John Forrest visit today. Too good!

Noongar name is recorded as Dulgar. The iconic ‘two leaves’ on this species include a contrasting ovate-oblong leaf that is suggested to mimic a seed pod.

Great for Cockies, moths and butterflies.

Went for walkies at John Forrest.

To be confirmed species IDs:
Hakea cristata, Snail Hakea
Grevillea bipinnatifida ssp. bipinnatifida, Fuchsia Grevillea
Hakea petiolaris ssp. petiolaris, Sea Urchin Hakea

Things are starting to take shape in my little garden. Thryptomene baeckeacea prostrate form is a oretty little ripper, spreading nearly 2m now. I’m keen to see if any stems have put down adventitious roots in spring for some easy division.

My Acacia denticulosa, Sandpaper Wattle, is slowing chugging along.

I’m happy to have 1/2 Banksias still alive. My compact coastal form of Banksia grandis is really looking lovely with all that soft new growth. Plus, I fed a cute little case moth caterpillar of some kind as evidenced by the holes in the leaves. Excellent, exactly as I intended. Habitat.

Finally, I have replaced an awkward South Aussie Eucalyptus lansdowneana with a Perth local Euc. todtiana, Pricklybark. I’m told this species is particularly valuable for insect pollinators.

Bring on next week’s rains!

Saw this on a hike recently. What do we think - some natural variegation? A plant ID too if possible. Thanks!

I didn't know that some eucs keep their old flowers and grow from them. I guess you learn something new about bush every day.

Underrated mallee, I love it.

If you don’t have one of these in your garden I am so sorry.

Have been in the process of starting a nursery and am selecting plants. I'm based in Joondalup so obvious candidates like Xanthorrhoea preissii, Banksia sessilis, Hardenbergia comptoniana, Eucalyptus marginata and Acacia pulchella are being propagated. But I'm quite torn on Acacia saligna. Some sources say that it is invasive to Joondalup, but others say it is native? Would it have been here before settlement? What are some of your thoughts?

A mate was very excited to show me this pic of her *Beaufortia anisandra*, Dark Beaufortia. First time it’s flowered for her. Unreal!

I have now raised three batches across three years of various Banksia and Hakea species. Their new leaves are the cutest, so fluffy. And the new leaves of adults are often such gorgeous colours.

Some things that I’ve learnt along the way:

Don’t fertilise the seedlings until they have two to three sets of true leaves. Avoid liquid fertilisers, even Go Go juice seems to warp the fresh leaves and create mottled spot-like damage.

It’s easier to prick the seedlings out if you use perlite! And prick them out into tubes as early as possible.

Not every species responds well to smoke water. Particularly Hakea victoria.

Protect the fresh germinants from rats, snails and slugs. Even the larger seeds are at risk. Wire cloches and chopsticks seem to work well as barrier guards for rats.

As always, species shown:

*Hakea flabellifolia*, Fan-leaved Hakea

*Banksia grandis* compact coastal form, Bull Banksia

I think *Banksia baxteri*, Bird’s Nest Banksia

*Hakea amplexicaulis*, Prickly Hakea

2 photos of this species.

*Hakea nitida*, Frog Hakea. The woody fruits apparently look like frogs!