Cabbage Trees (Cordylines)
Cabbage Trees by the Gum Tree
A strong symbol of a New Zealand garden is the spikey Cabbage Tree, or Cordyline. I have an original trio of these messy tree-plants growing at the very top of the Frisbee Lawn, underneath a large Eucalypt tree.
Cabbage Trees do get eaten by bugs, and they do need a lot of cleaning up underneath (they drop their dead leaves). I have many growing in different parts of the garden - I wouldn't be without them.
Beautiful Cream Flowers
They produce large, beautiful flower-heads whose colours are subtle and creamy. I like the way they quickly reach for the sky - the silhouette of a Cabbage Tree top is a stirring sight!
I need to put in a good word for the Eucalypt (gum) tree, too. It's another messy garden resident, but I love the patterns and light colours on its trunk. Eucalypts are natives of Australia, so this group of plants in the Moosey garden is doing its bit for trans-Tasman co-operation! This gum tree, like its Cabbage Tree neighbours, has beautiful creamy flowers which the bees adore - very subtle for an Australian...
The New Cordylines Are Planted
In 2009 some happy Cordyline additions joined the gardens at the top of the Frisbee Lawn - I paid for the pleasure of digging out three monsters (all the fat-leaved hybrid called Green Goddess) from someone else's garden. That effort cost me one dollar! They were home and planted before you could blink. Instant bulk bought in an online plant auction. Hee hee...
The Cabbage Trees Are Planted!
And then - three more! Non-Gardening Partner helpfully dug them out and planted them for me in the far corner of the Frisbee Lawn. They survived. I love them still.