Which Plants Are Best For Instant Gardens?

We always say that if gardening teaches us anything, it's patience.

You can't grow a full-grown tree overnight, or even over a year.

But we hear you - sometimes you just want fast results, flowers without the wait, an instant garden from the moment you unbox!

So we're here to help you achieve that.

Fast Flowers - Perennials

For fast-growing plants, choose herbaceous perennials.

Many of the herbaceous perennials we grow are already flowering when we ship them. They're so keen to grow, they flower from tubestock size.

Herbaceous means soft - with no woody parts. Woody parts like trunks and branches take a long time to grow; if a plant can grow without them, it can grow faster.
Perennial means coming back year after year.

Most of the time, herbaceous perennials die back in winter, especially in cold climates; sometimes they remain leafy all year round if it's warmer.

They do their peak growing and flowering in Australian climates in spring and autumn, with many having a little summer siesta in between, to recover.

After a big spring show of flowers, if you cut your herbaceous perennials back, removing the old flower stems, they'll often produce a fresh flush of flowers for you.

You might get two spring shows, one early and one late; or you can cut the old stems back in late summer for an autumn display of colour before the frosts.

We recommend these groundcover perennials :

bugle (Ajuga), bottom left - bright pure blue flowers
cuphea - pink, white, magenta flowers reliably from go to woah, and the bees and butterflies love them
native fan flower (Scaevola) - white, pink, lilac and purple
geranium Rozanne - there's a reason this plant was voted Plant of the Century
native kangaroo lobelia (Dampiera) - astonishingly deep blue flowers
morning glory (Convolvulus), top right - pale blue trumpets pop open in sunshine
native myoporum - starry pink or white flowers cover these lovely neat groundcovers
clove pink (Dianthus) - peppery-scented pink-patterned blooms with fringed edges
Spanish shawl (Centradenia)- magenta flowers, copper foliage, vibrant and glowing in sunlight
white thrift and pink thrift (Armeria), bottom right - always sells out when we have it in stock
violet (Viola)- native violet and labrador violet especially, top left - charming vintage look for shady places

We recommend these taller perennials:

agapanthus, top left - especially Bingo Blue, Buccaneer
barleria Jet Streak - pastel stripes of lilac and white
catmint (Nepeta) - you'll love it as much as kitty will
firecracker (Crossandra), top right - heaps of peach-orange blooms in frost-free climates
goldfussia (Strobilanthes) - deep purple leaves are a dramatic foil for icy lilac flowers
native goodenia - bright yellow pops of colour
lion's ear (Leonotis) - vibrant orange on a grand scale
plectranthus, bottom right - in purple and white, filled with flowers
russelia red Ruby Falls, yellow Lemon Falls, and orangeTangerine Falls , bottom left - unsurpassed for fast flowering needing little effort
flowering sage (Salvia) - a range of colours, sizes, and climate preferences so there's a salvia for every garden!

Fast Flowers - Daisies

There's heaps of herbaceous choice to fill your garden with colour, and butterflies, and bees... But for super-quick results you can't go past daisies.

They're really easy to grow, really fast to grow, and if you have no garden space at all, they're happy to flower in a pot on the deck, or in a hanging basket.

We recommend these daisy plants:

native cut leaf daisy or Swan River daisy (Brachyscome), bottom left - white, pink, purple carpets of flowers
cape daisy (Osteospermum)- big, colourful, sunloving
gazania, top left - big, colourful, sunloving
gold coin (Asteriscus), top right - vibrant bright yellow against silvery foliage
ice plants and stonecrops (Mesembryanthemum, Delosperma, Carpobrotus), bottom right - fantastic for waterwise gardens, rockeries, terrariums, hanging baskets, indoor pots
native paper daisy (Rhodanthe) - dainty white paper daisies
seaside daisy (Erigeron) - fast and easy, no-maintenance
native yellow buttons (Chrysocephalum) - customer favourite, gardener's favourite, daisies without the petals!

Fast Flowers - Climbers

Climbers do a lot of growing in a short time. If you're going to reach 3 metres or more, you've got to get going!

As well as being a fast way to create a privacy screen, by growing them along a chain link fence, climbers are also a great way to add fast shade to your garden - by growing them over a pergola or arbour.

Like our herbaceous perennials, climbers often flower from tubestock size, filling your garden with colour, almost immediately!

If you want greenery and no flowers :

creeping fig (Ficus pumila)
ivy (Hedera)

We recommend for fast flower colour :

clematis, top left - cold-hardy, vigorous, and super-pretty in a cottage garden
dipladenia and mandevilla, bottom right - full-on colour for frost-free locations
jasmine (Jasminum)- sweet summer scent, and lots of flowers
native pandorea, bottom left - bower of beauty and wonga vine, in white, pink and peach, always popular
potato vine (Solanum)- who knew spuds could be so pretty?
native purple coral pea (Hardenbergia), top right - scrambling habit that works for groundcover, trailing over a support, and growing through larger shrubs too
star jasmine (Trachelospermum)- the smell of summer, for climbing, stepover hedges, and groundcover.

Fast Results - Grasses

If you want fast results, you can't go past grasses!

OK, so you may not be growing grasses and grassy plants for the flowerheads - though many are very ornamental and worth planting for that alone.

Grassy plants also provide useful food for birds in autumn and winter, and useful shelter for small animals and birds through the year.

