Brunfelsia |
Brunfelsia latifolia, or "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" is so named because its flowers open purplish blue and fades to white before dropping off.
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Cabbage Tree |
The cabbage tree is an icon of NZ, a large tree that grow unbranched until it flowers.
The fragrant white flowers appear in the Spring, followed by tiny fruits much loved by birds.
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Camellia |
A genus of shruby plants of which a number of ornamental shrubs belong.
It also contains an important food crop plant, tea (Camellia sinensis).
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Cape Gooseberry |
Half-hardy short-lived perennial/annual grown for its unusual fruit that taste like a cross between a gooseberry, a tomato and a cherry!
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Chrysocoma |
Chrysocoma ciliata is a low growing shrub that flowers in the spring.
The small yellow daisy like terminal flowers are produced en-masse, smothering the plant.
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Cistus |
This large compact shrub is very tolerant of dry conditions.
In early Spring, it is covered with pink flowers that last only one day, but are produced in profusion.
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Coleonema |
A compact rounded shrub with fragrant flowers and leaves.
The plant looks like a cross between a heather and a conifer.
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Dracophyllum |
Dracophyllum is a genus of some 40 species found in New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia.
The branches have the appearance of a tuft of grass on top of long slender stems.
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Feijoa |
A very popular fruit for the home garden that has red pohutukawa-like flowers.
This evergreen shrub makes a good hedge.
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Fuchsia hybrids
Featured plant of March 2006 |
A much hybridised plant with thousands of registered hybrids.
The flowers are usually bi-coloured, with a combination of red, cerise, pink, "orange", purple or white.
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Gordonia |
The flowers on this small evergreen tree have creamy white petals and yellow stamens, looking for afar like eggs fried "Sunny side up".
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Hibiscus
Featured plant of April 2006 |
A genus of shruby plants that range from the tropics to temperate climates.
The flowers have a characteristic central structure with five stigmas at the end and a number of stamens along its length.
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Horse chestnut |
The common horse chestnut is a large deciduous tree that bears white / cream flowers in the spring, followed by large spiky fruits.
Each fruit produces one large seed, traditionally used for the game of conkers.
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Kaka beak |
This rare hardy quick growing shrub is endemic to NZ.
The large red pea blossoms appear from the second year onwards.
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Kerria japonica |
Kerria japonica is a native of Japan and China.
In the spring, it produces yellow flowers ahead of leaves.
'Pleniflora' is a sterile double form, the staments having been modified to become petals.
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Kowhai |
The kowhai is the national flower of NZ.
It welcomes spring with a burst of bright yellow flowers.
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Manuka |
This quick growing native tree produces white flowers, which feed bees to produce the famed Manuka honey.
Cultivars have red / pink and/or double flowers.
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Ornamental Banana |
This relative of the edible banana produces dark pink flowers and small bananas that are full of seeds.
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Persimon |
Persimon has been cultivated in China and Japan for a long time.
There are two types of fruit, astringent and non-astringent.
The astringent variety contain tannins which make the fruit bitter unless well ripened.
Non-astringent varieties have far less tannins and can be eaten while the fruit is still firm.
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Pimelea |
This Australian upright shrub has alternate rows of opposite leaves, pretty much like Hebes.
Terminal clusters of small pink appear in mid spring, followed by fluffy seed heads.
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Pohutukawa
Featured plant of May 2006 |
Pohutukawa, the New Zealand Christmas tree, is an icon of coastal areas in Northern New Zealand.
During Christmas, the tree is covered in masses of red flowers.
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Sensitive Plant |
This plant closes its leaves in response to touch.
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Stone Fruit |
Pictures of stone fruit blossoms.
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Swan Plant |
This poisonous plant is food for the monarch butterfly caterpilars.
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Vietnamese Mint |
Vietnamese mint is a half-hardy perennial, growing to 1m tall, and eventually forming a large clump.
It is a water plant, often very happy in boggy ground.
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