Early Spring in the Nursery

Behind the Scenes in our nursery

We love to see all the photos and videos of your garden plants that you send to us, and share on social media!
We thought we'd share some of ours with you in return, so you can see what's flowering at our place right now.

We've crashed headlong from an unseasonably cold winter into an unusually warm spring here on the Sunshine Coast. So there's a lot going on!

 

Horticultural maven Tim Entwistle has suggested Australia adopt extra seasons as the northern hemisphere four don't cut it with Aussie climate patterns.
He adds Sprinter (Spring-Winter) for the early natives flowering season; and Sprummer (Spring-Summer) before we get to true midsummer - what do you think?

Sasanqua camellias are still looking spectacular after their glamorous and showy winter display : huge marbled RL Wheeler; deliciously perfumed High Fragrance, and vibrant magenta Bonanza.

Japonica camellias are joining the show too - here, the classically elegant Black Tie, a customer favourite.

Cyclamen are also going strong after a brilliant winter show; and almost sold out. They prettify our shade house, but we love that you're enjoying them at home!

The autumn-flowering azaleas transformed instantly into spring-flowering azaleas, with hardly a pause for a half-time snack. They are excellent value. Above, Alphonse Anderson, always in demand.

Three more azaleas in flower, enjoying the surprisingly warm spring sun : Alba Magnifica, vibrant Autumn Bravo always eager to bloom, and shell pink double-flowered Dreamtime

Three Leptospermum tea trees in flower, always one of our best-selling native plants - and with blossoms in abundance like these it's easy to see why. Burgundy Queen, tall and dark, vibrant against the Juniper All Gold in the background; Ballerina, a rainbow of pinks and whites in every bush; rubrum nana, petite but a powerhouse when it comes to flowers.

When it comes to blooming bang for your buck, you can't go past Pacific Beauty. This all-white weeping variety is smothered completely in flowers - unfortunately this year at the same time as we had to prune them hard back :(
That's the life in a nursery - we don't always get to enjoy the flower show like you do in your garden, as our plants are here to work! Happily we got some photos of it last year when it was in full bloom.

Our Finance Manager couldn't resist making a little tea tree posy or two for her desk, to enjoy the spring indoors, with cyclamen, lavender, jasmine too.

Tuscan Blue rosemary is luring in tiny nectar-loving birds who perch on its straight stems. Rosemary can sometimes succumb to a long wet winter so check on your bushes and replant where necessary.

Sparkling with tiny starry blossoms, diosma is not native but blends beautifully with shrubs that are, like waxflower and tea tree. Pale pink flowers against apple-green feathery leaves make a very pretty effect; and as this is our tubestock in bloom, you won't have to wait to enjoy the show!

Three climbing-trailing plants, fast-growing and fast to flower too. Bell-flowered Ruby Belle is slightly less early-flowering than the precocious trumpet-flowered pandoreas, but she soon catches up with her gold-maroon flowers.

Double-flowered climbing banksiae rose is vigorous and keen, already bursting its buds. As well as classic white, it also comes in gentle creamy-yellow, called lutea

Native hardenbergia, purple coral pea, flowers eagerly at tubestock size, especially the named varieties like this Sea of Purple. The local bees are happy for an early feed.

And speaking of natives - have a go of these three! This philotheca variety may be called Winter Rouge but it's flowering strongly into spring. Mint bush is always a favourite, especially for native cottage gardens. And lemon darwinia's unusual flowers still draw the eye from winter into spring.

So you might not think about mat rush when you think of flowering plants, but those prickly stalks brighten a border over a long season. This one is Tanika, a dry-climate variety which seems to be coping with our SEQLD humidity remarkably well.

Double-flowered vinca is vigorous and keen, great for large areas in dry shade. Blue is a rare colour in nature so all the more welcome when it's so effortlessly produced.
Asteriscus gold coin, like many daisy plants, is a ripper little toughie and awesome value - look at those buds covering the tubestock plants, ready to fill your garden with colour!

Dainty and petite Dietes Tiny Dancer is much shorter than its species sibling - ideal for pots and front of borders that won't block the view.

This kumquat citrus literally stopped us in our tracks, with its stunning perfume. Definitely worth taking a deep breath for. We love that it flowers and fruits at the same time - really colourful and super-fragrant!
(We wish we could send citrus plants everywhere but recent changes in biosecurity laws mean this one's a QLD only shipping - sorry.)

Take a sniff of this one, as you take a closer look - brand new to our range and certain to sell out, the native brown boronia Dark Prince, with bigger brighter flowers than the species form. Those little flowers will fill your garden with fragrance.

The cheeky pink-tipped bell flowers of pieris Christmas Cheer, bringing cheer to spring too. Easy to see why it's sometimes called the lily of the valley bush!
Brightening our lower driveway, the stunning NZ Christmas bush variety Velvet Sky, with scarlet fluffy flowers perched on silver-blue stems.

Just as fluffy red, on a much more compact scale, this was one of our first plants in our online range over ten years ago, and it's still a best seller - callistemon Little John.

Most of our bottlebrushes are full of buds ready for the big spring push, but a few have jumped the gun and taken advantage of the warmth. Above, shimmery pink-red Rose Opal ; deep magenta pink Genoa Glory ; and gold-tipped deep red Burgundy.

This month, there's a LOT of grevillea photos - because we want to show off our grevillea paddock which is looking ah-MAY-zing right now with all bushes in full bloom against a bright blue sky. Swoon!

All kinds of bees are out and about, making the most of the early flowers - like the beautiful lilac-pink Poorinda Anticipation. This is a big grevillea, wide and branching, woody with richly-coloured bark. Fantastic for boundary hedges, feature planting, and wildlife gardens.

Our brand new exclusive release Coral Shore blooms big and strong - it's only available for pickup orders at present but we're working on propagating enough for our main tubestock range very soon.
super-pretty Ivory Whip has the most delicately-coloured creamy flowers, large-sized and blooming on young plants. It's a real charmer.

Our grevilleas continue to look fantastic right now, especially with the blue skies and sunshine of early spring.
Tall Honey Gem catches attention from far away - and local lorikeets love to play among the nectar-rich flowers too.
Our new plantings of Bush Lemons are settling in very well; if you're looking for yellow, this has to be one of the brightest of all.

Sandra Gordon has been a favourite with Aussie gardeners for decades, brightening our gardens with yellow flowers and golden leaves. It's a zesty contrast to the vibrant red-orange Jester which is in maximum bloom right now, looking gorgeous.

Last month's Scarlet Sprite show was dazzling, in bright raspberry red - and it hasn't stopped. The flowers are smaller, so it's tricky to show in a photo just how flowery it is! And how abuzz with happy pollinators
Instantly eyecatching,Pink Surprise, has huge gorgeous soft pastel pink and cream blooms - the birds on the nursery go crazy for this one.

This golden grevillea photobombs every shot we take, up on the grevillea paddock - it's big, bright, bold! But those delicate feathery leaves mean it's never overpowering. You just need to make sure to give Lime Spider enough space to spread out and shine.

Our Orange Marmalade grevillea bushes on the nursery are alive with tiny honeyeaters, singing all day, happy to have plenty of nectar to feed on. In fact, our whole nursery is alive with birdsong - one of the benefits of gardening with nature in mind!

Flowering bright against the blue sky, marmalade bush. This gets the guernsey for longest flowering season - and how good is that bright orange and yellow for cheering us into sprinter?

There's always something to see and enjoy in a garden, every day of the year.
We hope this has inspired you to take a fresh look at your outdoor space - and maybe add a new plant or two!