They'll give your garden a mature established look in just a few weeks, helping to soften the hard edges of paths and built structures; and grasses will fill in gaps around larger, more slow-growing, plants and shrubs.

There's heaps of choice when it comes to grassy-looking plants too. The selection of grassy plants below all often ship in flower and bud, so you'll begin to create a mature-looking garden from the moment you unbox and plant them.

We recommend :

native knobbly club rush (Ficinia) - great for water features, creek banks, sandy soils, salt marches
native common rush (Juncus), bottom right - ideal for wildlife gardens, revegetation and soil stabilisation
native mat rush (Lomandra), bottom left - safe shelter for native birds and animals
purple fountain grass (Pennisetum). top left - maroon dwarf or plum-burgundy tall, the pink-cream plumes sway in the breeze
silver grass (Miscanthus)- tall, stately, very showy grasses and very on-trend right now
swamp grass (Pennisetum)- grows almost anywhere; for sterile varieties choose Pennstripe or Nafray
native tussock grass (Poa), top right - rugged, reliable, recommended on most council planting lists
native wallaby grass (Austrodanthonia)- fluffy-plumed grass that's happy almost anywhere except the Top End

We recommend these grassy plants :

blue eyed grass Devon Skies (Sisyrinchium) - big baby-blue flowers like a child would draw, cover these tiny plants from the go
Native kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos), especially the Bush series, which flower early and more than once a year
lily turf (Liriope), bottom right- for cold or hot, sun or shade, wet or dry
rain lily (Zephyranthes)- these pop up like a surprise every year, a carpet of white stars
society garlic (Tulbaghia), top right- one of the most reliable plants for fast flowering, and a long season of it
spiderwort Sweet Kate (Tradescantia), top left - super-quick, showy, richly coloured blue-purple flowers
wild iris (Dietes), bottom left - all varieties will flower from tubestock size with no effort

They're great for adding a pop of low-cost seasonal colour in a drab area, without committing to something more established or expensive.

Fast Flowers - Shrubs

Now we did say that woody plants, like shrubs, take a longer time to grow and flower.
But we also say, the plants don't read the gardening books!

Some of those shrubs start flowering even at tubestock size. You can see from the photos here.

We often ship exotic and native shrubs with buds and flowers; many have a lot of growing to do before they are full size, but they are eager to show you they can flower, even when very young.

It's one of the advantages of growing from cuttings, like we do - cuttings-grown shrubs will always flower earlier, and more reliably true, than those grown from seed.

We recommend these cold-tolerant shrubs:

azalea, top right - evergreen and flowers twice a year in most varieties
buddleia - fast-growing, easy care, butterflies love them
native bottlebrush (Callistemon)- the native favourite for easy colour in a wildlife-friendly garden
camellia, top left - slow-growing but fast-flowering
native coast rosemary (Westringia) - low maintenance, resilient, flowers almost all year
grevillea Deua Flame and New Blood will both flower scarlet from tubestock size
hebe - neat evergreen Kiwi shrubs, purple pink or white flowers that bees adore
lily of the valley bush (Pieris), bottom right- evergreen, with colour all year from flowers and foliage
native mint bush Ballerina (Prostanthera)- charming native perfect for cottage gardens
rock rose hot pink Sunset, white sageleaf, pale pink Silver Pink (Cistus), bottom left- ripper shrubs for hot sunny spots, really keen to flower
native tea tree (Leptospermum) - one of our best selling plant families

We recommend these frost tender shrubs:

diosma - flowers in white or pale pink, pairs well with Geraldton waxflower
gardenia - gorgeous scent as well as pure white flowers
hibiscus, top left - showy and exotic in a range of bright colours
ixora, bottom left - juicy citrus-coloured subtropical evergreens
oleander (Nerium)- beautiful showy resilient bushes or small trees
plumbago, bottom right - blue or white scrambling shrubs, pretty informal hedges too
rondeletia - handsome hedges and feature shrubs in a frost-free garden
tibouchina, top right - spectacular purple and pink shrubs or small trees

Fast Flowers - Annuals

You can get a fast garden full of flowers from seed, if you fancy having a go at growing your own.

Many seed-grown flowers will flower within 8-12 weeks of sowing. Like these:

calendula marigold
california poppy, bottom left
linaria
nasturtium, top left
phlox, top right
ten-week scented stock
verbena, bottom right
fastest of all, virginia stock

This is because many seed-grown plants are annuals - they do all their growing and flowering in one year, then they die.

It's a cheap simple way to get flowers for your garden, and some will self-seed to give you free flowers next year.

Though be prepared - seed-grown flowers don't always 'come true', so you might get children that look very different to their parents! It's all part of the charm of a cottage garden.

While you're sowing your flowering annuals, add in some herbs and salad leaves too.

They'll give you green leafy cover, a tasty snack - you can start to pick the leaves as soon as they grow - and if you don't manage to eat them all first, they'll often flower too.

Herb flowers are fantastic at attracting butterflies and bees to the garden. They're also surprisingly pretty!

Our category Fast-Growing Seeds has everything that will flower or be ready to harvest in 12 weeks or less.

Our weekly email often features photos fresh from the nursery benches of what's flowering each week.

So if you're looking for a ready-made garden without the wait, you can order what's in the email, and unbox an instant flower garden!

And take a look at some of our customer photos of their order unboxing - the image here is from Diana of her fanflowers emerging from the packaging, ready for planting and enjoying!

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