Plant Finder

No Mediterranean Garden would be complete without an Olive tree. Slow, but long-lasting, Olives form a small open, multi-trunked tree. Needing good drainage and full sun there are many different varieties available. Seedless varieties, such as ‘Swan Hill’ or ‘Tolleys upright’ should be used in areas where Olives are an environmental weed.

An upright, silver-foliage shrub growing to 1m tall, the Silver Wormwood is a tough and easy to cultivate shrub. It can be managed through biennial or occasional pruning to manage its habit.

Rounded bush. Leaves are oblong shaped, held on a single many-branched stem, are grey-green in colour and about 4cm long. Flowers daisy-like, are white, purple or blue in colour and are about 2cm across. They are borne from spring to autumn. Hard pruning is required to encourage flowering. Olearia phlogopappa grows to about 2m in height. This plant is not drought tolerant.

Mondo Grass forms tufts of narrow, grass-like leaves that are 10 to 20cm in height. Slow initially, once established it can spread rapidly though vigorous stolons below the ground. Forms a very dense ground cover from deep shade to partially sunny locations. This plant has limited drought tolerance.

Usually appears as a shrub but can be a small tree. Foliage is glossy and deep green in colour. The flowers are small, very fragrant, creamy white or yellow in colour and are held in clusters towards the ends of branches. Flowering occurs from spring to autumn. Osmanthus fragrans grows to a heiht of about 3m. This plant is not drought tolerant.

Rushlike tuft. Leaves are green or grey-green in colour. Flowers are purple, iris-like, found on short stems and are borne in spring and early summer. Patersonia fragilis grows to about 0.3m high and 0.3m wide. This plant is not drought tolerant.

Grassy tuft. Leaves are narrow, stap-like and green in colour. The flowers are purple, (occasionally white) iris-like and are borne on tall stems in spring and summer. Patersonia occidentalis grows to about 0.6m high and 0.6m wide. This plant is not drought tolerant.

This is a South African sprawling sub-shrub that grows up to 50cm in height. It has strongly-scented ‘fern-like’ leaves and mauve flowers that form over spring and summer. A useful low-growing plant for its texture, form, and flowers.

A sub-shrub from central Asia with aromatic, grey-green leaves and spires of woolly, mauve flowers in summer. It can grow to a metre or so in height and is best managed by pruning back to the base after flowering. A beautiful aromatic plant.

Evergreen shrub with sage-like wrinkled grey-green leaves about 10cm long. Flowers are golden yellow, 3cm long and are borne in early and midsummer. Phlomis fruticosa grows to about 1m high and 1.5m wide.

Leaves are grey-green in colour, sword-like and about 2m long. The flowers are brown outside, and pale green inside with red-brown filaments and orange anthers. These are borne in summer. Phormium cookianum grows to abotu 1.2m wide and 0.3 m tall.

This is a large, vigorous deciduous tree up to 40m high. The bark is spotted either green or brown and is shed in winter. The leaves are 5-lobed, large, green in colour and maple like. The seed balls are brown and hang in clusters on the trees in winter. Platanus is a famous Melbourne street tree resistant to drought, pollution and compaction. This version is said to be more resistant to powdery mildew in humid conditions than Platanus X acerifolius.

A sub-shrub from New South Wales and Queensland, this plant grows to 1m in height. It has silver foliage and upright light mauve-blue flowers over summer. Whilst very tolerant of dry conditions it is sensitive to frost but recovers readily during spring. Silver Spurflower is consistently one of the favourite savewater plants on the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Display.

Erect, fast growing, spreading shrub. Leaves are large, ovate shaped and arranged in opposite pairs on the stems. Flowers are blue, sometimes pink or white and are produced in autumn with a peak in April. Plectranthus ecklonii grows to about 3 metres tall.

Small plant with freely branching reddish purple stems. Leaves are rounded, bronze-green in colour and about 3-4cm long. Flowers are white or light blue in colour and are produced on racemes about 20m long. Flowering occurs all year round. Plectranthus oerthendahlii grows to about 20cm tall and spreads to about 1m in width.

Large tussock. Leaves are blue-green in colour. Flower stems are fine, open panicles and may be erect or weeping. The colour cannot be specified as it varies. Poa labillardieri grows to about 1m tall and wide. This is a valuable habitat plant for birds and butterflies.

Medium tussock, with hairy stems giving a soft greyish appearance. The clumps spread slowly causing an increase in width and can become tangled and flattened if not cut back. Poa morrisii grows to about 1m in height and width. This plant is not drought tolerant.

Mat-forming plant. Leaves are quite small (2.5cm long) and green in colour. Flowers are roughly 2.5cm across, reddish or orange in colour with thin petals that open in the sun. Flowering occurs in summer. Portulaca grandiflora grows to about 15cm across and about 50cm high.

This mintbush is the most commonly grown species despite it's short life. It forms a large shrub to a small tree. It can be upright and dense or more spreading. The leaves are small (1cm), oval, dark green in top and greyish green below. Flowers are rich purple in colour and are borne in spring. This plant is very aromatic. Prostanthera ovalifolia grows to about 2.5m tall. This plant is not drought tolerant.

Evergreen tree to 5 m from the Western mediterranean. Classified as either a large shrub or a small tree. Dense cover of leaves are produced. Leaves are glossy, dark green on top and yellow-green underneath. The margins are spiked and the tips are pointed. Flowers are small, white, drooping and are produced in early summer. Following the flowering is the production of spiked red berries that later turn black. Some weed potential along rivers and wet areas.