What to plant in gravelly red and yellow loamy top soils over clay

Barbed-wire grass

Cymbopogon refractus

• Soft blue-green, tufted perennial aromatic grass
• Tall arching seed heads resembling barbed wire

Blue daisy

Brachyscome microcarpa

• Pale blue daisy growing in scattered clumps on better soils
• Flowers spring to autumn

Blue flax lily

Dianella longifolia

• Small lily of open eucalypt forest
• Blue flowers
• Bright blue berries
• Suit rockery or foreground planting

Kangaroo grass

Themeda triandra

• Widespread grass of the eucalypt forest
• Fine foliage
• Coppery seed heads in summer

Sarsaparilla vine

Hardenbergia violacea

• Fine scrambling hardy vine
• Deep purple pea flowers in late winter
• Will cover a screen (e.g. lattice-work)

Scrambling lily

Geitonoplesium cymosum

• Grassy-leafed scrambler
• Shiny black berries
• Dainty white, perfumed flowers
• Fresh shoots are edible

Swamp water fern

Blechnum indicum

• Upright hardy understorey fern of paperbark lowlands
• Open graceful form
• Edible starchy root

Yellow summer lily

Tricoryne elatior

• Dainty, rush-leafed lily
• Small yellow star flowers in summer
• Grows in open forest

Crinkle bush

Lomatia
silaifolia

• Decorative open shrub
• Intricate foliage
• White grevillea-like flowers
• Likes moist, well-drained soils

Dogwood

Jacksonia scoparia

• Fine-leafed hardy shrub for sunny position
• Clusters of yellow pea flowers
• Porous soils

False coffee bush

Breynia oblongifolia

• Small shrub with arching branches
• Small red-black fruit
• Likes open, well-drained, moist sites
• Attracts butterflies

Pointed leaf hovea

Hovea
acutifolia

• Fine open shrub
• Purple pea flowers in late winter
• Prefers filtered light and deeper soils

Brisbane laurel

Pittosporum revolutum

• Open shrub with cream flowers
• Evening fragrance
• Yellow fruit open to reveal red seeds
• Attracts birds

Geebung

Persoonia cornifolia

• Hardy shrub
• Upright habit
• Mid-green foliage
• Small, yellow fuschia-like flowers
• Yellow edible fruit

Green kamala

Mallotus claoxyloides

• "Smell of the bush" shrub for understorey in rainforest garden
• Male and female plants

Grey myrtle

Backhousia myrtifolia

• Small spreading understorey tree with small leaves
• Fragrant foliage and beautiful flowers

Native hibiscus

Hibiscus heterophyllus

• Slender tall shrub
• Large white flowers with deep red throat
• Prickly stems

Prickly-leafed paperbark

Melaleuca
nodosa

• Tall, fine-leafed shrub
• Creamy yellow pom-pom brushes
• Well-drained sunny position

Scaly myrtle

Austromyrtus hillii

• Small rainforest tree with glossy leaves
• Dainty white flowers
• Black fruit

White bottlebrush

Callistemon salignus

• Small bushy tree
• New foliage pink
• Nectar-rich cream brushes
• Attracts wildlife

Black she-oak

Allocasuarina littoralis

• Fine needle foliage
• Male trees a rusty colour during winter flowering period
• Attracts butterflies

Foam bark tree

Jagera pseudorhus

• Handsome tree with dark pinnate leaves
• Panicles of pink flowers
• Rusty-coloured hairy fruit

Red kamala

Mallotus philippensis

• Nicely shaped tree if grown in sun
• Can be pruned to give new reddish growth
• Velvety red fruit

Sandpaper fig

Ficus fraseri

• Slender upright tree
• Leaves have sandpaper texture
• Dark edible fruit

Swamp box

Lophostemon suaveolens

• Fast-growing eucalypt-like tree with graceful branch form
• Open canopy
• Frequent flowering periods

Tulipwood

Harpullia pendula

• Shade tree
• Disease free and hardy
• Bright green pinnate foliage
• Decorative orange fruit persists

Umbrella cheese tree

Glochidion sumatranum

• Fast-growing tree with large soft leaves
• Likes moist, deep soils
• Edam-cheese shaped fruit

Brush box

Lophostemon confertus

• Large tree with deep green horizontal foliage
• Bare pink bark in upper branches
• Favours south slopes

Celerywood

Polyscias
elegans

• Handsome shade tree
• Long pinnate leaves
• Fast-growing pioneer in rich, moist soils
• Attracts wildlife

Grey ironbark

Eucalyptus siderophloia

• Large tree for acreage or steep sites
• Comprised original canopy of the area
• Trunks are a feature
• Provides food, nest and perch sites for varied native wildlife

Pink bloodwood

Corymbia intermedia

• Large trees for acreage or steep sites
• Comprised original canopy of the area
• Trunks are a feature
• Provides food, nest and perch sites for varied native wildlife

Scribbly gum

Eucalyptus signata

• Large trees for acreage or steep sites
• Comprised original canopy of the area
• Trunks are a feature
• Provides food, nest and perch sites for varied native wildlife

Spotted gum

Corymbia citriodora

• Large tree for acreage or steep sites
• Comprised original canopy of the area
• Trunks are a feature
• Provides food, nest and perch sites for varied native wildlife