A reader asked whether a list existed whereby Australian native plants could be substituted to create a Japanese Garden.

To my knowledge such a list doesn't exist, until now that is.

First, we have to pull apart the Japanese Garden style to understand how the substitution is going to work. Predominantly this form of garden design features the use of rocks and pebbles, water, conifers and evergreens, flowering deciduous trees (cherry, peach, magnolias etc), many flowering shrubs (azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias) and then there's the quintessential bamboo.

The rocks and pebbles aren't a problem. It's fairly easy to locate granite rocks and river stones/pebbles. Even the water (as it is being constantly reused) isn't too difficult to source.

So how do we choose water-wise Australian natives that will replace these plants and still pull off the effect of a Japanese Garden?

Let's start with the conifers. Australia has a few conifers of its own and also a few plants that easily resemble this group of plants.

Australian native conifers (or conifer-looking plants)

• Huon Pine - Lagarostrobos franklinii
• Bunya Bunya - Araucaria bidwillii
• Grey Honey Myrtle - Melaleuca incana
• Acacia "Limelight" - Acacia cognata "Limelight"
• Mountain Plum Pine - Podocarpus lawrencei
• Pencil Pine - Athrotaxis cupressoides

That should get you started in that department. The next type of plant you're looking for is some evergreen shrubbing plants that can be used as hedges or balled specimens. Options in this area are;

Australian native shrubbing plants

• Westringia fruiticosa "Smokie"
• Golden Diosma - Coleonema pulchrum 'Aurea' (Origin: South Africa)
• Green Honey Myrtle - Melaleuca diosmifolia
• Gold Dust Wattle - Acacia acinacea
• Metrosideros umbellata

Australian native flowering shrubs

Most flowering shrubs used within a Japanese garden style are fairly tidy and compact specimens. Most Aussie natives on the other hand are quite sprawling and leggy. However, there are newer species coming onto the market all the time that feature more compact growing habits. Try some of these on for size;

• Callistemon "Demense Brown" could easily rival a camellia - though flowering a few months later than its competitor.
• Grevillea "Austraflora Canterbury Gold"
• Hairpin Banksia - Banksia spinulosa
• Silky Eremophila - Eremophila

These should get you started but keep your eyes peeled for newer varieties that offer longer flowering periods and a compact shrub habit.

Australian native flowering deciduous trees

In a typical Japanese garden there are many trees to choose from that lose their leaves in the cooler months and then look resplendent with their new spring foliage and flowers. Australia doesn't have any flowering deciduous natives and only two that will at least shed its leaves each autumn - the deciduous beech Nothofagus gunnii.

To my knowledge, I'm not even sure these are available in cultivation but if they were you would be limited to growing them in very cold climates such as Tasmania.

The second is grown at the other extreme, in Northern Australia. The baobab tree, Adansonia gregorii (or commonly referred to as the "boab" tree) would be a great starter in a Japanese garden.

However, neither of these trees flower - not siginificantly anyway - and wouldn't be able to replicate the beautiful magnolia soulangeanas or flowering cherries.

Australian native bamboo

To those who know, this is an oxymoron. There are actually no native bamboos that grow in Australia as most either originate from Asia while a few grow natively in parts of Africa.

However, it doesn't matter as most bamboo plants are very drought-tolerant once established. Give them six months to get their roots in order and they'll fit right in.

If you need some tips on which species to buy read up on this post I wrote earlier on how to grow bamboo without losing your garden. Clumping varieties are your best option but if you have to grow a running type then ensure that you've taken precautions to contain it.

Australian native creepers/ climbers

While the typical Japanese garden would use Wisteria chinensis to grace arbors and cover walls, the Australian substitute would be Hardenbergia comptoniana. This beautiful pea-shaped flower literally drips off its entwined branches and can easily replicate the stereotypical japanese vine.

Wrapping it all up

It's not difficult to find indigenous alternatives to use a style in your garden. It certainly takes a little more effort but most styles can be achieved by researching the core fundamentals and substituting native plants for them.

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Formerly known as Helichrysums, Bracteantha bracteata belongs to the Asteraceae family and are affectionately known as Paper Daisies, the Everlasting Daisy or Strawflowers. And each of these names are apt.

