Native Plants in Flower
Don looked at some of the spectacular native plants in flower at the moment in the garden.
Native Hibiscus (Alyogyne huegelii)
An open shrub to about 2m (6′) tall, grown mainly for its beautiful, lilac, hibiscus-like flowers. The plant can be kept bushy in cultivation with an annual prune, and will grow in most parts of mainland Australia, except for tropical and mountainous areas.
Grevillea‘Superb’
A grevillea cultivar with the same parents as G. ‘Robyn Gordon’ and similar to ‘Robyn Gordon’ in growth and habit. This is the Burke’s Backyard recommended number one native plant for gardens in Australia. It has beautiful apricot to pinky red flowers virtually all year round, and is very attractive to nectar feeding birds. ‘Superb’ will do well in Perth, Brisbane, the tropics, Sydney and Adelaide.
Pandorea pandorana ‘Snow Bells’
A vigorous, fast growing Australian native climber commonly known as the wonga wonga vine. The tubular flowers are usually creamy white with a rosy throat, but there is also a beautiful creamy white form called ‘Snow Bells’ (Pandorea pandorana ‘Snow Bells’). Like most pandoreas, Snow Bells prefers well-drained friable soils with adequate moisture in summer. It grows best in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Perth, Brisbane, the tropics and is also worth a try inland.