Lush plants bring Fans vs Favs houses to life this week on The Block.
It was another inspiring episode of The Block this week. Contestants were getting down and dirty in some fantastic landscaping challenges. As proud suppliers to The Block 2021, All Green Nursery & Garden Supplies has a comprehensive list of all the plants featured in this week's episode and practical advice on making them work in your home.
This episode saw The Block 2021 Fans Vs. Favs contestants showcase a stunning array of plants. Tropical feature plants, sculptural shrubs and small fruit trees were just some of the exciting variety of plants we saw used to great effect by the contestants. It just goes to show what a little imagination can do. Well done, teams!
So without further ado, here are the stars from this week's episode of The Block:
1. Strelitzia Nicolai Giant 'Bird Of Paradise'
An impressive, tall, tropical tree perfect for making a statement.
Features: An indoor plant with large lush leaves and striking blue and white flowers.
Applications: Shade areas, as a potted specimen on a balcony or patio areas. Bird of Paradise is also wonderful on acreage or in tropical gardens.
Care: If indoors, this plant needs a bright spot near a window. If outdoors, this plant will adapt to shade or full sun conditions. Be wary of strong winds that may split and damage the leaves, causing brown, unsightly edges.
Size: Height 10m x Width 5m
[content_aside]Discover Bird of Paradise and more indoor plants at All Green.[/content_aside]
2. Olea Europaea 'Olive Tree'
A beautiful, non-edible fruit tree with attractive silver-green leaves.
Features: Small fruit tree with evocative, silver-green leaves and non-edible fruit. Drought and heat tolerant.
Applications: Olive trees like shade areas, topiary, potted specimen or hedges.
Care: Can be sensitive to frost and, in humid conditions, may attract pests and diseases.
Size: Height 5 — 7m
[content_aside]Find out more about small fruit trees at All Green.[/content_aside]
3. Lomandra Lime Tuff
A fresh, bright lime green, grass that's hardy and great for edging.
Features: Shade-tolerant, upright grass. Brilliantly bright, fine, tufty grass featuring small, cream flower spikes.
Applications: Lomandra Lime Tuff makes for excellent ground coverage and is effective in strengthening eroding soil areas while also discouraging weeds.
Care: Minimal care. Benefits from regular watering and mulching in the first 12 weeks.
Size: Height 0.5m x Width 0.5m
[content_aside]We have a vast range of shade-tolerant grasses at All Green.[/content_aside]
4. Strelitzia Reginae 'Bird Of Paradise'
A sensationally dramatic, tropical tree originating in South Africa with superb multicoloured flowers.
Features: An exquisite indoor plant with large spoon-shaped leaves and show-stopping architectural flowers.
Applications: An absolute must-have for any tropical-style garden. Suited to large containers and great for adding some colour poolside or in grassy borders.
Care: Bird of Paradise trees appreciates a good amount of mulch and water in the first three months and fertilizer once a month in warmer weather. Remove dead leaves and flowers to keep the plant looking tidy. Placing in direct sunlight will encourage flower growth.
Size: Height 1.2m x Width 1.2m
[content_aside]You'll find inspiration and tons of indoor plants at All Green.[/content_aside]
5. Murraya Paniculata 'Mock Orange'
A tall, versatile and attractive hedge plant with small white flowers and a heady scent.
Features: A medium to tall hedge plant that dazzles with delightfully scented white flowers in spring and summer.
Applications: The Mock Orange is ideal for use as a hedge or for where creating height is important for privacy. Clusters of small white flowers deliver a beautiful scent, and these plants are often positioned near decking or garden seats where the lovely aroma can be enjoyed.
Care: Prefers full sun or part shade. Prune after flowering season has ended to encourage further density and bountiful flowering next season.
Size: Height 2.5m x 1.2m
[content_aside]Get advice on the best hedge plant for your project at All Green.[/content_aside]
6. Stachys Byzantina 'Lamb's-ear'
An easy-care plant with exquisite, velvety, ear-shaped leaves and lots of scope for use as a filler, border or ground cover.
Features: A low, textural groundcover plant. Leaves are soft, pale green and shaped like a lamb's ear. Drought resistant and easy-care, these plants will compliment any landscaping design with their cool colouring and gentle rosette clusters.
Applications: Lamb's-ear makes an effective ground covering and is perfect for softening the edges of your garden or discouraging weeds under rose bushes. Delivers artistic flair to your garden with its contrasting velvety, silver-green leaves and pink/purple flower spikes, which start to appear in late spring.
Care: Low-maintenance and low-watering.
Size: Height 15-20cm
[content_aside]Learn how to use groundcover plants effectively in your next project with All Green.[/content_aside]
7. Syzygium 'Backyard Bliss'
A variety of Lilli Pilli with wonderful, shiny, copper-gold new growth that matures to rich green.
Features: A fast-growing hedging plant in appealing green and gold colours. Plant this popular screening hedge, and it will reward you with luscious, clean and glossy foliage and creamy white flowers in summer.
