Author Archives: Arno King

Arno King

About Arno King

Landscape architect, horticulturist, journalist and keen gardener, Arno is a regular contributor to Subtropical Gardening Magazine. Based in Brisbane, Arno grows a wide diversity of unusual plant species and has particular interests in growing edible plants in creative settings and biological and organic gardening. Brisbane, Queensland

Ctenanthe lubbersiana provides brilliant flashes of yellow in the shade Ctenanthe – the never never plants

9

Do you have some Never Never Plants in your garden? If you live in a warm climate, you just may have, and you wouldn’t even know it. These are tough plants that are often relegated to the back corners of shaded gardens or office interiors. They don’t often feature in garden books or articles so there widespread existence is testimony to their hardiness. If you have some shady spots and are looking for some lush low maintenance hardy plants, these could be the plants for you. Continue reading →

Euphorbia hypericifolia 'Diamond Frost' in a border in full sun Baby’s breath euphorbias

11

Many new plants get released to the public each year and often they are promoted as doing well ‘throughout Australia”. Of course there are few, if any, plants that will grow in the many climatic zones across the country, and few of these introductions thrive in subtropical and tropical areas which have summer dominant rainfall. A great exception of recent years has been the release of the Baby’s Breath Euphorbia, Euphorbia hypericifolia. It was first introduced to us as the cultivar ’Diamond Frost’ by Proven Winners and has proved to be a real garden winner! Continue reading →

Gardenia gjellerupii in the National Botanic Garden in Singapore The golden gardenia

8

When we think of gardenias, we often think of the perfumed, waxy, white, double flowers of Gardenia jasminoides. However the genus consists of some 140 species and not all of them are white. In fact some of my favorite gardenias are the golden ones – the ones with yellow-orangy flowers. There are quite a few related species and this is where it gets a little tricky – for they can be tricky to identify. While they may not be white, they all release a strong gardenia perfume. Continue reading →

Zephyranthes candida is popular in southern Australia Storm lilies

14

Storm lilies, autumn crocus or rain lilies are small bulbs in the genus Zephyranthes. These under rated plants deserve to be more widely grown in subtropical and tropical gardens. They are tough and undemanding, and soon form large clumps that flower readily over summer in response to warm and moist conditions.  Continue reading →

Victoria 'Longwood' National Botanical Gardens Singapore On the trail of a Victoria waterlily

5

In planning my new garden some 7 years ago, a special consideration was to provide an area to grow Victoria waterlilies. The giants of the water lily family (Nymphaeaceae), with some of the largest entire leaves in the vegetable kingdom, these plants always draw attention. Continue reading →

Year round colour provided by this red flowered Euphorbiia. 09.10080 Poysean euphorbias

5

Many years ago I was asked by a keen gardener if I could tell her the name of the plants that she could see on apartment balconies throughout South East Asia. She said that from a distance they looked like azaleas and they flowered all year round. Continue reading →

Hippeastrum 'Temptation' Hippeastrum

1

As I write, strange spears are appearing from the soil in many areas of my garden. In a week or two these spears will burst into heads of large stunning flowers. Hippeastrums are a favourite plant of the warm climate gardener, with large flowering hybrids being most popularly grown. Continue reading →