Are you looking for some colour in the garden to take you through those cooler, shorter days...something to put a smile on your face now that the blooms of summer are just a faded memory?
Brachyscome multifida, or Cut-leaf daisy, is an evergreen, low-spreading rockery plant, with bright green fine foliage and small, lilac-blue daisy flowers for much of the year - a true delight in the garden!
Long-lived and endemic to Australia, it is indigenous to the eastern mainland states, and has adapted nicely in Tassie too.
It grows to 10 cm high and has a spread of 40cm.
Best results are achieved in well-drained soil, temperate climates, in full sun or part shade. It tolerates frost and periods of drought.
Why not try the lovely Cut leaf daisy or one of its cultivars?
The well-known ‘Breakoday’ has deep purple flowers, but look out for white, lemon and pink varieties too.
And I've just discovered this beauty (pictured), a hybrid of Brachyscome segmentosa, called ‘Jumbo Tricolour’. It has dark mauve daisy-like blooms, fading to white and abundant from autumn right through to the end of spring. Growing to 10-15cm in sun to part shade, it's perfect for borders, rockeries & pots. Available now at local garden centres. A word of warning: ‘my’ wallabies love it, yours might too!
Members of the Asteraceae, the daisy family, a massive family of 24,000 species - over 1,000 are native to Australia.
Attractive to butterflies, Brachyscome varieties are suited to cottage gardens, through to contemporary and native gardens. They’re great for borders, rockeries, pots and hanging baskets.
They’re easy to propagate from cuttings, and only occasional pruning is needed to keep the plant vigorous and dense, encouraging new blooms.
