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BLUE LEAVED

Postage : Seeds only $4 / Plants $20

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  • Agave
    • potatorum   CAG02362
      Height50cmWidth45cmFlowering SeasonSu - AuWaterLLightSun
      Agave potatorum
      $12.00earn 60 points

      A mid sized species forming a sphere of stiff, very blue, glaucous leaves, short and broad with prominent, red-black, sharks teeth around the margin and a wavy terminal spine.

      Its globular form is a stunning counterpoint to modern architecture and coupled with an ironclad constitution and impressive armament it is an ideal candidate for municipal and commercial gardens, rooftops or in a pot on the deck. Otherwise plant a few in a sea of gravel with Freesia in your choice of colours for a cheap and stunning, irrigation free, permanent lawn substitute.
      Doesn't run, pups are borne clustered around the base and if left attached form attractive clumps. I would expect it to be cold hardy in 99% of Australian gardens.

      Flowers are limey green and in clusters on a giant asparagus like stalk, more graceful than some of the larger species but less grand.

  • Euphorbia
    • characias subsp. wulfenii   CAG00819
      Height1.2mWidth1.2mFlowering SeasonSpringWaterLLightSun
      Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii
      $12.00earn 60 points

      A drought hardy evergreen, shrub-like perennial. The stout reddish stems, clothed in glaucous grey green leaves, arise from a central rootstock. In their second year large heads of chartreuse flower-like bracts are produced above dense whorls of foliage.

      Cut back spent stems to base as they do not flower again.
      As seen on TV and in books, magazines....... Extremely tough and highly ornamental both in foliage and flower.
      Loves coastal conditions and easily grown in any reasonably drained sunny site elsewhere.

      Differs from ordinary E. characias in that the small flower in the centre of the bracts are yellow instead of red.

      Seedlings from select forms in the nursery, expect some variability, especially in size, but the standard should be high, reject those dull of flower or palsy of leaf. I would clone them but I have yet to see a cutting grown plant perform well, typically just flowering themselves into oblivion with little tolerance for dryness, anticipate ~15 good years out of a seedling.

  • Acacia
    • aphylla   CAG02510

      (Leafless rock wattle)
      Height1.5mWidth1mFlowering SeasonSpringWaterLLightFull Sun
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      Appearing more like a succulent from exotic climes than a threatened native of the Perth hills. Vertical stems divide into many powdery blue tapering twigs that knit together to form a vase shaped shrub, studded in spring with small, yellow, spherical, powder puff flowers. As its common name suggests it is entirely without leaves though young seedlings briefly bear a few.

      Easy and fast growing in well drained poor soil. Summer irrigation is unnecessary but tolerated. Try surrounding it with a sea of the orange coloured sedge Carex testacea and add a few brightly coloured succulents to imitate a coral reef.

      Responds well to hard pruning when it accumulates too much old growth and starts to loose its charm.

  • Agave
  • Asphodelus
    • aestivus   CAG02237

      (Common Asphodel, White Asphodel, Summer Asphodel, Silver rod)
      Height1mWidth40cmFlowering SeasonSpringWaterLLightFull Sun
      Asphodelus aestivus
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      Profuse spikes of starry, pinkish white, blooms emerge from clumps of fleshy, very glaucous, slenderly tapering, grassy leaves produced by a succulent underground rootstock. From the Mediterranean, summer dormant and unperturbed by heat and drought.

      Easily grown in any well drained sunny position that is drier in summer.

      Unpalatable to grazing critters.

      Beautiful and romantic when planted amongst drifts of Cistus, Lavender or other silvery Mediterranean shrubs.

  • Brahea
    • armata   CAG02198

      (Blue hesper plam, Mexican blue palm)
      Height12mWidth5mFlowering SeasonSp - SuWaterL - MLightSun
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      A beautiful palm from Baja California and the Sonoran Desert.

      Frost, salt, drought and heat tolerant, it's crown of silvery blue fan-like leaves atop the stout trunk makes a striking statement in any garden, whether among informal plantings or used as a design element along drives or to frame vistas. Huge pendant cream coloured inflorescences add an extra dimension over summer and are followed by dark brown fruit which are supposedly edible after roasting.

      Happy in any well drained soil but found naturally in soil that is alkaline so it is ideal for coastal gardens.

      Sure to thrive where more common and tropical palms struggle.

  • Carex
    • riparia ‘Coerulea’   CAG00870

      (Blue Sedge)
      Height60cmWidth1mFlowering SeasonSpringWaterHLightFull Sun
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      An moisture loving, evergreen sedge, forming a radiating clump. Furry, black, tassel-like flower heads are borne on slender stems during Spring. The bluest of the sedges it is an ideal plant for a sunny pond or wet spot in the garden. Grows in wet soil to shallow water (10cm). Requires full sun to maintain good colour.Remove spent tufts as they brown.

  • Dianthus

    (Pink, Sweet william, Carnation)
    Caryophyllaceae

    The commonly encountered garden varieties are European plants of garden antiquity grown for their attractive, often perfumed, flowers which pick well. They are on the whole easily grown but demand excellent drainage and plenty of sun and are ideally suited to poor, dryer, well drained, alkaline soils. They are often encountered overgrown and root bound, tucked away in the shade, to which they are intolerant, and once purchased are good naturedly smothered with too much "good" garden practice.


    Pinks are known to all by name, which they lent to the colour, if not in person. Classic perennials of English cottage gardens. They have extensive root systems and most varieties offered are quite hardy in Perth with a good drink once a week over summer. They invariably have narrow, glaucous foliage resistant to dry air and high light intensity.

    Sweet williams (Dianthus barbatus) are biennials that will often persist for several years and typically have tall stems bearing clusters of small fringed flowers. They have broader leaves and require a bit softer conditions than the Pinks. The Nigrescens group seem the hardiest of the bunch and can become quite shrubby, potted colour varieties, often sold by the punnet, are worth growing but usually amount to little more than tender annuals.

    Carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus). Those developed for the cut flower market are mostly ugly plants needing support and are best left to the dedicated enthusiast or florist. Better garden plants are the seldom seen border carnations, they have the same beautiful flowers of the florist types but are less gawky, don't need staking, are often perfumed and are almost as hardy as the pinks.
    • ‘Watercolour’   CAG00213
      Height10cmWidth50cmFlowering SeasonAllWaterLLightFull Sun
      Dianthus ‘Watercolour’
      CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

      An exceptional plant forming a dense mat of needle-like, very glaucous foliage, studded with flat, stippled, pink and pinked, delicately scented flowers throughout the year but in abundance through spring.

      A variety we have grown for many years and it has never failed to impress both in beauty and hardiness. Drape it over walls, across or in paths, with a few small spring flowering southern African bulbs for some garden pizzazz, or have it spill from a large planter with a choice succulent companion.

  • Echeveria
  • Eschscholzia
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