Flowering Shrubs for Canberra Gardens

Feijoa, or Pineapple Guava, is a hardy evergreen shrub with grey-green leaves that are silvery underneath and eye-catching red and white flowers in late spring. In autumn it produces sweet, aromatic green fruit with a flavour somewhere between pineapple, guava and mint. It handles Canberra frosts better than most fruiting plants and makes a productive hedge or screen.

• Mature size: Approx. 2-3m high x 1.5-2m wide
• Foliage: Grey-green leaves with silvery undersides
• Flowers: Red and white flowers in late spring; the petals are edible
• Fruit: Oval green fruit in autumn; plant two for better crops
• Growth habit: Dense, bushy evergreen shrub or small tree
• Position: Full sun
• Climate: Frost hardy to around -9C; drought tolerant once established
• Water needs: Moderate; regular water while fruiting
• Soil: Rich, free-draining soil. Break up clay with gypsum clay breaker. In pots, use Osmocote Citrus & Fruit Potting Mix.
• Feeding: A hungry feeder: Black Marvel Fruit & Citrus Food in early spring and again in late summer, with PowerFeed as a liquid boost.
• Maintenance: Low; prune after fruiting to shape
• Ideal for: Edible hedges and screens, fruit gardens, backyard feature shrub

Limelight is a compact Australian native wattle grown for its soft, weeping lime green foliage that stays bright all year. It forms a dense, rounded mound that cascades beautifully over pot edges and garden borders, and it's soft to touch rather than prickly, so it's great near paths and play areas. Tough and water-wise once settled, it's an easy way to add texture and fresh colour to Canberra gardens.

• Mature size: 0.5-1m high x 1-1.2m wide
• Foliage: Fine, soft, weeping lime green leaves, evergreen
• Flowers: Small fluffy pale yellow balls in spring (a bonus to the foliage)
• Growth habit: Compact, dense, cascading mound
• Position: Full sun to light shade, well-drained soil
• Climate: Drought tolerant once established; handles light frost, give young plants a sheltered spot in Canberra's colder pockets
• Water needs: Low once established
• Soil: Well-drained soil. On heavy Canberra clay, dig in gypsum clay breaker before planting. In pots, use Native Osmocote Potting Mix.
• Feeding: Osmocote Native in spring, or Neutrog Bush Tucker as a liquid feed. Seasol at planting helps it settle in.
• Maintenance: Low. A light trim keeps it neat; no regular pruning needed
• Ideal for: Pots, courtyards, borders, feature planting and soft native groundcover

Inca Gold lights up the garden through the dullest months, with tulip-shaped bracts that open yellow with red-edged tips in autumn and deepen to a glowing gold over winter and spring. The red-tinted stems and dense green foliage look good all year, and the stems last for weeks in a vase. It's a tough, water-wise shrub for a sunny, well-drained spot; in Canberra give young plants a little protection from hard frosts for their first couple of winters.

• Mature size: 1.5m high x 1.5m wide
• Foliage: Dense mid-green leaves on red-tinted stems
• Flowers: Golden-yellow bracts with red tips, autumn through spring
• Growth habit: Rounded, bushy shrub
• Position: Full sun, well-drained soil (avoid phosphorus-rich fertilisers)
• Climate: Drought tolerant once established; tolerates light frost, protect young plants from hard frosts
• Water needs: Low once established
• Soil: Free-draining, low-phosphorus soil. On heavy Canberra clay, dig in gypsum clay breaker and plant on a slight mound. In pots, use Native Osmocote Potting Mix.
• Feeding: Sensitive to phosphorus, so use a native fertiliser only: Osmocote Native in spring, or Neutrog Bush Tucker as a liquid feed. Avoid general fertilisers and manures.
• Maintenance: Low. Prune after flowering to keep it compact and encourage more stems
• Ideal for: Feature planting, informal screens, large pots, cut flowers and water-wise gardens

White Correa is one of the hardiest and most useful Australian native shrubs around. It forms a neat, rounded mound of soft blue-green foliage dotted with delicate starry white flowers from autumn right through to spring, when little else is in bloom. It copes with frost, drought, poor soil and coastal winds, and takes clipping beautifully, so it's a great choice for a low native hedge or border in Canberra gardens.

