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

14 August 1998

Throughout the gardens, banksias continue to flower, grevilleas are bursting into flower and wattles are glowing yellow. A selection of these shrubs will be seen on this walk. See, in the Visitor Centre, rock orchids Dendrobium speciosum, with long sprays crowded with creamy-white flowers, and Dendrobium kingianum, showered with lovely mauve flowers.

Walking uphill from behind the Cafe, Grevillea `Pink Pixie' [Section 124] is a dwarf shrub well covered with bright pink spider-like flowers. Around the corner, Grevillea `Evelyn's Coronet' [Section 124] is an open, erect shrub with buds opening to attractive pink and grey woolly spider flowers. Beside this shrub Grevillea `Poorinda Queen' [Section 124] displays its burnt orange spider flowers. Across the road, the silver-grey foliage of Queensland Silver Wattle, Acacia podalyriifolia [Section107], glows with fluffy, golden flower balls.

Turn uphill where the Eucalyptus mannifera [Section 10] with numerous dazzling white trunks are forever a photographer's delight. Long-flowering Grevillea `Scarlet Sprite' [Section 119] is a small shrub well covered with cherry red flowers and Correa pulchella `Pink Mist' [Section 119], also long flowering, dangles its pink tubular flowers from erect branches.

Towards the Rock Garden, Bursaria lasiophylla var. atriplicina [Section 4] stands tall and slim and is crowned with clusters of tiny white flowers and in the Rock Garden area, find Rulingia magniflora [Section 4], a small, open shrub bearing soft pink starry flowers amid its velvety leaves. Nearby Guichenotia macrantha [Section 4] spreads its low branches covered with dark centred, pink cup-shaped flowers. Acacia flexifolia [Section 4] bordering the path is a small shrub well covered with yellow, fluffy flower balls. Browse through the Rock Garden where the frogs are croaking and the tiny blue fairy wrens seek delicacies under the shrubs. In particular, Micromyrtus ciliata [Section 15G], a low, arching shrub is covered with deep red buds exploding into tiny, pink flowers. Grevillea lanigera [Section 115W] is also a picture for this ground cover has branches coloured with deep red flowers.

Towards the Rainforest, Grevillea alpina Goldfields form [Section 17] is a dense shrub of medium size decorated with small, curvaceous pale gold flowers. Downhill, Banksia spinulosa var. spinulosa [Section 110] presents its deep gold flower spikes which are ribbed with dark, almost black, styles. Across this lawn is Banksia `Giant Candles' [Section 107] showing off its long, cylindrical flower-spikes. Large, black choughs are scratching for `goodies' in this area while the colourful, crimson rosellas indulge in the nectar of the banksias.

Time now for a peaceful walk in the Rainforest ...

Barbara Daly.