Wonderful whites of Illawarra natives spring forth
Whatever the weather throws at us, it's a joy to be out at this time of year, taking in whichever blooms nature is prompting
It's simply amazing to see the variety of spring flowers that are out at the moment. Here are just a few of the white-flowering plants I've seen in the last couple of weeks.
One of them is a real garden favourite, the wedding bush (or Ricinocarpos pinifolius). This beautiful shrub has pine needle-like leaves and profuse white flowers. It prefers sandy soils, and can only be found locally in coastal eucalypt forests on sandy soils and up on the plateau west of the escarpment cliff. So it's a challenge to grow in home gardens – all the more reason to appreciate it out in nature, or at the Illawarra Grevillea Park Botanic Garden, where it has been given good conditions to flourish.
Less well known but just as stunning when in flower is the related shrub Springbrook wedding bush (Ricinocarpos speciosus). Only recently confirmed to occur in the Illawarra region, this shrub's white flowers have pink and peach tones in their centres. This species grows naturally on clay soils, so is a better fit for most local gardens than its pine-leaved relative.
Bridal daisy bush (Olearia microphylla), yet another small shrub with white flowers, is also doing its thing right now. It has smaller leaves and much smaller flowers than the wedding bushes, giving it a charm all its own. Here is a bridal daisy bush flowering its head off in the garden of Illawarra Flame editor Genevieve Swart.
This is yet another local plant that has quite specific environmental requirements. It grows naturally on slow-draining shallow clay soils of the coastal plain, conditions present in only part of the region. Places such as Albion Park and East Corrimal suit it better than other areas.
There's also a bunch of smaller local plants with white flowers all doing their thing right now. This next pic shows two strange bedfellows: they enjoy very different conditions in nature. Branching grass-flag (Libertia paniculata) is a native iris with white flowers grows in damp spots in escarpment eucalypt forest. And the classic flannel flower (Actinotus helianthi) likes poorly drained soils and lots of sun, being recorded from Hill 60 as well as up on the plateau.
Somehow they both seem to thrive in this Berkeley garden!
And that's before we get to the orchids. The Sydney rock orchid is also flowering spectacularly this month, in some if not all of its usual haunts.
Which local native white flowers do you have at your place? Do you have space to add a few more local native plants to add to the flowering abundance?
