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IFTW volunteer

In Flower This Week

A news sheet prepared by a Gardens' volunteer.
Numbers before each plant refer to temporary IFTW labels in the gardens.
Numbers in square brackets
[ ] refer to garden bed Sections. Plants in flower are in bold type.

View past issues of 'In Flower This Week'.

18 February 2015

Pilidiostigma rhytispermum

Pilidiostigma rhytispermum
click for larger image
 

We will walk along the Main Path today.

  1. On the far left as you leave the Visitor Information Centre (VIC) is Correa alba [Section 221], or White Correa, a shrub with creamy-white bell flowers on dull green silver-backed foliage. In the wild it is found in coastal regions of south-eastern Australia.
  2. On the near left as you leave the VIC in a pot is Pilidiostigma rhytispermum [Section 221], or Small-leaved Plum Myrtle, a medium woody shrub with small leaves and cream cup-shaped flowers. The black fruits are attractive to many fruit-eating birds. This plant is found in the wild along the coast of southeastern Queensland.
  3. On the right of the VIC, also in a pot, is Prostanthera densa [Section 221], or Villous Mintbush, a stiff, angular plant with pale green leaves and mauve flowers with orange markings. This plant is native to coastal New South Wales, both north and south of Sydney.
  4. Skirt in front of the café to see on your left Banksia ‘Stumpy Gold’ [Section 131], with fine, toothed linear foliage and short gold brush-like flower heads. This plant is a dwarf cultivar of Banksia spinulosa var. collina that was selected by Richard Anderson of Merricks Nursery in Victoria from material collected on the New South Wales central coast.
  5. Further on your left is Epacris longiflora [Section 131], a prickly bush with red tubular flowers with white tips. The native range of this plant extends from the central coast of New South Wales to southern Queensland.
  6. Correa ‘Summer Belle’ [Section 240], on the right, is a small plant with reddish bell flowers with green tips. This cultivar originated from a garden seedling from Neil Marriott of Stawell, Victoria.
  7. Callistemon viminalis [Section 310], on your right, is a medium-sized tree with drooping foliage and brilliant red brush-like flowers. This plant is also known as Weeping Bottlebrush, and often grows along watercourses in its native New South Wales and Queensland.
  8. Turn up the hill to see on your left Eremophila oldfieldii subsp. angustifolia [Section 302], with fresh green linear foliage and bright salmon pink tubular bell flowers with prominent sepals. This shrub occurs naturally in southwestern Western Australia.
  9. Banksia spinulosa ‘Birthday Candles’ [Section 30], on your left, is coming into bloom with striking pale gold flower heads and bright green linear foliage. Thisis a dwarf cultivar of Banksia spinulosa var. spinulosa developed by Bill Molyneux of Austraflora Nurseries in Montrose, Victoria.
  10. On your right is Grevillea sericea [Section 26], with pink spider flowers on a long-flowering open bush. This plant is endemic to New South Wales.
  11. On the right is Persoonia lanceolata [Section 26], a dense bush with small leaves and tiny yellow-gold flowers. It is commonly known as Lance-leaf Geebung, and is native to coastal New South Wales
  12. On your right is Banksia conferta subsp. penicillata [Section 26], or Newnes Plateau Banksia. Its flower heads open as thin ginger-brown cones, and as the flowers develop these become larger lime-green cones with a velvety “nose” peeking through at the top.
  13. Grevillea manglesii subsp. manglesii [Section 24], or Birdsfoot Grevillea, is a large open bush with pincushion-like white flower heads all along the stems. It is native to Western Australia.
  14. Further on your left is Adenanthos × cunninghamii [Section 24], with beautiful soft silver foliage and tiny red flowers.
  15. Correa ‘Marian’s Marvel’ [Section 112], on your right, is a medium-sized dense bush with pale pink and green bell flowers. This beautiful plant is a cross between Correa reflexa and C. backhouseana.

Rosalind Walcott