrub grows to about 1 m tall. Also called Native Snapdragon Said to attract the Blue-banded Bee 3 Tubestock from [...]

There are two ways to get shade – to build it or to grow it – and I need shade on the western side of the house. When we moved here there was a mock orange hedge – horrible thing.  It was two metres high but didn’t block the sun, it billowed out and filled [...]

This pale yellow clivia is by the path to the front door. It has moved around a little but seems to have found its niche. Poor clay soil, deep shade in winter, not so deep in summer. I cut off the seed pods after the first show of flowers and sometimes get a second. Plants [...]

A hardy, small tree, up to 20 m but usually smaller, with spreading crown creating good shade. Small panicles of pale flowers are followed by bird-attractive fruits. Host Plant for Deudorix diovis (Bright Cornelian) butterfly. Caterpillars tended by ants. Tubestock from Kumbartcho December 2019

Planted August 2019 in front west garden towards the bottom of the slope. It is shaded by trees above, and most morning sun will be blocked by the westringia. The plan is that it will grow to be an understory plant and get more sun as it is bigger and more able to cope as [...]

Creeping herb with green circular leaves. Said to have greenish-white 5 mm flowers in Spring/Summer but I have yet to see any. I find this a useful creeping groundcover in the front lawn, on the verge, on mulched paths.  It dries out quickly in hot sun but usually comes back again when it’s cooler. Mows [...]

I’ve moved this pond from the back garden where trees had grown and were overhanging. I put it in the middle of the front garden bed, based on an assignment for Backyard Biodiversity course with UTAS. Pond plants from Kumbartcho Nursery October 2020 Front pond 2 December 2020 about 8am so getting some morning shade. [...]

This stuff grows anywhere, tolerates poor and dry soil, strikes from small pieces. Small yellow flowers.  The blue tongue lizards like it. I was a bit concerned about weed potential but it seems to spread, not jump and is easy to pull out.  To kill completely, just sheet-cover or out-compete. Alyssum can beat it. August [...]

Also known as Queensland Holly or Veiny Graptophyllum Understory plant in Wet Sclerophyll Forest (Full Shade / Filtered Sun but will tolerate full sun) A compact rounded shrub with attractive dark green leaves, and white flowers in Spring. The fruit is club-shaped and about 1cm. long. Attracts Carpenter Bee, Blue-banded Bee and stingless bees. Tubestock [...]

The Grevillea ‘Peaches and Cream’ was the first plant in the native strip. It’s at the north end and we see it when we look out of the window.   This plant is thriving – more than doubled it’s size in less than a year.  The small brown honeyeaters as well as the larger birds [...]

Shrub or Tree to 5 Metres (taller than Hakea sericea) Full Sun / Semi-Shade Rounded Open Habit Evergreen Perennial Dark Green needle-shaped leaves to 8 cm White small flowers on branches in Winter Brown woody capsule to 35 mm Very Prickly so Small Bird Shelter Plant Bought Kumbartcho December 2019  

Tree to 20 Metres High with cream fragrant flowers darkening to yellow in autumn through to summer. This one is staying in a pot Bird Attracting Butterfly Attracting Bee Attracting Prune young and regularly for best effect  

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 – [...]

Backhousia citriodora (common names lemon myrtle, lemon scented myrtle, lemon scented ironwood) is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae, genus Backhousia. (wikipedia) See also http://www.lemonmyrtle.com.au/ Bought at native Plant sale September 2016

Melaleuca nodosa , commonly known as the prickly-leaved paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with narrow, sometimes needle-like leaves and profuse heads of yellow flowers as early as April or as late as January (wikipedia) Grows to 7 metres [...]

Bush Mint sometimes referred to as “Native Pennyroyal” Mat-forming herb, rhizomatous and often producing ascending to prostrate branches at nodes; branches glabrous or covered with short spreading hairs. Grows in sandy-clay to clay-rich soils, frequently in grassy areas Sun or shade, attracts bees & insects. Tiny, white flowers will attract bees in summer. The plant [...]

Suggested by a volunteer at Kumbartcho Nursery as a more local Myoporum than the finer leaved ones you buy in the shops, and a very hardy low-growing shrub for the front verge. Small white flowers in Autumn followed by berries. Full sun or semi-shade Grows to approx. 50cm with spread of 1 to 2 metres [...]

I got some Okinawa spinach cuttings from Diane at BLF. They strike very easily, stand up to summer heat, and are another option for greens. And it seems it is also attracts the Blue Tiger butterfly.

The Brisbane Local Food group had a great outing and lunch at Neilsen’s Native Nursery today. I managed to resist everything except this.  I’ve been looking for Old Man Salt Bush for months. Planted in front west garden. Propagating more from cuttings for the verge. Links: Gardening with Angus

Common names: Sago Bush, Rice Flower, White Dogwood, Pill Flower Shrub to 2.5 Metres High by 2 Metres Spread Full Sun / Semi-Shade, Adaptable Description: Dense Upright Habit Evergreen Perennial Dark Green aromatic leaves to 15 mm long White flowers in 3 mm clusters of 20 to 100 in Spring to Summer Attracts Australian Painted [...]

Bought: Nambour Garden Show July 2016Planted: Against back fence to climb on wires (southfacing, gets sun in summer)Prefers full sun or part-shadePruning after flowering can restrain growth and plants respond well to hard pruning. Pandorea Jasminoides – Bower of Beautyclimbing on back fence February 2019(It’s in a large pot along the back fence.  A second [...]