Grevillea 'Raspberry Dream' looking good in the nursery this morning after overnight rain. I wasn't that excited about this recent release from the Kings Park hybrid grevillea breeding program when I first saw it but after some extensive testing in the garden (and by 'testing I mean leaving a batch sitting in pots for six months at the back of the house before finally remembering I still had them - then cutting them back to nothing before planting!) they are actually pretty good.

They flower a lot and respond well to a hard prune - new foliage is finer and a lighter green than a lot of other red/orange/pink hybrids.

Parentage of this hybrid is pretty interesting. I've see it described as 'involving' Grevillea scortechinii (black flowers) and a hybrid of Grevillea 'Little Honey' (orange/yellow flowers) and Grevillea formosa (large yellow/green flowers). 'Little Honey' is thought to be 'Honey Gem' and G. banksii 'White Dwarf' ... 'Honey Gem' is G. banksiii red form and G. pteridifolia. So quite a lot going on in the mix there!

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Grevillea candelabroides (grafted) flowering in the garden at Corunna, NSW. This beautiful WA species features attractive foliage and large sprays of creamy white flowers (which are scented). Grafted plants are a good option in the east and can be long lived in areas with summer humidity. Unfortunately not often seen in general nurseries although does occasionally become available in small numbers.

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Kangaroo paws (Anigozanthos hybrid) and Grevillea plurijuga currently flying the flag for WA flora in the Corunna, NSW garden.

Grafted G. plurijugas are now more widely available in SE NSW nurseries (as G 'Purple Haze') and do pretty well in local conditions.

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First garden casualty of the recent wild winds at Corunna, NSW - finally lost the 20+ year old grafted Grevillea flexuosa (Zig Zag Grevillea) in the bottom veggie patch.

This was orginally planted as a test of how well the Grevillea robusta rootstock would handle really wet, boggy conditions as parts of the bottom veggie patch remain waterlogged for much of the year in non-drought times.

In recent years it has started to struggle a little with some branches dying off - plus some regular heavy pruning by the cows! Recent gusty westerly winds snapped a main branch which then dragged the whole plant over. RIP.

Last year I planted a new one up in the main garden as a backup - so hopefully I can get another 20 years out of it as well!

This rare/endangered WA grevillea is sometimes available in the east grafted on G. robusta rootstock but there are some doubts about the long term compatibility of this combo and it is not often seen in general nurseries these days. Hopefully a grower will start doing larger numbers of plants with intergrafts - or on a different rootstock - as they make spectacular garden plants.

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First flowers out on the Grevillea 'Cupid's Dream' - popular with the local grass-darts. With classic hybrids like 'Pink Surprise' and 'Misty Pink' difficult to find in nurseries these days 'Cupid's Dream' could become an excellent alternative with sprays of pink flowers and deeply divided blue/green foliage.

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Grevillea leptobotrys (garden/grafted) - low-mounding WA species featuring delicate sprays of uniquely shaped lilac/pink flowers + blue/grey foliage & reddish new growth. An outstanding rockery feature now grown commercially (as 'Lilac Tangles') and widely available in general nurseries as grafted plants in SE NSW. Definitely worth a spot in the garden if you see one at you local nursery!

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Grevillea hilliana (white yiel yiel / white silky oak) still flowering well in the garden in mid-December. A fair bit south of its natural range here at Corunna, NSW but has done well grafted onto G. robusta. Flowers open from yellow/green buds to impressive cylindrical clusters of white flowers

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