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

11 December 1998

Melaleuca steedmanii [Section 221], at the foot of the steps, glows with rather woolly clusters of red flowers. Kangaroo paw, Anigozanthos `Red Cross' [Section 212] has maroon coloured `paw' flowers on top of long, upright stems. This is one of many kangaroo paws now flowering throughout the Gardens. Callistemons are also bearing vivid red bottlebrush flowers, seen throughout the gardens.

Turn up  the ramp beside which  Scaevola aemula [Section 210]  extends its low, open stems with cream-centred, mauve fan-like flowers. Verticordia galeata [Section 210] bears brilliant yellow flower clusters on short, upright stems.

Wander through the cool, green Rainforest Gully. Admire Helmholtzia glaberrima [Section 144,145], a large plant with long, arching sword-shaped leaves and pale pink flower plumes on deep pink stems, some almost hidden by the large fronds of tree ferns, Dicksonia antartica [Section 144,145]. The soft fragrances pervading the area include that of Cuttsia viburnea [Section 125, 114] on the far side of the Gully and elsewhere. The large, dense shrubs are massed with clusters of white daisy-like flowers. Also flowering, Callicoma serratifolia [Section 146] is a small tree with dark, toothed leaves and cream, fluffy flower balls.

Leaving the Rainforest Gully you will see Callistemon sp. aff. subulatus [Section 78], a many-trunked shrub with deep pink bottlebrush flowers on short stems attached to the old woody trunks. Callistemon phoeniceus [Section 110] is a rounded shrub with fiery red bottlebrushes amid the foliage. As a backdrop, Leptospermum polygalifolium subsp. montanum [Section 110] is a tall shrub crowned with small, open-petalled white flowers.

Rounding the corner, Anigozanthos flavidus [Section 78] has matt green flowers on long, upright stems. Maybe not spectacular, but these flowers seem to be a favourite source of nectar for our bird life. In the triangular garden, Scaevola phlebopetala [Section 17] is a spreading, prostrate plant bearing deep purple, yellow-centered fan flowers. Nearby, Dampiera stricta [Section 17] is a suckering, untidy plant beautified with mauve-blue flowers. Brachyscome multifida [Section 17], a small, neat plant edging the garden, has soft foliage dotted with mauve daisy-like flowers. On the far side, see Verticordia plumosa [Section 17] displaying clusters of plum-coloured flowers on a small, upright plant.

Towards the Rock Garden, which has many colourful plants to admire, see Boronia molloyae [Section 123] with deep pink cup-shaped flowers on small, rounded shrubs. Bracteantha sp. [Section16], with  bright yellow straw daisy flowers, lines the road to the Rock Garden.

Always another flower to enjoy ...

Barbara Daly.