Mid-winter, and a little cheer in the garden is certainly welcome. It might be the warming sun on your back as you toil away in the patch, or the heady aroma from the coriander you’re gathering for tonight’s Thai curry. But while many gardens are looking a little bare at this time of year, nothing beats a spot of colour in the winter garden - be it flowers or foliage. I’m not talking bold and brashy, subtlety is key.
The grevilleas in my garden all possess the more delicate spider-like flowers...they’re just divine and they’re about to burst!
Grevillea longistyla, displays delicious coral pink flowers and fine, slender deep green foliage. Graceful and quick-growing to about three meters, a great screening option, it is frost and drought tolerant once established.
G.‘Lemon Supreme’, with masses of small, but spectacular yellow blooms borne in winter through to spring. Growing to 1.5 by 1.5 meters, it can be used for informal hedging, is drought tolerant once established and is very attractive to birds.
G. rosmarinifolia, flowering now and into spring, grows to about 2 meters, has clusters of red spider like flowers, narrow, pointy leaves and can be pruned to produce a formal hedge.
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| Grevillea rosmarinifolia along my drive |
Prune grevilleas lightly after flowering to encourage a dense habit and be wary if you have sensitive skin as they may cause skin irritation.
Banksia marginata has a variable habit, from large shrub to small tree, so specimens should be chosen carefully from your local nursery. It has dull green leaves with a beautiful silvery underside and large, pale yellow flowers in cylindrical spikes from summer to winter. Prune to shape if necessary.
Ahhhh, the correas...pick a correa, any correa!
Eucalyptus ‘Silver Princess’, the gorgeous ornamental weeping gum, has a striking white trunk and very conspicuous deep pink flowers in winter and spring, followed by large, white, urn-shaped gumnuts. Provides year round interest.
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| Correa glabra in a container |
Pelargonium australe, the native geranium provides colour and scent to the winter garden. Very attractive foliage changing colours with the seasons. Hardy, suited to most soils and positions...think it’s those pesky wallabies, or could it be paddy melons nibbling away on mine?
Indigofera australis, an open, medium shrub of bluish-green foliage, is covered in masses of sprays of pinkish-purple, pea-like flowers from winter to summer. Prefers a well drained to dry location in semi-shade. Blue dye can be extracted from the flowers.
Crowea’s too are providing colour in my garden now...I’m particularly loving C. exalata and C. ‘Poorinda Ecstasy’.
The common heath, Epacris impressa, is flowering profusely throughout our natural environment. It’s also a great one for the garden...just clip it after flowering to maintain a tight, compact form.
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| Crowea exalata |
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| Epacris impressa at my place |
Many of the wattles flower from late winter through to spring, some new varieties provide great interest with their wonderfully weeping foliage (eg. Acacia cognata varieties), but of particular interest is Acacia aphylla. A striking upright small-medium shrub with intricately interlocked bluish-grey spiny branches, producing golden yellow flower-balls from late winter to early spring. Great for hedging or screening and attracting birds...providing much needed protection for small birds.
Hardenbergia violacea, the happy wanderer, is an evergreen climber useful as hedging, groundcover or in pots. Fast growing and fire retardant, its profusion of pea shaped flowers is a winter highlight.
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| Acacia aphylla |
Some of the paper daisies persist too if enjoying a sunny aspect, as does yellow buttons, Crysocephalum apiculatum.
Grasses too, add interest to a winter garden, some remain green throughout, such as Lomandras ‘Lime Wave’ and ‘Tanika’. Others change to a golden hue with wonderful seed heads rising high above the foliage. Themeda triandra, is one favourite, the Kangaroo grass. Cut to the ground at the end of winter to enhance the flush of new growth in spring.
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| Everlasting paper daisies - outside my vegie patch |
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| Various grasses used between pathways |