Applications: Backyard Bliss are great for hedges, privacy screens and are particularly well-suited for topiary standards and shapes.
Care: Likes full sun and part shade with well-draining soil. Will tolerate some frost. Insect and psyllid resistant.
Size: Height 3-4m x Width 2m
[content_aside]Interested in Backyard Bliss? You can find out more about hedging plants at All Green.[/content_aside]
8. Buxus sempervirens 'English Box'
A popular choice for hedging; loved for its adaptability, density and timeless appeal.
Features: Oval-shaped leaves in high-gloss green. It can grow up to 3 metres tall, but only after many decades. Once established, these hardy hedges are both frost and shade tolerant. Slow growth makes it perfect for intricately sculptured topiary gardens, formal hedges and screening.
Applications: The English Box has been used as hedging for over 100 years in some of the world's most stately gardens, adored for its very dense growth habit and extremely growth.
Care: Benefits from full sun or part shade and well-drained soil. Robust enough to tolerate a wide range of soil types. As it grows, trim to your preferred shape.
Size: Height 2-3m x Width 2m
[content_aside]Find locally grown English Box hedges and other screening plants at All Green.[/content_aside]
9. Cycad revoluta 'Sago Palm'
An award-winning, tropical ornamental that is sure to steal the limelight wherever you choose to feature it.
Features: Extremely slow-growing, palm-like, evergreen, perennial. This exotic plant is prized worldwide for its thick and gnarly trunk and impressively large, shiny, arching leaves.
Applications: Likes full sun or part shade. Well-suited to containers, the Sago Palm can be used to great effect in borders and beds or as a feature within your lawn design. Great for use indoors or outdoors, these versatile plants bring the wow factor to any space.
Care: Needs regular and consistent moisture and appreciates a good mulch till it is well-established. Removal of dried and dying fern fronds will keep the plant looking its best.
Size: Height 1-2m x Width 1-2m
[content_aside]Visit us at All Green and find out how to use exotic plants to add drama to your garden design.[/content_aside]
10. Senecio Serpens 'Blue Chalksticks'
A soft grey, blue succulent providing textural interest and ground coverage in rock and succulent gardens.
Features: A fast-growing, dense, semi-trawling succulent with 3-5cm finger-shaped leaves that grow from a dense blanketing plant structure. Blue Chalksticks offer a contrast to bolder colours and provide visual interest with its unusual dusty-blue leaves.
Applications: Prefers full sun or part shade. Ideal in contemporary landscapes, coastal gardens or around pools. Best used as a groundcover in small areas, in succulent gardens and rock garden designs.
Care: Drought and heat tolerant, the versatile and hardy Blue Chalksticks will grow in sandy areas, soil with dry to medium moisture and well-drained soils.
Size: Height 15-30cm x Width 30-60cm
[content_aside]Our landscaped garden displays offer heaps of inspiration for succulent gardens. Drop by All Green Hopper's Crossing today.[/content_aside]
11. Asparagus Densiflorus 'Foxtail Fern'
An unusually shaped, evergreen, fern-like member of the lily family.
Features: Long, green fern fronds, also referred to as spears or stems, mimic the shape of a fox's tail. Small white flowers grow, nestled in the thick fern fronds of the plant, transforming into tiny red berries that attract bees. Appearing delightfully soft, like the animal's fur, Foxtail Ferns are actually deceptively hardy and robust.
Applications: Prefers outside but will tolerate being kept indoors. Foxtail Ferns will need sufficient sunlight to ensure the leaves do not yellow. Temporary relocation to direct sunlight outdoors in good weather will promote optimal growth.
Care: Remove dead sprays from under the plant twice yearly to keep the plant looking great. Easy care, drought resistant, these ferns are known to be somewhat aggressive and dominating, and therefore best kept potted in a container.
Size: Height up to 90cm
[content_aside]Understand which ferns will suit your next landscaping project with All Green.[/content_aside]
12. Dichondra argentea 'Silver Falls'
A cascading, creeping, herbaceous perennial plant with delightful, small and soft, kidney-shaped leaves.
Features: The versatile Silver Falls appear fragile, while actually being tough enough to withstand harsh tropical weather and drought conditions. Its unusual silver-grey to pale green leaves make for a great colour and textural contrast within contemporary landscape designs and are popular for softening edges and walled areas.
Applications: A true wanderer, the tough Silver Falls is often used to soften borders and create cascading over the edges of pots, hanging plants and retaining walls.
Care: This resilient plant likes full sun or part shade and a good watering until well-established. Mulch around the base will also ensure it's kept moist but good drainage is also vital. Do not water until the soil is dry to the touch.
Size: Height 10cm x Width 1.5-2m
[content_aside]Get more tips and tricks on how to use ground cover plants in your home at All Green.[/content_aside]
We'd love to hear your thoughts! Who did you pick as the winner from this week's landscaping episode of The Block?
