Archive for the 'Using Australian Natives' Category

These are wonderful flowers which can be naturalised in the garden. That is, have them growing in patches rather than in rows. They flower over a longer period if extra water is available, but still give a marvellous display on diminishing moisture in the soil. You will have seen photos in brochures about Wildflower tours to Western Australia, where it is pink or yellow or white for as far as the eye can see. That is not trick photography!

You can do the same thing on a smaller scale in your own front or back yard. Set aside a patch a few square metres in area, and put in some plants or seeds. Seed of some species is available from supermarket garden centres as well as specialty seed merchants. You can buy seedlings, or more advanced plants in the same way that you buy “potted colour” from nurseries. Instead of buying petunias, look for Rhodanthe (Helipterum) species.

These will drop seed which will probably germinate with the first rains in autumn and continue to appear year after year if you have a sand mulch on the garden bed rather than leaf litter or other organic mulch.

Don’t forget the mass planting in a large tub… be creative about your pots.

These plants need a lot of sunlight to do well, so the location of your few square metres, or your planter is an important issue for these species.

These daisies have papery “petals” and are great in posies and flower arrangements. When used with other long keeping flowers and foliage they will last for many months. 

The flowers are picked when the bud is full, as the petals continue to open after picking, during the drying period. Alternatively pick in tight bud and the bud will continue to open a little. You need to experiment with timing according to the effect you require. Hang the flowers upside down to keep the stems straight, or use florist wire to wire the flower heads. Cut the flower with a 1-2cm stem, poke the wire into the length of the stem, and place the wire stem into a container while the petals continue to open. I have found that the amount of opening is reduced if the heads are wired. If you prefer to, wrap the wires in green florist tape designed for this purpose.

These plants flower for months. The shrubby varieties are Xerochrysm (formerly Bracteantha), and prior to that they were known as Helichrysm.

The small flowered hybrid forms have lovely colours and a massed planting of one colour, or mixed shades can be very attractive. These small varieties would be wonderful in a cottage garden. They would also look good planted 3 or 4 to a large tub.

The flowers need to be picked regularly, either for use as cut flowers, or removed altogether when fully opened and becoming fluffy on the bush. This promotes new shoots and therefore more flowers.