Behind the Scenes in our nursery
We love to see all the photos and videos of your garden plants that you email 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. Everything's going off like a frog in a sock, thanks to warm temperatures and abundant rainfall...
It's bee-utiful weather right now! We've managed to avoid the Brisbane floods up here, with only some heavy downpours and dramatic storms.
The warmth and wet means our tubestock plants and motherstock in the paddocks are growing superfast. Extra big tubestock = extra value! The local bees of all kinds are enjoying the lemon myrtle flowers, the cuphea (always a pollinator favourite, it blooms enthusiastically from tubestock size), and the fragrant lavender. This one's an Italian white called Pretty Polly .
The warmth and wet means our tubestock plants and motherstock in the paddocks are growing superfast. Extra big tubestock = extra value! The local bees of all kinds are enjoying the lemon myrtle flowers, the cuphea (always a pollinator favourite, it blooms enthusiastically from tubestock size), and the fragrant lavender. This one's an Italian white called Pretty Polly .
All the lavenders are looking good - and newer varieties are more resilient to humidity and summer rain too.
Italian Avonview has long showy ear tufts, English Romance is more resilient to cooler temperatures. Whatever the variety, our lavenders always sell out fast!We're enjoying the sweet smells too - from lemon myrtle and lavender, and from the mock orange Murraya hedges that ring our reception office. If you find the tall dark Murraya a little too much of a good thing, the small lime-green Min a Min above might be perfect for you. It's more understated in its approach!
Italian Avonview has long showy ear tufts, English Romance is more resilient to cooler temperatures. Whatever the variety, our lavenders always sell out fast!We're enjoying the sweet smells too - from lemon myrtle and lavender, and from the mock orange Murraya hedges that ring our reception office. If you find the tall dark Murraya a little too much of a good thing, the small lime-green Min a Min above might be perfect for you. It's more understated in its approach!
There's a lot of lavender, mauve, lilac, and purple shades to enjoy right now. Like these native groundcovers!
Native cut leaf daisy or swan river daisy, Brachyscome; and native fan flower, Scaevola, both bloom in purple, lilac, pink, and white, and like the cuphea above are enthusiastic flowerers from a young age.
Native cut leaf daisy or swan river daisy, Brachyscome; and native fan flower, Scaevola, both bloom in purple, lilac, pink, and white, and like the cuphea above are enthusiastic flowerers from a young age.
If you're a fan of native flowers you can't go past our kangaroo paws. Traditionally a spring flower, new varieties are bred to bloom all year round, or at least for much longer than before.
You can see the whole range here, including the lime-emerald Aussie Spirit and blue-pink Fireworksabove, both new, unique, and world-first.
You can see the whole range here, including the lime-emerald Aussie Spirit and blue-pink Fireworksabove, both new, unique, and world-first.
If you're a fan of the cooler end of the colour spectrum, this is your time! Native coast rosemary, Westringia, flowers all year which is why it's always such a popular plant with Aussie gardeners. This one, Wynyabbie Gem, has a gentle wispy look ideal for cottage gardens. If you want more butterflies as well as bees, then a buddleia or three will do the job nicely. There's a reason they're often called butterfly bushes! They flower from tubestock size and are very easy to grow.
The pink one above, Pink Micro Chip, is a new dwarf variety small enough for window boxes and pots on the deck.
The pink one above, Pink Micro Chip, is a new dwarf variety small enough for window boxes and pots on the deck.
Sweet Kate tradescantia is one of the best grassy plants if you want fast flowers. Those deep blue blooms pop out quick smart, above the golden strappy leaves. Here's a sneaky peek of our hydrangea, growing in the shade house. They're thirsty plants in the heat; the shade cuts down the amount of water they need. Thriving in heat and humidity, Rondeletia Sweet Caprice gently shifts through a rainbow of rich pink shades as the seasons progress. Later in the year the leaves start to change colour too!
Also loving the sunshine and humidity, radermachera has heaps of big white-gold blooms amongst the glossy green foliage. It's a handsome hedge or feature shrub in a frost-free climate. If you want flowers like, yesterday, and can't wait for a shrub to grow - don't sleep on the plants coming up. They're all super-keen to flower for you!
Gaura gets its common name of butterfly bush because those white or pink flowers look like butterflies in flight. Russelia comes in three flavours : lemon yellow, tangerine orange, and ruby red. All of them will flower almost immediately and need very little effort from you.
Sunloving Cistus, the rock rose, is a big favourite with impatient gardeners! Whether bright magenta Sunset, snowy-white sage leaf, or pale pastel Silver Pink, cistus are ripper little shrubs for dry sunny hot spots. And you can't go past mandevilla and dipladenia for speedy colour - they're covered in buds and blooms at tubestock size! This Dipladenia Red is one of our favourites for its effortless fast colour. Plant it where it can climb up a pergola or along a fence, covering it in flowers.
Daisies of every kind are great for fast colourful results, with little effort. No wonder they sell out as fast as we restock them! Arizona Sun and Mesa Red blanket flowers are easy-as in sunny spots. There's an Mesa Red all-yellow version too. Not quite a daisy but definitely pumping out those flowers from go to whoa, day lily Stella D'Oro - gold star - deserves all the kudos.
Osteospermums or Cape daisies can sell out overnight in the more in-demand colourways. So if you see them in stock, don't wait too long! Above, Scarlet Shades, and a pair of cheeky Burnt Orange waiting for a customer pickup.
Glowing in the sunshine, dyer's chamomile, Anthemis, with soft lacy grey-green leaves and long stems of daisy flowers.
It's daisies for days at this time of year! If you love daisies as much as we do, there's a whole range to discover in our Cottage Garden category, including these sky-blue South African Felicia. For waterwise gardeners and those in drought zones, there's daisies to enjoy that will tough out any dry spells. Look for Mesembryanthemum, Delosperma, and Carpobrotus in our ice plants and stonecrops category. The selection changes through the year, so there's always something flowery, low maintenance, and easy-care to grow. Or choose our new cacti - these gold-flowered Rebutia are already in flower at tubestock size.
Are you sheltering from the heat in your cool lounge room? Or finding a shady nook outside to relax in? Then our anthuriums would love to join you!
They are slower-growing than some other plants, but even at tubestock stock size they will produce a tiny version of their unique heart-shaped flowers, which you can watch grow and deepen in colour. Our regular reader knows that this last square is the point we feature marmalade bush, which flowers almost all year round.
Except this month, where it's taking a well-earned nap to recoup for the new year! So instead we bring you our newest grevillea Apricot Hots, still flowering strongly right into summer. The first launch sold out in 24 hours, but we'll have some more in 2025 - stay tuned!
They are slower-growing than some other plants, but even at tubestock stock size they will produce a tiny version of their unique heart-shaped flowers, which you can watch grow and deepen in colour. Our regular reader knows that this last square is the point we feature marmalade bush, which flowers almost all year round.
Except this month, where it's taking a well-earned nap to recoup for the new year! So instead we bring you our newest grevillea Apricot Hots, still flowering strongly right into summer. The first launch sold out in 24 hours, but we'll have some more in 2025 - stay tuned!
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!
We hope this has inspired you to take a fresh look at your outdoor space - and maybe add a new plant or two!