Their glowing flowers blaze hotter than the noonday sun in such vivid colours from bright yellows to hot pinks and almost any shade in between. Yet they appear to be soft and fragile like an Aster or Gerbera bloom but upon touching them you're almost taken aback as they feel just like paper. Actually, if you didn't know what they were you would swear that you had been sold an artificial plant.

Fortunately, they're real - yet incredible.

Bracteanthas are in a class all their own. They grow well as perennials but most gardeners tend to treat them as annuals or at least replace them every 2-3 years. They have a habit of getting a little leggy and when they're not flowering they look ordinary at best - a scruffy set of mid-green, elongated leaves that droop like they need watering.

Most cultivars of bracteantha are grown as groundcovers but they can reach up to 1m when fully grown and make wonderful companions to less showy foliage plants. They're even recommended by the CRC for Australian Weed Management [PDF] as a great alternative to many of the invasive ornamentals such as Arctotis and Gazanias.

Best Climate for Growing Bracteantha Plants

Bracteanthas are a little fussy when it comes to their growing conditions and environment. They're not real fussed on humidity so will struggle in tropical areas where moisture levels are high. They much prefer a dry heat during summer and mild winters where average rainfalls are available.

They really shouldn't need any extra watering after some initial TLC. However, when starting them off in their garden bed, or plant container, bracteanthas will need some regular watering and some nitrogen-free liquid fertiliser to get them going.

Do bracteanthas make a great cut flower?

They sure do but it's best to pick them once the buds are half-opened. If you pick them too early they may fail to open properly and if you pick them too late they may not last in your vase all that long.

Bracteantha cultivars

B. bracteata "Sundaze n" - The Sundaze range comes from Redland's Nursery and come in White, Pink, Lemon, Bronze and Gold.
B. bracteata "Bright Bikini" - A bright orange bracteantha that looks incredibly artificial with its gloss sheen.
B. bracteata "Colourburst Pink"
B. bracteata "Dargan Hill Monarch" - Yellow and orange blooms with silver-grey foliage
B. bracteata "Diamond Head"
B. bracteata "Cockatoo"

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Autumn is a beautiful season in the Australian native bush because so many plants are busting out in bloom with incredible shapes and textures. Hakea laurina is one of those plants and considering that it has to compete with all the acacia, eucalypts, banksias and grevilleas it needs to be darned impressive to even get noticed.

Fortunately, this hakea is stunning for as soon as it begins to flower it instantly catches your attention. It's a great Australian native to plant in your garden growing to approximately 3-5m with little fuss and no maintenance required. In fact, I've seen hakea laurina growing in the middle of some people's lawns engulfed with kikuyu and still flowering its head off.

Many gardeners mistake hakea laurina for hakea petiolaris as they have very similar flowers. But, the way to distinguish them is via their leaves - H. laurina are elongated and thin whilst H. petiolaris are round and wide. Regardless, if you ended up with either in your garden you ought to be happy.

Hakeas aren't impressed with being fertilised so a once per year application of a slow-release fertiliser should do the trick. They don't require much watering and are happy to be pruned by the birds that they attract.

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The Wollemi Pine, which caught world-wide attention in 1994 after being discovered in a remote canyon in Sydney's Blue Mountains, may now have an uncertain future because of its past.

Touted as a 'living fossil' dating back to the Jurassic period, the Wollemi Pine is credited as being more than 130 million years old.

Dr Greer, a leading biologist, thinks differently and has criticised the scientific world for their race to publish data which is yet unfounded. Greer, commenting in the Weekend Australian suggests that the Wollemi may in fact be a new species rather than one that has survived several age periods.

Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens executive director, Dr Tim Entwistle, disagrees with the new claim and holds firmly that Wollemi's are direct descendants of their distinct lineage. Entwistle believes there is more than enough evidence to pinpoint their descension rights and argues the point.

This could create an awesome bun fight within the botanical world and it will be interesting to see how it's played out in the ensuing months. The result, however, will be unlikely to reverse the public's infatuation with this plant and regardless of whether it's a direct descendant or a new species from the original lineage will make very little difference.

UPDATE

If you read the comment below from Tyra of Tyra's Garden you will notice that she promised photos of a Wollemi near her in Amsterdam. The Dutch are really treating it with kid gloves!

