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Funky & practical

Apartment-dwellers and other inner city dwellers are seeking drought-tolerant, low maintenance gardens, even if their garden consists of a pot on a balcony.

Fitzroy Nursery's Jennie Mathews says people are a lot more environmentally conscious, even in small scale gardens. They don't want to spray, and they want plants that don't keel over if they go away for a few days.

Small scale gardeners are also looking for a lot more from their plants. "They're even thinking about what sort of shadow a plant will throw. These plants will be worth looking at all through the year."

Yuccas, agaves, succulents and dracaenas are popular both for their hardiness and their striking profiles. Joining them in popularity this year are Cycads (or sago palms) and New Zealand flaxes and grasses, while the kangaroo paw is enjoying an unexpected renaissance as a pot plant.

Mathews also recommends citrus trees (especially cumquats for their variegated foliage and vibrant orange fruit) and olives, both of which thrive in a pot on a sunny balcony or courtyard.

When it comes to miniature gardens, the container is as important as what's in it. This year Fitzroy Nursery is selling lots of glazed pots in vibrant blues, oranges, purples and yellows.

"People are using them as a decorating item," Mathews says. "They're treating their outdoors area as another room, and why not when they spend so much time there?"

Fitzroy Nursery
390 Brunswick Strret, Fitzroy
Tel: 9417 3272