Gabrielle recommends a Book - The New Native Garden

Bought a really good book recently:  The New Native Garden - "Designing with Australian Plants" by Paul Urquahart

The book lists different garden styles and has sample designs of each, all using native plants in place of exotics (if that’s your thing….) Goes into a lot of detail about themes, features, colour, styles etc and is a good starting point when considering suitable garden styles for clients.

Gabrielle

Ross' favourite plants - Isopogon ceratophyllus

Family:  Proteaceae

Genus:  Isopogon
Species:  ceratophyllus
Common Name: Horny Cone Bush

Habit:  Small shrub to 60cm

Flowers:  Yellow round cones

Leaves:  Rigid and crowdy

Distribution: Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia

Very interesting form.

Ross

Jonathan Drori: Every pollen grain has a story | Video on TED.com

Jonathan Drori: Every pollen grain has a story Video on TED.com

Take a look at this guys, wow.  Spectacular pictures of pollen through the eyes of a scanning electron microscope.

Ross

Gabrielle recommends - CAD software

Cost $25

www.smallblueprinter.com/garden - I wondered if other people may be interested in this garden design software. It is a much simpler version than Vectorworks, and heaps cheaper so it may suit others who, like me, are starting out and don’t have a big budget but want to produce computer-driven designs without being an IT whizz.

It does enough to create a perfectly acceptable design and is updated regularly with new features. It is created by a guy who has a small software business in Adelaide, so I like the idea of supporting a small Aussie business.

 Gabrielle

Ross Uebergang: Living Chessboard

Handmade timber Jarrah and Tasmanian Oak  chessboard  Covered in preloved glasses, filled with various succulents.

This board need very little watering and maintenance, just light and and some cover from the wind.  Rossu design

Ross' favourite plants - Banksia blechnifolia

Family:  Proteaceae

Genus:  Banksia

Species:  blechnifolia

Common Name: ?

Habit:  Small shrub to 40cm, Prostrate, will quickly spread

Flowers:  Late spring

Leaves:  Rigid and crowdy

Distribution: Western Australia

Tolerances:  Needs good drainage.  More resistant to die back than a lot of Banksias.


Ross

Gabrielle recommends - Seed Bank

http://www.seedbank.com.au/ - I have ordered some indigenous seeds from this business and found it a really useful resource.
It lists the genus and species, and the provenance of the seeds, so for someone like me, who is specialising in indig garden design.
I have control over where the seeds have come from and can be assured that they will thrive in the local conditions. It’s a really sustainable way of growing plants – I email my order through and then receive an envelope in the mail with my seeds. Love it!


Gabrielle

Ross' favourite plants - Acacia aphylla

Family:  Mimosaceae
Genus:  Acacia
Species:  aphylla
Common Name:  Leafless Rock Wattle
Habit:  Large shrub to 2.5m
Flowers:  Yellow inflorescence from August to October
Leaves:  Spiney, with a glaucaus coating

Another Western Australian that likes sandy loam,  but apparently can cope with some clay.

Ross

Nicky's favourite Plants - Leptospermum petersonii

Genus:  Leptospermum
Species:  petersonii
Leaves:  Lemon-scented leaves
Flowers:  Attractive white flowers through spring and summer are a notable feature of this attractive tea tree. The leaves give off a strong lemon fragrance and contain citral and citronellal. They can be made into tea that gives off a wonderful aroma or can be mixed with other tea varieties. It’s a fast growing plant to 3 or 4 metres high with a rounded shape and suitable for screening or as a windbreak. Petersonii occurs naturally in wet forests and rain forest areas of northern NSW and Queensland but adapts well to most areas when given well-drained soil and adequate water. We observe that it’s frost tolerant to around zero degrees C.

Nicky

Nicky's Favourite Plants - Adenanthos sericeus

Genus: Adenanthos
Species: sericeus
Common Name: Albany Woolly Bush or Silver Streak
Flower Colour: Red
Foliage Colour: Grey-Green
Growth Habit: Shrub 3m+
Flowering: Spring, Summer, Autumn
The Albany Woolly Bush is an absolutely fantastic Australian Native Plant. It is extremely hardy, surviving on very little water once established, and has the most beautiful grey-green leaves. It is also extremely soft leaved and will grow to a very large size if allowed.
Probably what the Albany Woolly Bush is best known for is it’s suitability to be used as an Australian Native Christmas Tree. Many people either grow themselves or buy an Albany Woolly Bush around Christmas time because it really suits this purpose well. The grey-green leaves give it a colour that almost ‘hints’ at being snow covered (which Australians still seem to like the idea of, even though many of us have never seen snow) and because of the size the Woolly Bush grows too, you really can get a decent sized Christmas tree.


I have 3 growing and they are dead easy to look after!

Nicky

Ross' favourite plants - Acacia anuera

Family:  Mimosaceae
Genus:  Acacia
Species:  anuera
Common Name:  Mulga
Habit:  Small tree to 7m but more often a large shrub
Flowers:  Yellow spikes appear after heavy rain
Distribution:  Throughout the centre of Australia
Leaves:  Spiney flattened Phyllodes which are actually adapted petioles not leaves.  The leaf has evolved out to reduce water loss through transpiration and evaporation.
Bird attracting and is said to live up to 400 years.

Ross

Mitchell Joachim: Don't build your home, grow it! | Video on TED.com

Mitchell Joachim: Don't build your home, grow it! Video on TED.com

Ross

Jonathan Drori on what we think we know | Video on TED.com

Jonathan Drori on what we think we know Video on TED.com

Ross

Jonathan Drori: Why we're storing billions of seeds | Video on TED.com

Jonathan Drori: Why we're storing billions of seeds Video on TED.com

Ross

SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE: Harvesting Rainwater for Landscape Use: By Patricia Waterfall

SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE: Harvesting Rainwater for Landscape Use: By Patricia Waterfall

Document Sharing - Contract for landscape design

Dear

This is an offer to conduct a Landscape Design for the ........ in …......

There will be two on-site presentations included.  The first will include two Concept Plans. The second on site presentation will include a scale Final Design Plan, A Planting Schedule and Construction Details.  A fee of $1000 covers the two site visits, drafting and printing of all plans and documents specified above.

Concept Plan Stage

A scale concept plan showing the basic layout of the garden(s), including basic hardscape features, designated planting areas, materials, activity areas and a general thematic plan for the property. This will be presented on site with consideration of $200 dollars.

Recycled Stool

                                                           Built from recycled Jarrah, the inside of the stool is comprised completely of recycled cardboard.  The stool is held together by just two strands of leather

rossu design

The Cube



Built from sustainably forested Stringybark and Spotted Gum is The Cube Suspended in th middle of the cube is spanish moss an epiphyte(a plant that can gathers water and nutrients from the air).  This makes an amazingly maintenance free piece that can be kept inside or out.  Rossu design