In Flower This Week A weekly news-sheet prepared by a Gardens volunteer  Numbers in brackets [ ] refer to garden bed 'Sections'.

Throughout our fair city and in these gardens, wattles are beginning to show their lovely golden flowers, grevilleas are beginning to flower and banksias continue to flower. This walk will include some of these plants. So, Grevillea ‘Scarlet Sprite’ [Section 174] has bright scarlet flowers on a neat, rounded shrub. A mint bush, Prostanthera sp. [Section 210] is a small shrub dotted with purple bugle shaped flowers. Grevillea ‘Poorinda Queen’ [Section 124] shows off its spider-like apricot flowers on a medium size, spreading shrub. Around the corner, the Queensland Silver Wattle, Acacia podalyriifolia [Section 126] is revealing, among its green-grey foliage, its soft, yellow flower balls.

(There’s always a surprise in store in these lovely gardens. Today, in the Rainforest, the large raucous Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos have just discovered food offerings here.) Banksia ‘Giant Candles’ [Section 107] displays its extra long golden flower spikes on a small shrub. Acacia aphylla [Section 17] is a most unusual sharp pointed, twiggy, leafless shrub showing, at the base, the first of its yellow flower balls. In front, Baeckea crassifolia [Section 17] covers its small, slender branches with tiny, mottled pink flowers. On the other side of this garden, Grevillea alpina (Goldfields Form) [Section 17] is dense and dotted with apricot coloured flowers, singly or in clusters. Across the road, Crowea ‘Festival’[Section 123] is lovely with pink starry flowers.

Banksias here include Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii ‘Lemon Glow’[Section 37], well named with glowing yellow flower spikes. Nearby Banksia spinulosa var. spinulosa [Section 37] is a large rounded shrub displaying many deep gold flower-spikes ribbed with black styles. Banksia integrifolia var. aquilonia [Section 37] has orange flower spikes amid long narrow leaves. A ground-cover,Grevillea lanigera [Section 37] is quite dense with clusters of red and cream flowers amid its short, hairy foliage.

At the top of the stairs Acacia genistifolia [Section 38] is a small open prickly, apparently leafless, shrub dotted with cream flower balls. This plant grows naturally around Canberra. Some grevilleas in this area include Grevillea iaspicula [Section 37] a shrub of medium size with green and red spider-like flowers which grows naturally at Wee Jasper. Grevillea victoriae [Section 37] is also of medium size, its flowers are a rust colour in pendulous clusters. In the centre of this garden, Grevillea triloba [Section 37] has long, open branches decorated with fine, three-lobed, pointed leaves and soft, feathery cream flowers. Close by, Hakea cristata [Section 37] with holly-like leaves, has small, rounded clusters of white flowers along, meandering branches.

Allocasuarina torulosa [Section 40], forest oak, is a tall tree, brilliant with copper coloured male spikes mixed with fine green foliage. The bark is deeply furrowed.

Not to be outdone by the Black Cockatoos, the smaller charcoal and red Gang Gang Cockatoos are chortling among themselves in the Eucalypt Lawn trees.

These gardens, full of interest … Barbara Daly.