Plants we’re loving right now

We’ve decided to do a regular segment for you guys, to let you know which of our hire plants are at their best at various points throughout the year.

It’s spring of course, and the nursery is booming (and blooming!). We have a variety of citrus trees with beautifully scented blossoms, and loads of fruit coming up on the olives, peaches and nectarines. Just waiting for the plums, kumquats and figs to start fruiting next!

SO many plants look great right now. Here are our top 5 favourites at the moment:

Australian fan palm

A recent addition to our collection, these extra-large Australian fan palms (licuala ramsayi) are very striking! We love their textured lime green foliage. Whilst they can grow to 15m in the bush, our beauties are approx 2 – 2.5m tall, and they work exceptionally well as a standalone feature plant or as the star in any tropical display. As they are rainforest plants from Northern Queensland, they are happiest indoors or in shaded areas.

Australian fan palm

Quandong

We’re very much in love with these Quandongs (eleaocarpus eumundi) at the moment – just check out those rich coppery green leaves! These work great as a large feature plant, and are also a favourite option for permanent installs, especially in outdoor areas because they’re very versatile and hardy (they like both sun and shade). They are native to north-eastern NSW but are considered rare.

Majestic-looking Quandong tree

Beautiful coppery green foliage

Fatsia

The humble little Fatsia (fatsia japonica), sometimes known as the glossy-leaf paper plant, is always a favourite around here. It may be small, but it packs a visual punch. Originally hailing from Japan, its name stems from the Japanese word for eight (referring to the eight lobes on each leaf). It has the most beautiful textural shiny green foliage, and is pretty hardy – it looks beautiful all year round. We use them for all sorts of different events and locations, including both indoor and outdoor styling, although they generally prefer full (or at least partial) shade.

The eight-lobed leaves of the humble Fatsia – one of our long-standing favourites!

Indian Hawthorn

For flowering shrubs, we can’t go past our Indian Hawthorn (rhaphiolepis indica) at the moment. It’s putting on a beautiful display of white flowers! It’s splendid in both its normal shrub form, and also in the Snow Maiden and Oriental Pearl cultivars. If you need a pop-up hedge for screening or partitioning areas at your next event – these guys are a great option! Fun fact: these originally hail from south-east Asia, and the fruit they bear is edible when cooked (Hawthorn jam anyone?).

Indian Hawthorn shrub in bloom

Beautiful hawthorn blossoms

Michelia

These Michelia ‘White Caviar’ (magnolia laevifolia x figo ‘white caviar’) are lush flowering shrubs with glossy green leaves and cute little cream flowers that smell like bubblegum! They’re at their finest at this time of year (late spring to early summer) and work really well in a prominent spot on their own, or as part of a tall screening hedge. They grow really well in espalier form, which means we also love them for permanent installations where a real stand-out feature plant is needed.

Michelia White Caviar tree

White Caviar flower

That’s it for today folks. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and don’t be shy to get in touch with us if you have any spring gardening or plant-related questions or comments!