evergreen

A little bit about pittosporum Need to block out your neighbours? Got an unsightly space that needs covering up? Thanks to its hardiness and fast, bushy growth, pittosporum is a winner. There are about 20 varieties which are perfectly suited for Sydney gardens and depending on which you choose, you can create hedging, screening, borders, or simply embrace it as an...

A little bit about hardenbergia It’s hard not to love this tough, evergreen native. Named after Franziska Countess von Hardenberg, a 19th century Austrian botany patron, a hardenbergia will adapt to almost any spot you put it in. Its deep green, leathery leaves and pea-shaped clusters of flowers are loved by birds and butterflies too.   Botanical name: Australian sarsaparilla...

I had always thought of azaleas as small plants until one day I visited an old Sydney garden and found myself walking through a tunnel of shrubs. Wondering what they were, I looked up and discovered azalea flowers above my head. These plants, which were decades old and had never been pruned except to create space to walk, had grown...

I am standing at my kitchen window looking out across the vegie garden to the hills beyond. In the middle distance is a power pole. It is the only blot on the otherwise perfect outlook. I can only see it from this angle as the kitchen is elevated. In the garden it is out of sight, blocked out by small trees growing along the boundary. When those trees grow a little taller they’ll block the pole from the kitchen window too.