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I offered some of our new Garden Bloggers the opportunity to introduce themselves via a "Native Plant" guest post here on my blog. To date, only Telsing Andrews from Ottawa Hortiphilia has taken me up on the offer, but I'm so glad he has. Here, he features as our guest blogger with this great post - Kudos Telsing.

Wild food is all the rage in restaurants of late and one of the much sought after edibles is the wild leek, a.k.a. ramps, wild garlic or Allium tricoccum. It pops up with the other spring ephemerals such as trilliums and trout lily in eastern North American forests. Apparently, it is delicious with a taste somewhere between garlic and scallions, though I have never tried it.

It is also at risk*.

Like any number of wild plants, over enthusiastic collection has lead to a decline in numbers. While walking through Gatineau Park, and after passing numerous signs asking people to please not pick the wild leeks / d’ail des bois, I saw a women lean over and pull something from the ground. She turned to her companion and said, 'Smell. It's an onion. Very good.' The companion did, but after taking a nibble, she tossed the remains back into the woods. I was shocked. Hadn't they read the signs? Didn't they care? But to some people, who've grown up with them, wild leeks are like wild raspberries, and you aren't about to run out of those, are you?

According to the Canadian Biodiversity Project:

"Despite the legal restrictions on wild garlic harvesting, overharvesting continues to be the number one activity causing wild garlic populations to decline. Even moderate harvesting levels have a negative impact on wild garlic populations. Mathematical models show that the maximum harvest tolerance for wild garlic is five to fifteen percent of large populations. Under higher harvesting pressures, populations will rapidly decline and possible disappear (Couillard 1995). A thirty percent harvest rate will bring a population of a few thousand individuals to the brink of extirpation in as little as twenty-five years (Gagnon 1993 in Couillard 1995)."

In fact, its status under the Quebec Act is 'vulnerable.' This word conquers up images of fragility, needing protection. So if you happen upon a clearing bursting with wild leeks in spring, resist the temptation to think that taking a few will not hurt. If I had a wild leek for every time I heard a variation on that thought, then well... there would not be any left, would there?

* This is true of populations in Quebec and nearby Ontario. You may have healthy populations in your area. If you do, lucky you, let's keep them that way.

Links:

Ontario Wild flowers

Canadian Biodiversity Project

Gatineau Park

Wild Leek / Ramps, Photo by Niemster CC

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If a tree could produce offspring the same way as a human then the Baobab tree would be the expression of its pregnancy. Its bloated trunk storing enough water to feed it through the tropical dry season is the main feature of this amazing tree.

Native to Africa and India, predominantly focusing around the equator is Adansonia digitata while its counterpart Adansonia gregorii is native to northern Australia.

I remember first seeing these trees springing out of a desolate earth when I drove to Kununurra nearly 20 years ago. As the vegetation changed and plants became lower to the ground these towering baobab trees ("Boab" in Australian) stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb.

Silhouetted against a dimming red sky their deciduous form took on a gracefulness that defied comprehension. The baobab's limbs hardly move in the breeze and it takes a tropical cyclone to see them sway in any visible manner.

For nine months of the year the baobab has no leaves and flowers only during the summer. It sets seed pods toward the end of summer maturing in early winter which conatin kidney shaped seeds that are hard and predominantly white.

It is possible to grow a baobab tree in your backyard without living in the tropics - but it isn't easy. Firstly your gardening zone needs to be frost free with a fairly low annual rainfall. Warm summers and mild winters are the baobab's preferred growing climate and they don't need much watering.

To propagate from seed you will need to scarify the kidney shaped seed with a file and then soak in hot water for a couple of hours. Smoking them may also be beneficial providing the seed doesn't dry out. Then plant in a well draining potting mix and leave on a window ledge to sprout.

Baobab trees are slow growing reaching a maximum height of 15-20m (50-65ft) with a similar sized circumference.

In Africa, every part of the baobab are used by indigenous peoples. The fruit can be eaten, leaves are used for medicinal purposes and the bark and roots are used to make rope or cloth. In early Australian culture they were even used as Prison trees.

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No matter who visits my garden at the moment there is one congregating factor - they all fall in love with my Wedding Bush. They pass by the echium which I've loving stroked to flowering glory, the Californian poppy with blooms that illuminate the garden like lights on a runway and never comment on my finely manicured lavender hedge.

