By John Elton of Illawarra Grevillea Park

With housing blocks getting smaller so too are gardens. A need to maximise space means that owners have to be judicious and often creative about plant choice. But they still want something that is special or unique.

Here at the Illawarra Grevillea Park Botanic Garden we have been growing plants as standards. What this really means is grafting a small plant on a stick. This lifts the plant off the ground meaning that it often takes up less room and allows you to plant something underneath.

A ground cover like Grevillea 'Royal Mantle' spreads three metres, but as a grafted plant is less than a metre wide. Instead of laying flat on the ground the branches cascade down showcasing the foliage and red toothbrush flowers closer to eye level. Others, like Eremophila nivea, can be lifted off the ground to form a neat ball below which small plants can be enjoyed.

The park is open on the first two weekends in May. Visit illawarragrevilleapark.com.au