In Flower This Week

 

11 October 2002

Hardenbergia comptoniana - click for larger image

The Gardens is a kaleidoscope of colour – yellow of wattles, blues of hardenbergias, pinks of indigoferas, and so on.  Many colourful plants will be admired along this walk. The pots, so colourful, outside the Visitor Centre, include Actinodium cunninghamii, with terminal heads of white daisies with large pink centers on upright stems, and Goodenia affinis, with yellow flowers on short stems. Nearby Eriostemon australasius  [Section 221] displays its lovely pink star flowers on an open shrub. Hardenbergia comptoniana [Section 212] drapes its dense foliage interrupted by large blue sprays of pea flowers over the high wall. A waratah hybrid, Telopea ‘Braidwood Brilliant’ [Section 210], shows off its large red flowers over a small shrub while, along Banks Walk, Hibbertia empetrifolia [Section 210] is brilliant with yellow flowers covering an entanglement of trailing stems.

On the far side of the Rainforest, Grevillea rosmarinifolia ‘Rosy Posy’ [Section 182] continues to bear pendent clusters of pink flowers over the small shrubs. Philotheca myoporoides [Section 126] is a large dense shrub massed with white five-petalled flowers. Edging this road, and elsewhere, Helichrysum ‘Helping Hand’ [Section 126] are low tufted plants with grey foliage and clusters of large white daisies. Towards the Rock Garden, Grevillea sericea [Section 119] is well covered with cerise-coloured spider flowers and a Geraldton Wax cultivar, Chamelaucium uncinatum ‘Murfit Rose’ [Section 119], has soft pink open flowers over an open shrub.

Along this path Indigofera australis [Section 4] is pink with sprays of pea flowers over an open shrub while Hovea acutifolia [Section 4] is an upright shrub with a canopy of purple pea-flowers amid the dense foliage. Brachysema celsianum [Section 5] is a low spreading dense shrub brightened with bright red pea-flowers. Olearia phlogopappa [Section 5] is an upright shrub displaying white daisies. Just past the lawn, Pultenaea foliolosa [Section 4] is yellow with pea-flowers covering the large rounded shrubs. Down hill are many mint bushes, including Prostanthera incana [Section 6], Prostanthera stricta [Section 6], Prostanthera phylicifolia [Section 6] and Prostanthera ‘Poorinda Petite’ [Section 6], together adding a purple haze to the Gardens.

Crossing the road, Banksia ericifolia [Section 30] is a large shrub with long upright golden cylindrical flower spikes. Close by, Telopea ‘Doug’s Hybrid’ [Section 30] is well covered with waratahs, still to mature to brilliant red flowers. Opposite, Grevillea acanthifolia [Section 30] is low with pink toothbrush-like flowers on long lateral branches. The bed of daisies includes Rhodanthe anthemoides ‘Chamomile Cascade’ [Section 303] with small white flowers scattered over the low dense plants. Calothamnus quadrifidus [Section 9] has interesting red flowers in clusters, not quite encircling the old wood of these shrubs. Micromyrtus ciliata [Section 10] borders the path, its low lateral branches coloured with flowers, white and red according to age.

Such a wealth of colour …                                                                 Barbara Daly.