Want bees? Grow some Brachyscomes! Also known as: Brachyscome multifida Cut-leafed Daisy Break O’ Day Swan River Daisy Good Old Native Daisy Rock Daisy Native Daisy Growing conditions: Part shade/Full sun (prefers full sun) Tolerates almost any soil/prefers well-drained loam Needs light watering in dry seasons Suitable for garden beds/rockeries/pots/borders Groundcover/living mulch Propagation: Seed –… Continue reading Plant Profile – Cut Leaf Daisy
Category: biodiversity
Plant Profile – Native Elderberry
Sambucus australisica – Australia – Yellow Elderberry Also known as: Growing conditions: Propagation: Despite its preference for moist soil, this plant has been one of my drought survivors. It recovers quickly from wilt making it easy to judge when it has reached its point of tolerance. That tolerance was much higher than I expected or… Continue reading Plant Profile – Native Elderberry
Plant Profile – Aloe Vera
Also known as Aloe barbadensis miller Aloe Barbados Aloe Growing conditions: Full Sun/Part shade/Bright shade Succulent Well-drained soil/sandy loam Suitable for pots/indoor pots/garden beds/rockeries Propagation: Propagation is easiest by separating pups from a “mother” plant. Demonstration available on my YouTube channel Click here to watch When I think of Aloe Vera, I think of sunburn. I… Continue reading Plant Profile – Aloe Vera
Backyard Biodiversity Tip Two – Habitat
Hello and welcome to my garden. This beauty isn’t a dead tree, it’s a sustainable, slow-built, high-rise apartment building for wildlife. In this tree we have observed countless birds, including endangered species, mammals including possums and gliders, reptiles like tree snakes and bearded dragons and various insects and arachnids. Many people have suggested that we… Continue reading Backyard Biodiversity Tip Two – Habitat
Garden Friends and Foes – what’s that?
I’ve always had “what the…?” moments in my garden and struggled to get information to explain what is it that I am seeing. Here I plan to document some of my findings progressively. Check back if you’re interested in knowing what those random nests and larvae are in your garden. This is another Lacewing. It… Continue reading Garden Friends and Foes – what’s that?
Plant Profile: Commelina diffusa – Climbing Dayflower
Also known as: Commelina cyanea (in New South Wales, possibly a different species, scientific analysis ongoing) Scurvy Plant Native Wandering Jew Creeping Christian Climbing Dayflower Spreading Dayflower Growing conditions: Part shade/Shade Tolerant of most soils Groundcover (can become invasive in good conditions) Suitable for rockeries and hanging pots Perennial in tropics and subtropics, annual in… Continue reading Plant Profile: Commelina diffusa – Climbing Dayflower
Garden Friends and Foes: identifying Commelina species
(This blog post is a transcript of a YouTube clip on the janegrowsgardenrooms channel. To watch Click here) Hello, and welcome to my garden. Today I’m down in the gully. I am sitting beside a big patch of what’s commonly known as dayflowers, because their flowers rarely last more than a day, if that. Now… Continue reading Garden Friends and Foes: identifying Commelina species
Garden Friends: Buzz Pollinators
The following is a transcript of my vlog posted on YouTube. If you would like to watch the video Click here Hello, and welcome to my garden. Today I’m sitting here with the Blue Tongue plant. It’s called the Blue Tongue Plant because these berries which are developing here, if you eat too many of… Continue reading Garden Friends: Buzz Pollinators
Garden Days: Wiggly Woo Farm
I was stunned by my children’s excitement when I told them we were going to get the worm farm going again. They are exposed to garden activities on a regular basis so they don’t always appreciate them, but the worm farm… whoa! Stop the press! This is a great idea! Worm farms truly give bang… Continue reading Garden Days: Wiggly Woo Farm
The Pioneer who Stole my Heart
When we started to remove the invasive weed species from our block and made efforts to improve the soil we noticed a number of plants popping up that I thought might be weeds. As I researched and identified them I frequently came across the term “pioneer species” in relation to the vigourous growers. It turns… Continue reading The Pioneer who Stole my Heart
Jane Grows Garden Rooms 