#Leptospermum 'Starry Night'

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New Post has been published on https://malleedesign.com.au/what-to-plant-for-poorly-drained-soils/

What to Plant for Poorly Drained Soils

Wet Weather Gardening

By Kath Gadd and Hannah Preston

After yet more rain on the east coast many plants in many gardens are suffering water-logging. Even in reasonably well drained soils the inundation has been too much for some plants. Physically, the force of rain, streams and puddles of water have caused their own damage and with the increased humidity comes increased pathogen risk, it really hasn’t put many gardeners in the best mood, myself included!

Callistemon ‘In June’

The biggest issue with waterlogging is often the deprivation of oxygen from the soil. If the soil can’t breathe then anaerobic bacteria take over and start producing the yucky smells we associate with long-wet locations. Most plant roots actually need oxygen to survive as well as air space to continue growing, so when soils sit wet for too long they literally start to suffocate.

Leptospermum ‘Starry Night’

From aboveground there’s not always much we can do to immediately alleviate water-logging, but noticing and designing your garden based on how water travels is a good first step. You can also add clay breaker or organic materials like mulches to help improve the structure of the soil and its ability to drain and hold air pockets.

Melalueca viridiflora ‘Burgundy Weeper’

Be mindful that after rain soils are vulnerable to compaction, and if compacted their ability to aerate again will be compromised. Try not walk excessively on or run heavy objects over still wet areas – unless of course you’ve turning the local hillside into a mudslide for the kids 😛 

Melaleuca armillaris ‘Pink’

Create some space around the base of your plants, especially young ones. After heavy rain debris and other materials sometimes accumulate around the stems of plants, which leads to increased humidity and a greater chance of pathogens taking hold. Plants can become completely covered in mulch after the rain so make sure you clear the base to allow for airflow.

Leptospermum ‘Ballerina’

Some native plants are more tolerant than others when it comes to having wet feet, sometimes this is called being hardy to ‘temporary inundation’, which just means their root system will tolerate sitting in water for a short period of time without harming the plant.

Melastoma affine

I have a heavy clay soil so am no stranger to trying to find native plants which will survive in poorly drained soil and have been trialling and testing some of the pictured natives species. As a general rule of thumb I have listed some species and genus below which don’t mind having wet feet, some of them even thrive.

Baloskion tetraphyllum

Reeds, rushes and sedges are great in boggy damp areas, they will soak up excess moisture in difficult positions and can make great borders and features.

Poa ‘Suggan Buggan’

Banksia robur or the Swamp Banks ifs a wonderful large shrub or small tree which can handle very poorly drained soils and also periods of drought.

Banksia robur

The WA peppermint will also cope with temporary inundation to its root system, this species can be found as a low shrub, large shrub and small to medium tree, so is very useful in clay soils, however it dislikes humidity so beware when growing it north of Sydney.

Agonis ‘Burgundy’

Agonis flexuosa

If you are looking for large Eucalyptus species which can handle a heavier soil and lots of rain, look no further than our beautiful Ironbarks!

Eucalyptus paniculata

Smaller hedging plants will be species which naturally grow in a wetter environment like the sub tropical rainforest, this encompasses plants like Lilly Pillys, Myrtles and Baeckea.

Syzygium wilsonii

Other moisture loving small trees which don’t mind a bit of extra rain but cant sit for very long with wet feet are Grevillea baileyana, Buckinghamia celsissima, Tristaniopsis laurina and Xanthostemon chrysanthus.

Grevillea baileyana

Please see the list below and help me add to it!

Leptospermum (not all species)

Melaleuca (not all species)

Callistemons (not all species)

Casaurina species and cultivars

Banksia robur

Sedges – Carex apressa, Ficinia nodosa, Gahnia species

Eucalyptus ampifolia, sideroxylon, paniculata

Acmena and Syzygium species

Baeckea virgata and linifolia

Backhousia anisata, citriodora, myrtifolia

Calothamnus quadrifidus

Callicoma serratifolia

Randia fitzlanni

Lomatia myricoides

Kunzea (not all species)

Melastoma affine

Native Grasses – Themeda triandra, Dianella caeurulea, Poa labillardieri, Pycnosorus globosus

Viminaria juncea

Tristaniopsis laurina

Agonis flexuosa

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New Post has been published on http://malleedesign.com.au/portfolio-west-wollongong-revisit/

Portfolio: West Wollongong Revisit

The images in this blog post were taken of a local garden I designed a few years ago which has been filling out beautifully. The requested privacy is beginning to really take shape, the front garden has been reclaimed as a relaxing outdoor space which can be utilised more often by critters and humans alike.

You can view original the garden here http://malleedesign.com.au/portfolio-garden-design-west-wollongong/

In the image above you can see the raised Corten Steel garden bed has been almost completely covered by the spill over plants, creating a soft natural look.

The screening plants along the front and side fences have also begun to cover and frame the views of the neighbouring park.

The Stoneset curved steps look as clean and non-slip as the day they were laid and the Crushed decomposed granite is slowly disappearing as intended amongst the ground covers and grasses.

My favourite screening plants in this garden are the Eremophila nivea Grafted ‘Gubburra Bells’, Banksia ‘Sentinel’, Grevillea ‘Ivory Whip’ Grafted and Casuarina ‘Green Wave’, they have a mixture of foliage texture and colour which just compliments each species.

All of these screening shrubs do like a regular prune to keep them dense and bushy and avoid having getting die back in the humid months.

In the image above in the centre you can see Leptospermum ‘Foreshore’, this was positioned on the side of the decking stairs to create a sense of the stairs floating in the garden.

I also think it is a lovely little feature shrub, and would prune very nicely into a sphere if so desired…

The sandstone boulder low retaining walls are also being consumed by the plants located on the upper and lower levels, making the layers of the garden indistinguishable.

A low border of Grevillea ‘Pink Midget’ was installed in front of the front fence to enhance the native cottage garden theme. This position is very shady and I’m sure those little Grevilleas are regularly wee’d on by passing dogs and they still look happy 😃

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New Post has been published on http://malleedesign.com.au/the-exploding-leptospermum-starry-night/

The exploding Leptospermum 'Starry Night'

I have been monitoring these Leptospermum obovatum ‘Starry Night’ shrubs (that   I planted in a neighbours garden) closely, waiting, waiting for them to flower and BOOM! last week they exploded!

I love reddish or burgundy foliage and there are several species of Leptospermum with a red tinge to the leaf however ‘Starry Night’ is my favourite. The leaves turn a deep maroon when in full sun and the 2-3 metres shrub has a weeping habit.

Tea trees flower in summer and this species is profuse in bloom, attracting birds and bees alike.

Leptopsermum ‘Starry Night’ makes an excellent screen or hedging shrub and grows quickly in full sun or part shade. It also looks lovely when not in flower as the leaves and habit contrast easily with other medium shrubs, as you can see in the image below where it was interplanted with Casuarina ‘Green Wave’.

Most Leptospermum are very quick growers and in ideal conditions with plenty of water and sun will easily put on a metre a year of new growth.

So why not try a tree tree screen and mix in some reds with Leptospermum ‘Starry Night’? its even a little bit Chrismassy 😉