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

The large pink trumpet flowers with maroon centres which can be seen over the top of the wall opposite the Visitor Centre are those of Pandorea jasminoides [Section 212]. Edging Banks Walk, Kangaroo Paw cultivar Anigozanthos ‘Bush Sunset’ [Section 210] displays its copper-red ‘paw’ flowers. Above, Alyogyne hakeifolia [Section 210] arches its branches supporting mauve, hibiscus-like flowers.

A paperbark, Melaleuca decora [Section 126], is tall with a canopy of white flowers better seen from a distance. Note the papery bark wrapped about its trunk. In front, Melaleuca fulgens ‘Hot Pink’ [Section 126] has a scattering of bright pink bottlebrush flowers. Opposite, Baeckea virgata ‘Howie's Feathertips’ [Section 124] is sprinkled with small white flowers over its fine green foliage. Nearby, its parent Baeckea virgata [Section 124] is a larger shrub with darker foliage and larger flowers in clusters. Scaevola albida [Section 124] is a dense, spreading ground cover with small mauve fan-flowers. Opposite, Anigozanthos flavidus [Section 124] has matt green flowers with orange throats on long stems.

Myoporum parvifolium [Section 117] is another dense ground cover branching over the retaining wall, with a covering of white flowers. Over the road, Eremophila maculata var. aurea [Section 302] is a dwarf plant massed with cream tube flowers. See and read about the recently discovered Wollemi Pine, Wollemia nobilis [Section 110], protected in an ornate cage.

From here listed plants are scattered but are worth walking to. In the depths of the Rainforest Gully, Helmholtzia glaberrima [Section 144,145] grows alongside the stream. It has long flax-like leaves and the flower spikes are plume-like and pink on long stems. Across the bridge above and up the stairs to the corner, the Dorrigo Waratah, Alloxylon pinnatum [Section 148], is a slim tree bearing many loose red waratah-like flowers amid the upper foliage. (Better seen at the top of the stairs and about 2 m to the left.) The next plant is Rhododendron macgregoriae x lochiae [Section 62] dense with red trumpet flowers in sprays amid shiny foliage. Flowers are smaller than those of Rhododendron lochiae.

On the far side of the Rainforest, Banksia speciosa [Section 37] is an open shrub whose cylindrical flower spikes resemble an acorn, with mature yellow flowers emerging at the base and immature greyish buds above. Note, too, the long slim toothed leaves. Banksia media [Section 37] is about 30 years old with a gnarled wavy trunk and interesting ochre-coloured maturing flower spikes. Banksia lemanniana [Section 37] is rather scraggy but beautified with pendant greenish-lemon flower spikes. (Note that most banksia flower spikes are upright.) Also worth viewing is a Brush Box, Lophostemon confertus [Section 37], a tall, dense tree resplendent with large fine feathery flowers…another lovely.

Longer walk…flowers worth seeking out.

Barbara Daly.