Australian National Botanic Gardens
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Australian National Botanic Gardens
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The plants displayed in this garden bed were selected by Gardens’ horticulturists to suit cool climate home gardens. They were all purchased from local commercial suppliers. The shrubs are planted in groups to accentuate the flower and foliage effects. Most plants grow to less than one metre tall, but taller shrubs and dwarf eucalypts are used to provide some height variation.
The garden bed includes areas of built up soil to provide good drainage and an interesting change to the surface level. A simulated dry creek bed acts as natural drainage, creating ideal locations for those plants that occasionally extra moisture. A sandy gravel mix has been used as mulch. Its does not break down like organic mulch and allows good moisture penetration. The light colour tends to highlight foliage – an effective technique to emphasise small plants in dark or shady places.
A leaflet on Canberra region native plant nurseries is available from the Visitor Centre. The Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants website http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/ is also full of good information about Australian plants and where to buy them.
Gardens’ staff constructed the Ellis Rowan Building Garden in 2003 with financial support from the Friends of the Gardens.
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Plant |
Peak flowering period |
Notes from our horticulturists |
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Acacia ‘Scarlet Blaze’ |
Late winter & early spring |
Unusual red flowered form |
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Austromyrtus dulcis |
Autumn & winter |
Edible tasty fruit |
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Babingtonia ‘White Cascade’ |
Summer |
Butterfly attracting |
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Banksia ‘Stumpy Gold’ |
Winter & spring |
Bird attracting |
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Banksia ericifolia (dwarf yellow form) |
Winter & spring |
Bird attracting |
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Banksia integrifolia (dwarf form) |
Autumn & winter |
Bird attracting |
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Banksia ‘Portland Dwarf’ |
Spring & summer |
Bird attracting |
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Banksia ‘Honey Pots’ |
Winter & spring |
Bird attracting |
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Banksia ‘Coastal Cushion’ |
Winter & spring |
Bird attracting |
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Banksia spinulosa (dwarf red form) |
Winter & spring |
Bird attracting |
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Bauera rubioides (white form) |
Spring & summer |
A pink flowering form is also available |
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Blechnum nudum |
No flowers |
Cold hardy fern |
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Brachyscome ‘Breakoday’ |
Spring to autumn |
Long flowering, butterfly attracting |
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Brachyscome ‘White Delight’ |
Spring to autumn |
Mixes well with other coloured daises, butterfly attracting |
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Callistemon ‘Little John’ |
Late spring |
Bird attracting |
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Calytrix tetragona (low-growing form) |
Spring |
Good ground cover, low water needs, butterfly attracting |
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Chrysocephalum apiculatum |
Spring to autumn |
Silvery foliage with yellow button flowers, low water needs |
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Correa ‘Federation Belle’ |
Late summer to winter |
Bird attracting |
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Correa ‘Mallee Pink’ |
Autumn & winter |
Bird attracting, low water needs |
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Correa ‘Western Star’ |
Summer & autumn |
Bird attracting, low water needs |
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Correa alba (compact form) |
Summer & autumn |
Bird attracting, low water needs |
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Correa bauerlenii |
Autumn & winter |
Bird attracting |
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Correa ‘Dusky Bells’ |
Autumn & winter |
Bird attracting |
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Correa ‘Pink Mist’ |
Autumn & winter |
Bird attracting |
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Correa reflexa (dwarf form) |
Autumn & winter |
Bird attracting |
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Crowea ‘Pink Blush’ |
Summer & autumn |
Light pink flowers |
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Crowea ‘Ryan's Star’ |
Summer & autumn |
Deep pink flowers, good cut flower |
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Dianella tasmanica |
Flowers in spring, berries in summer |
Blue flowers followed by blue/purple fruit |
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Epacris ‘Nectar Pink’ |
Autumn to spring |
Bird attracting |
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Epacris ‘Portland Pink’ |
Autumn to spring |
Bird attracting |
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Epacris ‘Portland Red’ |
Autumn to spring |
Bird attracting |
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Epacris longiflora |
Autumn to spring |
Bird attracting |
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Eucalyptus gregsoniana |
Summer |
Dwarf snow gum |
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Grevillea ‘Deua Flame’ |
Flowers most of the year |
Bird attracting |
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Grevillea australis |
Spring & summer |
Ground hugging form, low water needs |
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Grevillea diminuta |
Summer |
Bird attracting, low water needs |
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Grevillea dimorpha |
Winter & spring |
Bird attracting, low water needs |
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Hardenbergia ‘Mini Ha Ha’ |
Late winter & early spring |
Scrambler with massed purple flowers |
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Hibbertia pedunculata |
Spring & summer |
Fresh green foliage, dense groundcover |
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Homoranthus pappilatus |
Spring & summer |
Distinctive horizontal branches, low water needs |
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Isopogon anemonifolius (dwarf form) |
Spring |
Bird attracting |
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Leptospermum ‘Lavender Queen’ |
Late spring & early summer |
Lavender flowers, butterfly attracting |
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Libertia paniculata |
Spring |
White flowers |
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Lomandra confertifolia (Bateman's Bay form) |
Spring & summer |
Strap-like foliage |
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Lomandra ‘Little Con' |
Spring & summer |
Mondo grass alternative? |
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Lomandra ‘Little Pal’ |
Spring & summer |
Strap-like foliage |
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Lomandra confertifolia subspecies rubiginosa |
Spring & summer |
Fragrant flowers, bluish foliage, low water needs |
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Lomandra fluviatilis |
Spring & summer |
Strap-like foliage |
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Melaleuca thymifolia |
Spring |
Suitable for a damp or wet spot |
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Micromyrtus ciliata (mixed forms) |
Late winter & early spring |
Buds look like ‘snow’, low water needs |
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Persoonia chamaepitys |
Summer |
Bright green foliage |
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Persoonia chamaepitys (Rylestone form) |
Summer |
Orange flowered form |
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Philotheca ‘Bournda Beauty’ |
Early spring |
Compact, profuse flowering |
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Platysace ‘Edna Walling Flower Girl’ |
Spring & summer |
Rounded foliage |
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Tetratheca ‘Bicentenial Belle’ |
Winter & spring |
Purple flowers on delicate stems |
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Tetratheca thymifolia (white form) |
Winter & spring |
White flowers on delicate stems |
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Thryptomene ‘Pink Lace’ |
Spring to autumn |
Arching sprays of pink flowers |
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Zieria ‘Carpet Star’ |
Spring & summer |
Ground cover with compact habit |
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The Gardens aims to label plants growing in our collection with accurate scientific names. Many of the plants growing in this garden bed are cultivars (cultivated varieties), and are often hybrids or selections from plants that have horticulturally desirable features.
Nurseries sometimes give plants ‘promotional names’ to make them more marketable. These names are often seen on labels in retail garden centres. Similar plants can have different promotional names in different garden centres. The Gardens encourages developers of cultivars to register the plant names with either the Plant Breeder's Rights Office (PBR), or the Australian Cultivar Registration Authority (ACRA). Registration of cultivars promotes consistent use of names, provides plant breeder's with certain rights in recognition of their horticultural research and development, and encourages the horticultural development of Australian plants.
The ACRA, which is hosted by the Gardens, works closely with the Plant Breeder's Rights office to assess and describe cultivars submitted for registration to ensure that they are: correctly identified; the result of breeding or selection; new; and distinct from all other known varieties. For further information, look at the websites: ACRA - www.anbg.gov.au/acra and PBR - www.affa.gov.au/pbr.
