from the nursery

Although I don't like to play favourites at the nursery, these handsome fellers are pretty special. Allocasuarina verticulata. Or their common name, the Sheoak.
The mature tree in the last photo is three years old. They grow a lot bigger, but I have kept it pruned. I have planted so many trees in the garden, that bonsai is the only answer.
When it is windy they make a wonderful wooshing noise.
Apparently there was a Sheoak forest in the area where Melbourne's Yarraville and Footscray are now. The trees didn't last long once the white-fellers arrived, as they are known to make excellent fire wood. The original trees are long gone, and any that have been planted in this area are from seeds gathered mainly from the Taylors Creek and Flemington areas.