[ Plant Guide ]

Plants for Brisbane gardens.

A growing library of the plants we design with: what each one is called, what it needs, and how it really behaves in Brisbane's subtropical climate.

Australian natives

Local species that earn their keep: bird-friendly, water-wise and built for our soils.

Cylindrical banksia flower spike and serrated leaves in a Brisbane native gardenBanksiaThe Australian honeysuckle, all sculptural flower spikes and honeyeaters, a plant that looks designed before you have touched it.Planting Banksia in Brisbane →Bright red bottlebrush flower spikes among narrow green leaves in a Brisbane native gardenBottlebrushCallistemon, the hardy Australian native whose brushes of red and cream flowers bring honeyeaters and lorikeets straight into a Brisbane garden.Planting Bottlebrush in Brisbane →Red spider-flower and fine needle foliage of a grevillea in a Brisbane native gardenGrevilleaThe spider flower, a bird-magnet native that earns its keep with colour, structure and a genuine tolerance for our heat.Planting Grevillea in Brisbane →Clipped grey-green coastal rosemary shrub dotted with pale mauve flowers in a Brisbane native gardenCoastal RosemaryWestringia fruticosa, the hardy native that takes the shears like a formal hedge and the neglect like a weed.Planting Coastal Rosemary in Brisbane →Fine-leaved weeping green Lomandra Tanika tussock massed in a low-maintenance Brisbane garden bedLomandra 'Tanika'Lomandra longifolia 'Tanika', the fine-leaved native tussock that quietly does more work in Brisbane gardens than almost anything else we plant.Planting Lomandra 'Tanika' in Brisbane →Strappy blue-green flax lily foliage with small blue star flowers and violet berries in a Brisbane gardenDianella (Flax Lily)The flax lily, a strappy native clump that does the quiet structural groundwork of a bed and barely asks for a drink.Planting Dianella (Flax Lily) in Brisbane →Furred claw-shaped kangaroo paw flowers on tall stems above strappy foliage in a Brisbane native gardenKangaroo PawAnigozanthos, the Western Australian native whose furred, claw-shaped flowers bring vertical colour and a steady traffic of honeyeaters.Planting Kangaroo Paw in Brisbane →Small purple and white native violet flowers over a soft green groundcover in a shady Brisbane gardenNative VioletViola hederacea, the soft-carpeting groundcover that fills the cool, damp shade where lawn sulks and bare soil stares back.Planting Native Violet in Brisbane →Mauve-blue native daisy flowers scattered over a soft mat of ferny foliage in a Brisbane gardenBrachyscomeBrachyscome multifida, the native daisy whose mauve-blue flowers froth over a soft mat of ferny foliage for most of the year.Planting Brachyscome in Brisbane →Fan-shaped mauve-blue scaevola flowers spilling over a wall on trailing foliage in a Brisbane gardenFan FlowerScaevola aemula, the spreading native whose fan-shaped mauve-blue flowers spill over walls and pots for most of the year.Planting Fan Flower in Brisbane →Tuckeroo shade tree with a dense glossy green canopy and orange seed capsules in a coastal Brisbane gardenTuckerooCupaniopsis anacardioides, the unfussy native shade tree that holds its glossy canopy through salt wind, poor soil and long dry spells.Planting Tuckeroo in Brisbane →Long curling cream flower sprays hanging from an ivory curl tree above glossy leaves in a Brisbane gardenIvory Curl TreeBuckinghamia celsissima, a rainforest feature tree that hangs itself with fragrant cream flowers in the late-summer heat.Planting Ivory Curl Tree in Brisbane →Macadamia tree with glossy green leaves and clusters of round nuts in a Brisbane backyardMacadamiaMacadamia integrifolia, the Queensland nut, a handsome native shade tree that happens to grow one of the world's great crops in your own backyard.Planting Macadamia in Brisbane →Finger-shaped native lime fruit among small leaves and thorns on a finger lime shrub in a Brisbane gardenFinger LimeCitrus australasica, the native rainforest citrus behind those glistening lime pearls, edible, ornamental, and armed with serious thorns.Planting Finger Lime in Brisbane →Weeping fine needle-like she-oak foliage catching the breeze in a coastal Brisbane gardenShe-oakCasuarina and Allocasuarina, the weeping coastal native whose fine foliage filters the wind and sighs on the sea breeze.Planting She-oak in Brisbane →Pandanus screw pine with spiralling spiky foliage on exposed stilt roots in a coastal Brisbane gardenPandanusPandanus tectorius, the screw pine of every Queensland beach, standing on its own stilt roots and shrugging off salt, wind and sand.Planting Pandanus in Brisbane →Tall bangalow palm with arching feather fronds and a slim green crownshaft in a Brisbane rainforest gardenBangalow PalmArchontophoenix cunninghamiana, the local rainforest palm that lifts a tall green canopy and belongs here more than most things we plant.Planting Bangalow Palm in Brisbane →

Tropical & subtropical

Big leaves, bold form and the lush look that suits Brisbane's warmth.

