Tiny twin-flowered treasures

Some of the loveliest plants around the Illawarra region are small and dainty, easily overlooked if you're not keeping a close eye out for them, but full of character and interest when you start looking closely.

A couple, such as Kidney Weed (Dichondra repens) and one of the native Violets (Viola hederacea), have hit the big time and are widely available in nurseries, meaning that many people know them and grow them. But many more languish in relative obscurity.

And this goes even for a few species that are quite common in local gardens. (Many's the time I've gone to check out someone's back yard, to recommend local species they could grow, only to find many of the groundcovers and sometimes a few of the shrubs and trees are indigenous, self-sown, and absolutely thriving.)

This little cutie is one of my favourites, and can be found in the damp, shady corners of many an Illawarra garden, particularly along the escarpment. It's known as Two-flowered Aneilema or Aneilema biflorum, and it's a low-growing ground cover that forms a mat around 15cm high in suitable areas, including along watercourses. In summer and autumn it is embellished by gorgeous little flowers, which sometimes (though not always) appear in pairs.

I love seeing mats of Two-flowered Aneilema growing in rainforest areas on the escarpment, or in damper spots along creeks among the Blackbutt forests of the foothills. It's a welcome recent arrival in our garden, where it's made its peace with the many other groundcovers (yes the Kidney Weed and Native Violets, but also Commelina, C. cyanea, to which it is related – the latter has blue rather than white flowers).

Two-flowered Aneilema is adaptable enough to work as an indoor plant and also as a pot plant, as long as good soil is used and doesn't dry out too quickly. Here, a rusty old hanging basket and a bit of green shade cloth hold a rambling riot of leaves and late autumn flowers.