A lot of people want to attract birds to their property, which is great, yet the common practice is to plant a whole heap of nectar-providing plants, e.g. Grevilleas and bottlebrushes. A customer came to my nursery the other day, and I said to her, “take a look around you. What’s in flower? Only theContinue reading
Author: Karen Melissa
The Mighty Mallotus
When we first moved to our acreage at Lefthand Branch I would occasionally catch whiffs of a strong sort of herbal smell wafting from the vegetation below the hill. What is it and where is it coming from? I later learned that it comes from Mallotus claoxyloides (Green Kamala, also aptly known as Smell-of-the-Bush). TheseContinue reading
The nursery expansion continues…
We now have four shadehouses built: one for shade loving plants, one for seed germination, the next one for plants in 48mm tubes and the fourth for plants in 90mm tubes. I now require just one more shadehouse for all of the nursery stock plants. These are shrubs or herbs grown in larger pots forContinue reading
Bursaria Incana (Prickly Pine, Prickly Bursaria, Frosty Bursaria)
So many of our local native plants have sharp thorns on the leaves and/or branches, and Bursaria incana, also known as the Prickly Pine, is no exception. The word ‘Pine’ used in one of its common names is a bit misleading, because B. incana is not a pine at all. It is a small tree which grows toContinue reading
Acacia salicina (Sally Wattle)
It’s easy to spot a native tree when it is in flower, and during March, the Sally Wattles (Acacia salicina) can be seen all over the Lockyer Valley, displaying their spherical cream/pale yellow flowers. Several Acacia species have the reputation for being short-lived, but the Sally wattle lives for many years and is a goodContinue reading
Underneath the Brigalows
It’s pleasant to stroll in the dappled shade among the Brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) trees on my property. In some areas, the trees have created a thick layer of leaf mulch which seems to have inhibited the growth of understorey species. There are, however, two interesting plants that appear in spots, and that go hand-in-hand withContinue reading
Carissa ovata/ Carissa spinarum (Native currant, Kunkerberry)
Of all the plant species found in the regional ecosystems of the Lockyer Valley, Carissa ovata is a shrub that occurs commonly throughout many vegetation communities
Beak Hour
When we first moved to Lefthand Branch, I set up a small sandstone bird bath near the backyard fence where it could be seen from the lounge room windows. A few days later, a local magpie attempted to have a wash in it, but was struggling to move in the small bowl. Realising that somethingContinue reading
Tanglewood Open Day
Recent visit from members of LUCI, LOGI, and SGAP (Ipswich branch)