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

A pot outside the Visitor Centre contains the wax flower, Eriostemon australasius, clad with lovely pink starry flowers. Stroll along Banks Walk lined with flowers of many colours. The Main Walk, too, is so flowery this walk will select a few along the path, starting at the far end of the Café building.

Hardenbergia violacea [Section 12] trails its stems of purple pea-shaped flowers over the leaf litter. The bed of eremophilas includes Eremophila drummondii [Section 302], a small, upright shrub adorned with tubular violet flowers amid the dark green foliage. The bed of daisies includes Rhodanthe anthemoides ‘Chamomile Cascade’ [Section 303], a dense cushion-shaped plant covered with small white paper daisies, and Craspedia variabilis [Section 303] showing its bright yellow rounded flower clusters on top of upright stems. Telopea ‘Doug’s Hybrid’ [Section 30] is of medium size, revealing large pinkish buds about to open to red waratah flowers (also at the main gates). Eriostemon verrucosus ‘J. Semmens’ [Section 30] is a small shrub laden with lovely white multi-petalled flowers. Boronia muelleri [Section 30] is also a picture for this medium-sized shrub has a dense covering of pale pink star-like flowers.

Stroll through sections of grevilleas, mostly in flower. Grevillea lavandulacea ‘Tanunda’ [Section 30], edging the path, is a small compact shrub with grey-green foliage brightened with cherry red flowers. Grevillea aquifolium [Section 25] has short toothbrush-like flowers coloured pale green with red styles. Grevillea ‘Poorinda Adorning’ [Section 24] is quite a small shrub well covered with orange-red spider-like flowers. Grevillea aspleniifolia [Section 26] is relatively low with long lateral branches of long fine leaves and pink toothbrush-like flowers while Grevillea flexuosa [Section 26] presents its flowers like yellow candles at the ends of the branches.

Along the path through the area of Sydney Region Flora plants in flower include Asterolasia asteriscophora [Section 191] bright with small yellow flowers on its open shrub. Platylobium formosum [Section 191] is small and upright clad with orange and yellow pea flowers … Time to sit and enjoy the many bird calls along the gully … Epacris reclinata [Section 191] has vivid pink tubular flowers covering the tiny compact shrub edging the path. Bossiaea sp. [Section 191] is a leafless, erect plant with interesting flattened stems displaying its brown and yellow pea-flowers. The dense, medium-sized shrub clad with pink bugle-like flowers is a mint bush, Prostanthera sp. (Rylstone). Indigofera australis [Section 191] has long arching branches with bluish-green foliage and sprays of purple pea-flowers, frequently seen in our local bushland.

Also interesting is the Rock Garden where Chorizema cordatum – Chorizema varium intermediate [Section 4] displays its sprays of red and orange pea flowers and Telopea speciosissima ‘Wirrimbirra White’ [Section 15D] has almost flowering off white flower spikes. Then a cooling walk back through the Rainforest Gully with its many shades of green.

Great walking, wonderful flora … Barbara Daly.