Yet my ricinocarpos, which gets no attention (nor needs it), draws all the affection and wonder in the same way a Vesuvian Flytrap seduces its countless prey. Aaarrgh!!

Still, I don't blame them. Its wonderful perfume eminates throughout the garden extolling the virtues of spring. The birds and bees feast on the wedding bush's flowers and its gentle sprays of foliage add a slight dynamism to the scene.

In truth what could be more wonderful? A plant that little to no effort yet rewards you greatly season after season.

What's more, this one was given to us by some friends (thanks Noel and Steph), so we admire it as a plant and also as a gift.

Ok. Enough of the love-fest. You want some facts, don't you? The ricinocarpos pinifolius is a member of the Euphorbiaceae family where it shares the limelight with 14 other genus'. It is said to grow no more than 1.5m (5ft) yet our one towers over my 6' 2" frame. It flowers for approximately 6-8weeks during spring when it literally becomes covered with tiny white flowers.

It is also reported to only grow about 1m wide yet ours has doubled that and has actually swallowed a gardenia, which we plan to transplant elsewhere soon.

The wedding bush is a native to the east-side of Australia but is found in most states. It grows well in poor soil and as mentioned takes very little maintain.

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On our recent tour through the Stirling Ranges we ventured up Bluff Knoll and saw our first Kingia australis plants. Commonly mistaken as a relative of the Grass Tree (Blackboy) Xanthorrhea these beautiful specimens are still quite different. The Xanthorrhea's have very dark foliage while the Kingia's have soft grey eminating from a soft felt-like centre.

The Kingia's are more common throughout this region of the state while the grass trees can be found throughout most of the mid coastal areas.

Spot the difference!
The one in the background is a Xanthorrhea (Grass Tree) while the two stems in the foreground belong to Kingia australis - a Dasypogonaceae.

As you drive through this densely forested area you can easily mistake the kingias for a grass tree and vice versa. That is until they flower. The xanthorreas flower with a single phallic spike, while the kingias flower with multiple stemmed pom-poms resembling the horns on a giraffe or drumsticks. Prior to correct identification it was thought that the grass trees were the male of the species while the kingias were the female partner.

It's the flowers that give their identity away.

They're beautiful structured plants and would look fantastic as an architectural specimen. However, they aren't in being cultivated as yet and there doesn't seem to be plans as such. Xanthorrheas, on the other hand, can be purchased quite easily and they will usually fetch prices in the hundreds of dollars for a single plant.

The price may have something to do with them taking so long to get to this stage...

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It's not Australia.

In fact, Australia only just makes the top five world producers behind Portugal, India and South Africa exporting less than 5% of the world market.

The largest producer is China. What's even more disconcerting than knowing China produces more of Australia's good oil than Australia itself, is that they produce it from trees such as Tasmanian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus Labill.) and Queensland Peppermint (Eucalyptus exserta F. Muell.). What's wrong with this picture?

The oil itself has three end uses; medicinal, perfume and industrial (which is no longer a major product). Each species of tree has its own distinct oil and they differ so radically that some are better at producing medicinal oil but fail as an essence for perfume and vice versa. So producers concentrate on only one species per use.

Australia, from 1852-1950, was by far the largest producer of eucalyptus oil and exported it all over the world until labour costs became too high and they could no longer compete with Spanish and Portugese producers. For a while there Australia's fortunes in their own product reversed and we became a greater importer than exporter of this unique Australia product. Fortunately, this has reversed and we're now exporting more of our own produce.

It's quietly humbling to know that another country (4 other's to be precise) is beating you at producing your own product. Still, I guess that's how the French feel about California's Napa Valley and our own Margaret River wine regions.

Link 1, Link 2

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After taking up space in the garden for three years my Grevillea "Austraflora Canterbury Gold" has finally decided to show it's true colours and bloom. In fact, I wasn't actually sure what plant it was until it did flower.

A self-proclaimed horticulturalist told me it was a type of acacia, which seemed to make sense, especially when you look closely at the leaf shape. Had someone told me it was a grevillea prior to seeing the flower I wouldn't have believed them as most grevillea's foliage is either needle-like or have serrated adges. But this is undoubtedly a grevillea and flowering very nicely for a great filler shrub in my native garden.

It looks like it might have earnt itself a right to stay.

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