Australian National Botanic Gardens

In Flower this Week

A weekly news sheet prepared by a Gardens' volunteer.
Numbers in square brackets [] refer to garden bed Sections. Plants in flower are in bold type.

28 September 2007

Eremophila alternifolia - click for larger image

Come, enjoy our Australian floral display set in a bushland setting. Pomaderris shrubs glow yellow and the native sarsaparilla with their vivid purple pea flowers climb many shrubs throughout the Gardens.

This walk starts from the Visitors Centre where the medium size shrubs, Philotheca ‘Profusion’ [Section 210] are well clad with white star flowers and the vine, Hardenbergia violacea ‘Mini Haha’[Section 210] displays its purple pea flowers. Pomaderris obcordata [Section 210] seen near the entry to the ramp, is a small shrub with heads of small pale pink flowers. Prostanthera phylicifolia [Section 210], so dense as it falls down the bank continues to bear its pink flowers.

Facing the carpark and edging the garden, Rhodanthe anthemoides [Section 174] is a dwarf perennial plant clad with white everlasting daisies. Thryptomene saxicola [Section 174] has sprays of tiny pink flowers over the low spreading shrub while Hibbertia empetrifolia [Section 174] has a scattering of open yellow flowers over the entanglement of green trailing stems. Edging the road opposite the Rainforest outside the Café, Richea dracophylla [Section 305] is an upright plant sparsely branched with tapering leaves and with terminal white flower clusters… quite interesting!

Edging the Café building in the Ellis Rowan garden, Banksia ‘Stumpy Gold’ is a dwarf shrub displaying upright cylindrical gold flower spikes. Zieria ‘Carpet Star’ [Section 131] is a dwarf shrub bearing tiny pink flowers. Lechenaultia biloba [Section 131] is a small upright plant noticeable by its blue and white flowers. Grevillea rhyolitica subsp. rhyolitica [Section 131] has its red spider-like flowers pendent from the branches of this medium size shrub. Philotheca ‘Bournda Beauty’ [Section 131] covers itself with white star flowers. Epacris ‘Nectar Pink’ [Section 131] continues to bear pink tubular flowers on its upright stems. Tetratheca ciliata [Section 240], in the square garden, presents its white down-turned flowers on upright stems.

Pomaderris humilis - click for larger image

Continuing along this road, Thomasia glabripetala [Section 143] covers its low lateral branches with down-turned pink cup-shaped flowers. Emu bushes, Eremophila latrobei subsp. latrobei [Section 143] has few tubular carmine coloured flowers among its grey-green foliage while behind Eremophila alternifolia [Section 143] bears in profusion, pink tubular flowers amid its green foliage. Grevillea aquifolium [Section 143] is an upright shrub displaying stumpy green toothbrush like flowers with long curved styles. Almost opposite, the Common Net bush, Calothamnus quadrifidus [Section 12] is an open shrub with grey-green soft needle foliage and feathery red one-sided bottlebrush flowers Grevillea juniperina [Section 143] is quite colourful with its orange-red spider flowers over the prostrate plant.

Continue along this road where a shrub Pomaderris velutina [Section31] is clad, in profusion with dense clusters of yellow flowers… quite spectacular! Pomaderris humilis and Pomaderris lanigera [Section 31] both bear yellow flowers while Pomaderris eriocephala [Section 31] with a profusion of buds, will mature to cream coloured flowers. Continue, any direction to view other beauties.

Great Gardens … glorious flowers … Barbara Daly