Clusters of perfumed frangipani flowers with waxy petals against bare sculptural branches in a Brisbane gardenFrangipaniPlumeria rubra, winter sculpture and summer perfume, and one of the most quintessentially Brisbane plants there is.Planting Frangipani in Brisbane →Clumping golden cane palm with yellow-gold stems and arching feathery fronds screening a Brisbane fenceGolden Cane PalmDypsis lutescens, the golden-stemmed clumping palm that screens a fence line faster than almost anything green.Planting Golden Cane Palm in Brisbane →Crane-shaped orange and blue bird of paradise flower above broad paddle leaves in a Brisbane gardenBird of ParadiseStrelitzia reginae, the architectural clump whose crane-shaped orange flower is as tough as it is unmistakable.Planting Bird of Paradise in Brisbane →Waxy red and yellow lobster-claw heliconia flower heads above broad tropical leaves in a Brisbane gardenHeliconiaHeliconia species, the lobster claw whose waxy, saturated flower heads are as tropical as a Brisbane garden gets.Planting Heliconia in Brisbane →Broad-leafed ornamental ginger clump with a scented flower head filling the mid-storey of a Brisbane gardenOrnamental GingerAlpinia and Hedychium, the broad-leafed clumpers that fill the mid-storey with tropical lushness and the odd sweetly scented flower.Planting Ornamental Ginger in Brisbane →Bold glossy deeply lobed philodendron leaves filling a shaded bed in a lush Brisbane gardenPhilodendronPhilodendron species, the bold-leafed foliage plant that can carpet a bed as groundcover or clothe a post as a climber.Planting Philodendron in Brisbane →Colourful bromeliad rosette with a flushed centre nestled in dry shade in a Brisbane gardenBromeliadNeoregelia and Alcantarea, the low-fuss rosettes that bring reliable colour to the dry shade where nothing else will.Planting Bromeliad in Brisbane →Upright cordyline with strappy burgundy, pink and cream leaves bringing colour to a Brisbane garden bedCordylineCordyline fruticosa, the upright ti plant whose burgundy, pink and cream foliage brings colour to a green garden without a single flower.Planting Cordyline in Brisbane →Symmetrical rosette of stiff dark-green cycad fronds radiating from a stout trunk in a Brisbane gardenCycadCycas revoluta and its larger cousin Lepidozamia, prehistoric, slow and sculptural, the plant for the tough dry shade nothing else enjoys.Planting Cycad in Brisbane →Domed clusters of tiny star-shaped pentas flowers drawing butterflies in a warm Brisbane gardenPentasPentas lanceolata, the Egyptian star cluster whose domed heads of tiny stars pull in butterflies from spring right through the warm months.Planting Pentas in Brisbane →

Screening & hedging

Fast, dense and clippable: privacy and green walls that hold their shape.

Dense lilly pilly screening hedge with glossy leaves and coppery new growth in a Brisbane gardenLilly PillySyzygium and Acmena, the go-to screening hedge for Brisbane, with one honest catch worth getting right before you plant.Planting Lilly Pilly in Brisbane →Glossy green murraya hedge flushed with scented white flowers in a Brisbane garden after summer rainMurrayaMurraya paniculata, the fast, glossy evergreen hedge that fills a boundary in a season or two and perfumes the whole yard after summer rain.Planting Murraya in Brisbane →Clipped low box hedge forming a crisp green border in a formal Brisbane gardenBox HedgeBuxus microphylla var. japonica, the small-leafed evergreen behind almost every crisp low hedge, parterre and clipped green edge.Planting Box Hedge in Brisbane →Tall slender canes and fine green foliage of clumping gracilis bamboo screening a Brisbane boundaryClumping BambooBambusa textilis 'Gracilis', the tall, slim, well-behaved clumping bamboo that screens a two-storey boundary from a strip barely half a metre wide.Planting Clumping Bamboo in Brisbane →Sasanqua camellia flowers against glossy dark-green foliage in an autumn Brisbane gardenSasanqua CamelliaCamellia sasanqua, the tougher, sun-friendlier camellia that flowers through autumn and winter and clips into a glossy screen for the shadier side of the garden.Planting Sasanqua Camellia in Brisbane →Creamy white scented gardenia flower against glossy dark-green foliage in a Brisbane summer gardenGardeniaGardenia jasminoides, the glossy dark-leaved shrub whose thick, creamy, unmistakably scented flowers are practically the smell of a Brisbane summer.Planting Gardenia in Brisbane →Scented white star jasmine flowers over a sheet of glossy green foliage on a Brisbane garden wallStar JasmineTrachelospermum jasminoides, the twining evergreen that turns a bare fence or wall into a sheet of glossy green and fills the spring air with scent.Planting Star Jasmine in Brisbane →Large creamy white Little Gem magnolia flower against glossy bronze-backed leaves in a Brisbane gardenLittle Gem MagnoliaMagnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem', the compact evergreen magnolia with glossy bronze-backed leaves and dinner-plate flowers, sized for a real suburban block.Planting Little Gem Magnolia in Brisbane →

Coastal & salt-tolerant

Salt wind, sandy soil and reflected heat: plants that shrug it off.

