Garden Colours and Textures for Year round interest ..

… in the frost free coastal Cool Subtropics

Long gone are the ignominious few, relegated to a ‘cactus section’ at Plant Brokerages dear colleagues … these next 5 featured plants from Troy Southwood, Master Grower at Empire Nursery, 7 Moores Road, Glenorie will bring colour and textures for year round interest.

Ask for him by calling Nursery Manager Tim Porter 0404 477 834

Empire Nursery https://empirewholesale.com.au and sign up for their Trade A/c

Plants with succulence have risen to prominence, not only for their self storing ‘water-wise’ capacities but also interesting habits, textures and foliage colour, to earn them year round interest and feature in the design industry.

Mangave ‘Pineapple Express’

Especially conspicuous among the new intergeneric hybrid Mangaves, borrow desirable attributes from both parents. All Mangave hybrids shown 165mm $14.50 + gst

Mangave ‘Pineapple Express’ has a tidier form that it’s Manfreda parent but has kept a faster growth rate than the Agave side. Manfreda’s leopard spots have also transferred, together with a blue green rosette. In tougher conditions majority colour with recede, approaching a more neutral beige and this emphasises its freckly appeal by allowing the spots to ‘read’ more clearly.

Manfreda ‘Pineapple Express’ showing higher colour contrasts with less water & fertiliser

Mangave ‘Lavender Lady’ a finer rosette of amethyst hues

Another stand out is Mangave ‘Lavender Lady’, a radial of amethyst perfection and just as water-wise in high contrast with micro-fines like many of the ornamental grasses like Carex buchananii

Carex buchananii – Brown Sedge

Manfreda ‘Redwing’ is a more recent addition to this tribe …

Mangave ‘Redwing’

… and easy textural contrasts using this scallop shaped Ajuga, with a high top rosette form like Manfreda ‘Redwing’ also brings year round interest. Exposure to minimum half day sun and avoiding the low light condition of a southern aspect, will ensure good colour development away from inside the drip line of large low hanging trees.

Senicio candicans ‘Angel Wings’

This raised the brow of many last year during wetter conditions of La Niña. Being a silver leaf plant, my inclination was to see how these did in the garden before making selection in designs – as silver leafed plants are often martyred to prolonged wet conditions.

Senicio candicans ‘Angel Wings’

Surprisingly, higher than usual rainfall appears to have been less of a set back than High Summer humidity. Providing northerly growing conditions are ensured .. and save the worst prevailing wind, ‘Angel Wings’ faired rather well despite the rain. Suggestion as a sunny container plant for patio star performances or outside the front door approach for sense of arrival. Available in July.

And finally another portulaca variegate, so useful elevated into long troughs on first floor terraces facing the street as ‘foam-over’. Portulacca Retro Variegata is also a self striker across steep falls, where grip of a loose surface is required against erosion. Views through windows from inside, to sudden steep grades close to the house with at least half day sun as a high frequency ‘look to’ and ‘walk-by’.

Portulacca ‘Retro Variegata’ 160mm $7.50 + gst

Stars of the Bright Shade Garden

Planting space within the drip line of trees with elevated, scant canopies make bright shade. Surface soil in places like these is often obstructed by the tree’s feeder roots and unless rain is prolonged, is also DRY.

All 5 plants following are the work of Bright Shade Master Keith Tollis, whose impressive range of ever expanding, exciting non-general line planting I could only hope to show a small part of …

4greatgardens@westnet.com.au or call him 0409 302 304

Neoregelia carolinae in Spring amethyst cup halo 200mm $25 + gst

Bright shade loving neorgelia can suffer a bad wrap for turning an homogeneous green and stretch badly in gloomy corners of the Cool Subtrops Garden.

However, many like N. carolinae are good garden bromeliads, living easily as they do, above the impenetrable tree root ridden surface quite happily. Add to this variegate forms and a welcome ‘lift’ against surrounding mid green garden is easy. Water storing and changes to bright cochineal in the High Summer garden.

Neoregelia carolinae in red summer cup

Aroids from the Araceae continue to pull focus coming into ’23 market places, chief among them an undying interest in Anthurium.

One of the toughest and most durable from exposed headlands to quite heavy shade and within full overhang in the built environment is Anthurium coriaceum has a wide frost free range.

Anthurium coriaceum – Birds Nest Anthurium

The plant shown above grows in an otherwise harsh western aspect here at ‘Sea-Changer’ in Forresters Beach Central Coast, that in winter months remains fairly sunless, followed in high summer by direct afternoon heat. No matter and receives constant neglect from myself … regardless and still manages an effortlessly lush appearance. Keith Tollis has beautiful semi advanced and super advanced plants that have been well hardened in 200mm @ $35 & 300mm @ $65 + gst

Keith Tollis beautifully grown Anthurium coriaceum

Paint Brush Lily – Scadoxus puniceus

There are few more arresting sights in the late August cool subtrops garden than Paint Brush lilies, thrusting their proud torches skyward. Keith has selected for a particularly robust taller form around 1m, with superior staminate brushes into early September.

