This tough frost hardy tree is suited to coastal areas as well as the hotter inland areas. It has handsome evergreen foliage, dark green with red petioles, and rich pink, lily-of-the-valley flowers which are produced in autumn. Red strawberry-like fruit follow in winter. 5, more...

Much loved by gardeners in Victorian times who made a feature of this palm planting it in the centre of the lawn. They will fit well into a mixed planting as well of course. A palm from the hot dry areas of southern Europe and North Africa it is both drought tolerant and, more...

“Chimonanthus, that most heavenly scented of all heaven-scented flowers” Reginald Farrar. Blooming in the depths of winter the flowers, cream coloured and tightly huddled against leafless stems, will fill the whole garden with a delicious spicy fragrance. As it flowers on, more...

A hybrid between Catalpa bignoniodes and Chilepsis linearis this rare, deciduous small tree is ideally suited to our dry inland gardens as well as coastal areas which aren’t humid during summer. For several months, from early summer until autumn, heads of large gloxinia-like, more...

Cotinus are amongst the best of all drought tolerant, frost hardy, long lived trees and shrubs available for the garden. I grow about twenty plants of five varieties of Cotinus at Lambley and this year I will be planting more. Velvet Cloak is an upright growing selection with, more...

Shrubs from China and Japan don’t generally do well here at Lambley. The hot dry winds of summer are too much for them. The deciduous Euonymus alatus is an exception. I planted one about ten years ago and it has never had a burnt leaf and always puts on a really good autumn, more...

This is a much more compact plant than the type and although its catkins are not quite as long as other clones they are more freely produced. This drought tolerant, frost hardy, evergreen shrub flowers in the middle of winter. Happy in full sun or a little light shade. 250cm, more...

One of the delights of spring when this deciduous shrub becomes a billowing mass of bright clear pink, lemon throated flowers. Long lived and soundly frost hardy it needs very little if any supplementary water once established. A thinning out of old wood occasionally is all, more...

An Australian selection which is more compact than the type. I’ve only grown it for a year so I can’t say how compact it is likely to be. Bay laurel make a terrific drought tolerant hedge as it clips well and is long lived. It can also be used as a specimen tree or topiary. I, more...

A row of stone pines was planted here at Lambley in the 1870s. Whilst most were removed many years ago to make way for a cypress windbreak one tree remains and what a beautiful tree it is. It is twenty five metres tall with a sinuous, sculptured trunk. Very tough and happy, more...

I have been wondering for years what this plant was called. I first saw it growing on a quarry face in the Women’s Peace Garden at Flemington, an inner city suburb of Melbourne. Although never ever watered it has flourished for many years and has made an evergreen shrub, more...

There is a good specimen of the Giant Redwood in the garden here at Lambley. It was planted during the latter part of the 19th century and was raised from seed distributed by von Mueller. The tree here has grown 30 metres tall in about 130 years. In wetter climates trees, more...

This palm grows much better in the south of Australia than it does in the tropics. Good old specimens can be seen throughout Victoria and once established it needs very little watering however it will grow much faster if given a good start in life. Happy in any well drained, more...