• Mature size: 1-1.5m high x 1-1.5m wide
• Foliage: Soft, rounded blue-green leaves with a felty underside
• Flowers: Small starry white flowers, autumn to spring, with spot flowering year round
• Growth habit: Dense, rounded mound
• Position: Full sun to part shade, well-drained soil
• Climate: Frost hardy and drought tolerant once established
• Water needs: Low once established
• Soil: Well-drained soil. On heavy Canberra clay, dig in gypsum clay breaker before planting. In pots, use Native Osmocote Potting Mix.
• Feeding: Osmocote Native in spring, or Neutrog Bush Tucker as a liquid feed. Seasol at planting helps it settle in.
• Maintenance: Low. Trim lightly after flowering to keep it dense; takes clipping well
• Ideal for: Low native hedges and borders, pots, coastal gardens and bird-attracting plantings

Purple Haze is a compact, upright leucadendron grown for its striking foliage. Through the cooler months the leaves flush deep purple with silvery-grey highlights, then silver cones follow in late spring and summer. It's a tough, water-wise shrub that thrives in Canberra's hot, dry summers and handles moderate frosts once established. A standout feature plant for modern and coastal-style gardens, and the stems are lovely for picking.

• Mature size: 1.5m high x 1m wide
• Foliage: Grey-green leaves turning deep purple with silver highlights in winter
• Flowers: Silver cones in late spring and summer
• Growth habit: Compact, upright shrub
• Position: Full sun, well-drained soil (avoid phosphorus-rich fertilisers)
• Climate: Moderate frost tolerance once established; drought tolerant
• Water needs: Low once established
• Soil: Free-draining, low-phosphorus soil. On heavy Canberra clay, dig in gypsum clay breaker and plant on a slight mound. In pots, use Native Osmocote Potting Mix.
• Feeding: Sensitive to phosphorus, so use a native fertiliser only: Osmocote Native in spring, or Neutrog Bush Tucker as a liquid feed. Avoid general fertilisers and manures.
• Maintenance: Low. Prune lightly after flowering to keep it bushy
• Ideal for: Feature planting, modern and coastal gardens, large pots and cut stems

A striking native tea tree grown for its fine, deep burgundy foliage, which adds rich colour and contrast against green plants all year round. In spring it's covered in small white flowers that bees love. Fast growing and tough once established, it makes a great feature shrub, informal screen or colourful hedge in sunny Canberra gardens.

• Mature size: Approx. 2-3m H x 1.5m W (easily kept smaller with pruning)
• Foliage: Fine, deep burgundy, evergreen
• Flowers: Small white flowers in spring
• Growth habit: Upright, bushy shrub; fast growing
• Position: Full sun to part shade; well-drained soil
• Climate: Drought tolerant once established; tolerates light frost
• Water needs: Regular watering while establishing, then low
• Soil: Well-drained soil. On heavy Canberra clay, dig in gypsum clay breaker before planting. In pots, use Native Osmocote Potting Mix.
• Feeding: Osmocote Native in spring, or Neutrog Bush Tucker as a liquid feed. Seasol at planting helps it settle in.
• Maintenance: Low. Trim after flowering to keep it dense and well shaped
• Ideal for: Feature planting, informal screens, colourful hedges and native gardens

A soft pink form of classic English lavender, this compact, bushy shrub carries slender spikes of pale pink, sweetly scented flowers above fine grey-green foliage from late spring through summer. It's one of the toughest lavenders for Canberra, shrugging off frosty winters and hot, dry summers once established. Lovely in pots, along paths or as a low fragrant border, and the bees adore it.

• Mature size: 50-60cm high x 50-60cm wide

• Foliage: Fine, aromatic grey-green leaves

• Flowers: Pale pink fragrant spikes, late spring to summer

• Growth habit: Compact, rounded mound

• Position: Full sun, well-drained soil

• Climate: Frost hardy and drought tolerant once established, well suited to Canberra

• Water needs: Low once established

• Soil: Very free-draining soil that can be on the lean side. Avoid wet clay: dig in gypsum clay breaker and plant on a mound.

• Feeding: A light feeder: a small amount of Osmocote All Purpose in spring is plenty. Too much fertiliser gives soft, floppy growth.

• Maintenance: Low. Trim after flowering to keep it compact

• Ideal for: Pots, low hedges and borders, cottage gardens and bee-friendly plantings

Munstead is a classic compact English lavender, forming a neat silvery-green mound topped with masses of fragrant lavender-purple flower spikes from late spring through summer. It's one of the hardiest lavenders around, shrugging off Canberra's frosty winters and hot, dry summers once established. Bees love it, and the flowers are lovely for picking, drying and cooking.

• Mature size: 40-50cm high x 50-60cm wide
• Foliage: Fine, aromatic silvery-green leaves
• Flowers: Lavender-purple spikes, late spring to summer
• Growth habit: Compact, rounded mound
• Position: Full sun, well-drained soil
• Climate: Very frost hardy, handles Canberra winters well
• Water needs: Low once established
• Soil: Very free-draining soil that can be on the lean side. Avoid wet clay: dig in gypsum clay breaker and plant on a mound.
• Feeding: A light feeder: a small amount of Osmocote All Purpose in spring is plenty. Too much fertiliser gives soft, floppy growth.
• Maintenance: Low. Trim lightly after flowering to keep it bushy
• Ideal for: Low hedges, path edging, cottage gardens, pots and herb gardens