Scadoxus puniceus – large hybrid Paint Brush Lily 200mm $25 + gst
Keith’s superior larger plant & flowering hybrid

Keith Tollis will have all these beauties and many other non-general line stars of the dry shade Cool Subtropics Garden, at Collectors Plant Fair Clarendon 15- 16th April ’23 near Richmond just one short month or so away. Look for the stall bannered Andy’s Rare Plants that will also have standout offerings from Andy Harvey and Colin Hunt.

Amarygia ‘Bozandycol’ from Keith Tollis, Andy Harvey & Colin Hunt

Departing from the shade garden ..

..for hot sun and not more than half day shade, is an intergeneric hybrid between Amaryllis and Brunsvigia named for Keith (Boz) Tollis, Any Harvie and Colin Hunt … take a look beneath and watch out for these stall side @ CPF ’23 !!

xAmarygia ‘Bozandycol’

From time to time I’ve received good referral from colleagues who are in the Media, Growers or other parts of the industry, to clients looking for Garden Design and or Project management.

If you want to refer with confidence so your referral will be a happy one, please refer your inquirer client to myself –

Peter Nixon – Paradisus Garden Design 0418 161513 info@peternixon.com.au and www.peternixon.com.au – Garden Lovers Blog www.paradisusgl.peternixon.com.au

Facebook – Paradisus Garden Design and Insta handle – paradisus_sea_changer

Better Homes and Gardens TV will feature a special garden in Willoughby made from plants like those shown in this send. Channel 7, Friday 7.30pm 19th May and on 7Plus !

Epiphytes…. the new frontier

Epiphytes 'mother trees'
Epiphytic ‘mother tree’

Interior-scapes are making a resurgence …. so for sustainable interest and designer ‘pop’, what could you be looking for far beyond the humble pot plant .. ?

Modern day plant hunter, horticulturist and nursery & plantsman Bruce Dunstan's epiphytic encrusted from gate in Nundah, Brisbane
Modern day plant hunter, horticulturist, nursery & plantsman Bruce Dunstan’s epiphytic encrusted from gate in Nundah, Brisbane

The exciting truth Peeps is found among many planting outcomes now required for a realistic match to growing conditions, of inside/outside interfaces in commercial and residential settings. Head and shoulders above most options is the diverse epiphytic genus Rhipsalis or Mistletoe Cactus mostly from Brazil.   

Rhipsalis ewaldiana a texture like thick seaweed
Rhipsalis ewaldiana a texture like course seaweed

Textural wreaths, greenwalls, eco pillows, horizontal green-bands, vertical green-blades, green-roofs & pseudo-greenwalls have all exceeded the basic hanging basket, as a catch-all destination for these fascinating plants.

Rhipsalis platycarpa
Rhipsalis platycarpa brings foliage colour
Weberocereus imitans
Weberocereus imitans one of the ric-rac Jungle Cactus
Disocactus amazonicus looks like lime green kelp
Disocactus amazonicus looks like lime green kelp
Disocactus chiapis nelsonii with quill like stems forming  a 'birds nest'
Disocactus chiapis nelsonii with quill like stems forms
a kind of  ‘birds nest’ habit
Rhipsalis capilliformis like  foliar ultra-fine gauze
Rhipsalis capilliformis a gauze of foliar ultra-fine
Codananthe 'Lime Delight' a pendulous  gesneriad
Codananthe ‘Lime Delight’ a pendulous gesneriad

Leading among an enthusiastic band of visionary growers, is Justine Smith  at Peats Ridge on NSW Central Coast. While there will be an impressive stall space at Plant Lovers Fair Kariong come 22nd & 23rd September, contract growing is preferred.

'Sea-Changer' Mirror Deck with epiphyte loaded greenwalls
‘Sea-Changer’ Mirror Deck with epiphyte loaded greenwalls

Among many garden making outcomes for these plants are more sheltered growing spaces like courtyards. Fast draining medium levels can be raised as ‘planting humps’ to separate wet sensitive root fibre from the cold winter ground. Lush sense of arrival is assured for the front door and epiphytes combine very convincingly with small palms, aroids, ferns and bromeliads.  

Justine Smith 0408 741 336 Kawana Nursery kawanagardensnursery@icloud.com        

Auckland Garden Art for Your Client’s Garden

 

Wall Jewels
Wall Jewels

Kevin Kilsby for years been associated with beautiful ceramics in New Zealand, as homewares and for use as art in the garden.

 

 

A visit there last month with Garden Photographer Gil Hanly, revealed a lot more than Kevin’s home studio and showroom. Adjacent garden space has evolved into a jewel box cornucopia of horticultural delights, blended with his own glossy ceramic treasures FOR YOUR GARDEN OR OTHERS. Catching the eye on entry is a patio wall encrusted with mini neo’s and orchids and a nearby ceramic leaf wreath.

Leaf Wreath
Leaf Wreath

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the New Zealand Toetoe Beach Grass (Cortaderia spp.) has also been ingeniously formed in ceramic … as bright dragon flies flit

 

Toetoe ceramic garden art
Toetoe ceramic garden art
Ceramic dragon flies
Ceramic dragon flies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin’s Garden in Auckland at 4 Weston Avenue, Mount Albert NZ: +64 9 846 8954 kilsby@xtra.co.nz 

 

Garden Screen of multi coloured metals
Garden Screen of multi coloured metals
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