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Eucalyptus olida – Strawberry Gum and Forestberry spice. Although its habitat is restricted to the NSW northern tablelands where it is a threatened species, it is now becoming more common in plantation cultivation because of its essential oil and spice qualities.

The Quandong – a Bush Tucker Food. Sometimes called a ‘native peach, Quangdongs grow in Australia’s semi-arid regions and were prized by Indigenous Australians not only for the tart flesh but also the medicinal properties of its leaves and nuts.

Studying the critically endangered Purple Wattle – it’s the only Australian wattle with purple flowers in fact! It has a restricted distribution in north Queensland, growing in the Atherton to Mt Garnet district. Acacia purpureopetala is listed as critically endangered and is one of the Australian Government’s 30 priority threatened plant species.

NSW Christmas Bush – A few facts. Towards the end of December this hardy and reliable plant puts on a great display of red ‘flowers’ that I admire so much – however all is not what it seems. The true flowers are white in colour and fairly insignificant and are seen in late spring to…

Grevillea acropogon – from the Jarrah Forest in the southwest corner of Western Australia. The species is extremely rare and at one stage the wild population was reduced to 53 plants. In 2009 150 seedlings were introduced to a new site.

Australian Carnivorous Plants – Carnivory appears to have evolved in at least six different lineages and it is found in 11 different plant families, in 18 different genera and approximately 800 species worldwide. South-western Australia is the epicentre for evolution of carnivorous plants with approximately 250 species from five families and six different genera.

Grevillea ‘Purple Haze’ – This amazing Grevillea is a selection from a plant of G. plurijuga ssp plurijuga, a Westem Australian species native to southern parts of WA. It is occasionally found in gardens in Eastern Australia.

Mount Annan Plantbank – The general aim of the Plantbank is to preserve and study the seeds of all 6000 plus plants in NSW and the 25,000 plus plant species in Australia.

The Sydney Rainforest Nursery – The nursery grows plants from seeds, and uses natural pollinators. The plants need to meet insects etc, hence no pesticides are used.

Native Grass Workshop – On a beautiful Saturday in late May we gathered at a bush property in Dural to learn about native grasses and ground covers. Our guide was Ross Rapmund who is an expert in Australian native plants and grasses and manager of the Hornsby Shire Council Nursery.

The Hakeas – Hakeas are variable from small trees to prostrate shrubs with various coloured and shaped flowers. One of the most delightful is Hakea ‘Burrendong Beauty’, the parentage of which was a mystery for some years.

Bushland of Castle Hill – Castle Hill is fortunate to have several large areas of parks and bushland. The two most significant lie on either side of the Old Northern Road ridgeline. On the Eastern side in the Sydney Harbour catchment is Bidjigal Reserve on the Western side in the Hawkesbury River catchment is Fred…