Mallee Native Plants

Using Waratah In Floral Arrangements

No Comments »9th October, 2006; Category: Using Australian Natives

Arrangement with Waratah

I was very annoyed with myself when I took the first photo of a Waratah arrangement similar to this. When I downloaded the photo to the computer there was a red fire extingusher at the side of the arrangement. I did not see it when I took the photo. The colour was identical to the Waratah.

Waratah is the common name for Telopea speciosissima which is the Floral Emblem of New South Wales. This plant can grow to three metres tall. The flower head can be nearly the size of a dinner plate. I have a friend who enjoys folk art. She had never seen a Waratah flower ‘in the flesh’ so when she painted one it was too small in proportion to the other blooms she painted. She realised the mistake when shown a real flower.

They need very good drainage to be successful as a garden plant. Cutting the flowers encourages more shoots and therefore more flowers for the following season.

Flower Arrangements With Australian Native Plants

2 Comments »8th October, 2006; Category: Banksias, Using Australian Natives

Arrangement with Banksias

At the Plant Sale and Flower Show today I took some photos of flower arrangements done in a form of Ikebana style. The very bold and brash Banksias and Waratahs featured in them all. The members of this particular flower arranging group have made floral arrangements for the last few Flower Shows. They certainly showcase these exciting flowers.

The photo above features Banksia spinulosa and Thryptomene. The Pavilion where this display was housed had all sorts of distracting features on the walls and around the cut flowers. It was quite tricky getting a photo which did not have too much in the background.

Correas In The Garden

No Comments »6th October, 2006; Category: Correas, Pruning Australian Native Plants

Correa glabra variegated form

I was putting Correa glabra, a variegated form, on to the tables at the Spring Flower Show and Plants Sale organised by the Australian Plants Society. This is a pretty plant. Some Correas have a fruity scent in the leaves, which makes them good to grow near a path where the leaves can be brushed as people walk past them.

Correa glabra exists in a number of forms. What I have is a variegated form which has yellow blotches. The leaves are shiny and the blotching is better seen when the plant is growing out in the open. These Correas need to be tip pruned to keep them dense bushes. A friend made a practice of pinching the top couple of leaves of each branch on the bushes and alsways had prolific flowering as a result. This works with many species.

This particular species grows to about half a metre high and wide and grows well in clay soils that dry and crack in the heat of summer.

Gardening With Australian Native Plants

No Comments »4th October, 2006; Category: Birds, Conservation of Plants

Last week I received an email from Stuart in Western Australia at Gardening Tips ‘n’ Ideas. He asked me to be featured on his blog by answering a few questions along the lines of ‘When did I begin Gardening as a hobby, Why have a blog, What useful tip had I picked up along the way, etc. The whole article can be read here. A number of gardeners were asked to fill Stuart’s blog entries for a few days, including a some from the USA.

When I looked at what I had written it brought back a lot of memories. The country town we lived in when we were first married had a progressive Parks and Gardens Officer. He began a huge street planting scheme to the extent that this town has a great tree line which is so obvious when compared to the surrounding flat country side of salt bush. These days one would say that mistakes were made regarding species selection but at least there is this lovely greenery in a hot dry area.

I joined the Australian Plant Society in 1976. The magazines and Journals that I have kept for the past 30 years are a fantastic resource. When I consider that what was experimental then is now common place regarding propagating and growing Australian native plants, the accumulated knowledge is phenomenal.

Why do I write about Australian native plants? They are magical in their colours, shape and form. They fit into any garden type, mixed with exotics or on their own. I find them interesting and exciting plants. Many have unique needs to enable propagation. Many have unique needs to be able to grow them in the garden, especially in this country where climatic conditions are so varied. Our native birds, animals and insects need them to survive and the plants themselves need those birds, animals and insects in order to set seed and survive.

Santalum accuminatum (Wild Peach, Quandong)

8 Comments »3rd October, 2006; Category: Bush Tucker, Plants of South Australia

Santalum acuminatum (Wild Peach, Quandong)

What a find today! Husband found this on his morning walk today. I knew that they grew up the hill but I thought it was too early for ripe fruit. It is a wonder they are still there with the number of people who drive past.

At a Christmas break up a couple of years ago, one of the Australian Plant Society members made a fabulous Wild Peach Pie, which we had with cream. What a treat.

These seem to be shrubby plants here and I think are suckering plants. They are parasitic and grasses are used as the host in the home garden situation. I did hear that in orchard situations with the extra water and fertiliser, hosts are not needed. I need to research this as I want to have a smalll grove of these. See more information here.