Mid-winter. Cold and wet but pleasant walking, with many flowers to admire.

1. Commencing at the Visitor Information Centre, Gastrolobium parviflorum, in a pot outside the doors, is a small dense plant with tiny orange-red pea-shaped flowers on upright spikes.
2. Edging Banks Walk Woollsia pungens [Section 174] is a many-branched upright plant with tiny white flowers surrounding the ends of the branches.
3. Beside is Epacris longiflora [Section 174] with white tubular flowers hanging from its long wiry branches.
4. Almost opposite, Alyogyne huegelii ‘West Coast Gem’ [Section 210] is an upright shrub noticeable with its large purple hibiscus-like flowers.
5. In a large pot, Chorizema cordatum [Section 174] has a few of its small red pea-shaped flowers edging the fine stems, with many more to follow.
6. Opposite, Prostanthera phylicifolia [Section 210] is clad with small mauve flowers, seen as it falls down the rock face.
7. Rounding the corner, Grevillea ‘LadyO’ [Section 174] has its usual coverage of red flowers on this small open shrub.
8. Follow this Main Path across the bridge and past the café to the Ellis Rowan Garden where Banksia ‘Stumpy Gold’ [Section 131] is a low spreading dwarf shrub, stunning with a coverage of golden upright cylindrical flower spikes.
9. Close by is a Mallee Snow Gum, Eucalyptus gregsoniana [Section 131], as yet a small tree but already bearing fluffy cream flowers.
10. Outside the next door Epacris ‘Nectar Pink’ [Section 131] is a low wiry plant bearing soft pink tubular flowers tipped with white.
11. Crowea ‘Cooper’s Hybrid’ [Section 240] is crowded among other plants, but its deep pink star-shaped flowers are quite visible.
12. Surrounding the large tree trunk is a wattle, Acacia alata var. biglandulosa [Section 240], clad in profusion with small white flower balls attached to the odd zigzag flattened stems.
13. Take the road to the left past the grand ageing Eucalyptus mannifera [Section 10], below which Thryptomene saxicola ‘Pink Lace’ [Section 10] is a low spreading dense shrub clad with tiny pink flowers.
14. A section of emu bushes just past the bottle tree, Brachychiton rupestris [Section 10] renowned for its swollen trunk, includes Eremophila maculata subsp. maculata [Section 302] bearing yellow tubular flowers.
15. Eremophila oppositifolia [Section 302], seen in the centre of the garden, is of medium height and is well clad with pale pink to almost white bugle-shaped flowers.
16. Towards the Rock Garden, Lysiosepalum involucratum [Section 4] is a low compact shrub clad with rust-coloured buds and few pinkish flowers.
17. At the base of the opposite rocks, small dense mounds of Rhodanthe anthemoides [Section 15d] have a profusion of burgundy-coloured buds that will open to white daisy-like flowers.
18. Across the road a patch of Grevillea lanigera [Section 15c] dense with red flowers brightens the corner.
19. Beside the drinking fountain in front of the waterfall Guichenotia ledifolia [Section 4] is a neat dense shrub profuse with downturned pink flowers.
20. Lastly continue on the path past the shelter to a group of hakeas including Hakea obtusa [Section 20], a large shrub clad with red or cream globular flowers. Another plant of the same species with more conspicuous flowers can be seen a short distance along the road to the right.

Barbara Daly