Soft blue-green rosette of a spineless Agave attenuata succulent in a Brisbane courtyard gardenAgaveAgave attenuata, the soft-leaved sculptural succulent that gives you the architectural look without the spikes, and asks almost nothing in return.Planting Agave in Brisbane →Orange-red winter flower spikes rising above fleshy grey-green aloe rosettes in a Brisbane gardenAloeAloe arborescens and its relatives, sculptural succulents that hold their shape through the hottest Brisbane summer and light up in winter with spikes of nectar.Planting Aloe in Brisbane →White iris-like fortnight lily flowers above upright strappy foliage in a Brisbane gardenFortnight LilyDietes grandiflora, the near-indestructible wild iris whose white flowers open in flushes roughly every fortnight after rain.Planting Fortnight Lily in Brisbane →Blue agapanthus flower globes on tall stems above strappy green foliage in a Brisbane summer gardenAgapanthusAgapanthus praecox, the strappy stalwart whose blue and white flower globes carry a hot Brisbane summer with almost no fuss.Planting Agapanthus in Brisbane →

Feature & flowering trees

The one tree that makes a garden: canopy, shade and a seasonal show.

A jacaranda in full purple bloom over a Brisbane street in springJacarandaJacaranda mimosifolia, Brisbane's sentimental favourite, a spectacular spring tree that wants far more room than most front yards admit.Planting Jacaranda in Brisbane →Broad poinciana canopy ablaze with scarlet-orange summer flowers and ferny leaves over a Brisbane gardenPoincianaDelonix regia, the flame tree that turns whole summers scarlet, and one of the largest canopies you can plant on a Brisbane property.Planting Poinciana in Brisbane →Crepe myrtle in full summer bloom with crinkled crepe-textured flower clusters in a Brisbane gardenCrepe MyrtleLagerstroemia indica, the summer-flowering deciduous tree that thrives in the western sun most plants dread, if you choose the right cultivar.Planting Crepe Myrtle in Brisbane →

Flowering colour

Reliable flower through the warm months, chosen to cope with our humidity.

Cascade of vivid magenta bougainvillea bracts over a sunny wall in a Brisbane gardenBougainvilleaBougainvillea glabra, the hot-blooded subtropical scrambler that turns a bare fence or west wall into a wall of magenta, orange and paper-white bract.Planting Bougainvillea in Brisbane →Delicate pale pink and white gaura wandflowers hovering on slender stems in a breezy Brisbane gardenButterfly BushGaura lindheimeri, the wandflower whose pale blooms hover like a cloud of moths on the slightest breeze.Planting Butterfly Bush in Brisbane →Upright spires of salvia flowers above aromatic foliage humming with bees in a Brisbane gardenSalviaSalvia species, the ornamental sages whose upright spires of colour flower for most of the year and hum with bees and honeyeaters.Planting Salvia in Brisbane →Large rounded blue and pink hydrangea flower heads above broad leaves in a shady Brisbane gardenHydrangeaHydrangea macrophylla, the big-headed shade shrub whose blooms can be steered blue or pink by the soil beneath them.Planting Hydrangea in Brisbane →

Strappy & structural

Grasses and clumping foliage that give a planting its rhythm and spine.

Strappy green liriope clumps edging a border with upright purple flower spikes in a Brisbane gardenLiriopeLiriope muscari, the strappy evergreen clumping plant we mass along borders and beneath trees for a clean green edge that asks almost nothing in return.Planting Liriope in Brisbane →Fine dark-green mondo grass carpeting a shady spot as a soft grassy groundcover in a Brisbane gardenMondo GrassOphiopogon japonicus, the fine, dark-green groundcover that carpets the shady, awkward places where lawn refuses to grow.Planting Mondo Grass in Brisbane →

Shade-loving

Under trees, on the south side, beneath the deck: plants that want less sun.

Upright broad glossy dark-green cast iron plant leaves filling a shady dry corner of a Brisbane gardenCast Iron PlantAspidistra elatior, the broad-leaved survivor that earns its name by growing in the dark, dry corners that defeat almost everything else.Planting Cast Iron Plant in Brisbane →

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