Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star'

My 'yum plant' of the week. Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star'. I'm always on the lookout for interesting evergreen plants and I love this one. It would work particularly well in a white garden... ;)

Some stats:

Slow growing

Max height 1m

Full sun

Water - adaptable, can take wet or dry conditions

Clump forming

Single seeds from blue cones.

And yes, I took cuttings :)

27 June - Plant of the week

Pittosporum cornifolium!!

Ok, from afar it doesn't look like much, a bit twiggy.

But get closer and there are small buds coming from
 a cluster of three leaves

The bud opens to show three more leaves, and then this
 little spray of peach coloured flowers.
Fairly small and easy to miss though, until you get to...

...the seed pods!!!
Starting as a green pod, it opens to show bright
 red pod lining with a cluster of black seeds
 held in place by bright yellow goo.

Bloody amazing!

13 June: Top 10 Plants of the Week

1 - Passiflora tetrandra. Passiflorceae. NZ Passion fruit. Climber with tendrils, dark waxy leaves with
 pointed tip, bright orange fruit from yellow flowers.

2 - Phormium tenax. Xanthorrhoeaceae. New Zealand Flax. Clumps of straplike leaves up to 2m,
flowers on tall shoots with alternate flowers of red.

3 - Rhopalostylis sapida. Arecaceae. Nikau palm. Only palm native to NZ, can grow up to 15m.

4 - Helichrysum coralloides. Asteraceae.  Whipcord, coral-like alpine plant covered in white hairs.

5 - Celmisia insignis 'Black Birch'. Asteraceae.  White spear-like leaves.

6 - Hebe cockayneana. Plantaginaceae. Compact and rounded habit of growth, elongated obovate
shaped leaves with pale leaf margin. Slow growing, max height 60-90cm

7 - Hebe topiaria . Plantaginaceae. Neat topiary like growth habit, compact grey-green leaves.
White flower racemes in early summer.

8 - Chionochloa beddiei. Poaceae. Beddies Tussocks, Cook Straight Tussock.
Endemic to Wellington coastal region

9 - Hebe odora. Plantaginaceae. Boxwood Hebe. Small white scented flowers that
 look like jasmine flowers.

10 - Veronica amplexicaulis (syn. Hebe amplexicaulis). Plantaginaceae. Glaucus bluey-green
 leaves, less compact than some species, white flowering.

5 June: Top 10 Plants of the Week

1 - Coprosma grandifolia. Rubiaceae. Raurekau. Large leaved coprosma, plant can grow up to 6m.

2 - Coprosma robusta. Rubiaceae. Karamu. Leathery leaves with rounded tips. The stipules have black tips.

3 - Sophora molloyi.  Fabaceae. Kowhai. 'Dragons Gold'. Tui's love the flowers. 

4 - Coprosma repens. Smaller waxi leaves.

5 - Blechnum nuovo zealandi. Leaflets slight joined at stem. Leaf larger at base and narrower at tip.

6 - Blechnum discolour. Leaflets fuller separated at the stem, leaf shape thin at base and tip, wider in the middle.

7 - Fuschia excorticarta. Flower, green with purple center.

7 - Fuschia excorticarta. Trunk with peeling orangey bark

8 - Metrosiderous robusta - Northern rata

9 - Myrsine Australis - Red Matipo

10 - Pittosporum tenuifolium - Black Matipo