White Japanese Windflowers in the Woods.
Who’s The Tallest? Dancing Heads Of The Windflowers..
Rondeletia amoena
Rondeletia amoena.
This plant needs a fanfare. It is a stunner. I’m speaking of the one
outside my parents’ room in the old days. Unfortunately, it seems it
belongs to the old days. I can’t understand why, because it has very few
problems – we never had even one. It is pest and disease resistant and
should be in everyone’s garden, especially outside a window or door. As
far as I’m concerned, it’s right up there with the Daphne odora and the
Jasmine polyanthum (pink Jasmine). In fact, with its pretty pink tubular
flowers, it actually resembles the pink Jasmine flowers.
And the main attraction? It’s perfume. Heavenly. It is also a winter
blooming plant, depending on your climate. If you are in northern
Australia, you may be able to have it flowering in August. In cooler
climates it will flower in very late winter/early spring. And honestly, the
Honeyeaters love it (and the Silver Eyes). How I loved waiting for it to
flower each year. The flowers last all spring and into summer in a
temperate climate which is where we lived at the time. It’s hard to find
nowadays, even though it originally came from Central America.
Do search your local nurseries because my Mum bought one when she arrived
in Queensland. However, the spot she chose to plant it in had terrible clay
soil and no drainage. So it died. But do look out for it, it’s worth it.
The Bird of Paradise Flower (Strelizia). Photo Credit: Strelizia . An
amazing plant whose flowers really look like its namesake. Give it plenty
of room and it will be a real talking point in your garden.
Calliandras. Winter Blooming Plants Which Look Spectacular.
Red Calliandra. Winter Blooming Flowers.
The Stunning Red Calliandra Or Powder Puff Tree.
Perfect winter plants. These stunning shrubs above look just like an
Australian Native but they are not. Gorgeous bright red pom pom flowers,
full of bird attracting nectar. And they only flower in winter. Mine is
still not fully out yet (June in Australia), but when it is the birds will
be deafening (mostly Noisy Miners where I am, but Honeyeaters love them
too, of course).
Then there’s the pink form which flowers in spring through summer and right
up into autumn. Calliandras are also called ‘Powder Puff’ plants. So easy
to grow. They average 3.5 to 6 metres in height. There’s a pink Calliandra
which flowers in spring, summer and autumn, and there’s also a white, but
the red is definitely a spectacular winter blooming plant.
Unfortunately, they are very hard to find online at the moment. But I have
found one site where you can buy the seeds: Australian Gardener.com.au
One winter plant I lived with during my time in a cold climate in Australia
was the Holly Bush. It was winter and there it was. It wasn’t very big but
with its dark green glossy pointy leaves and its red berries, it was a new
and delightful experience because I had never seen one before. It sure
loves the cold. But did you know that each Holly Bush is either male or
female so you need both to get any berries? It does help to know this if
you’ve been wondering why you have no berries …
Native Grevillea Honey Gem.
Grevillea Honey Gem
You can always find a winter blooming plant among the Grevilleas.
Grevilleas flower all year round depending on the types, but right now
(June/July) the Honey Gem is coming out and has to be seen and tasted to be
believed!!! Photo Credit: Honey Gem
Jonquils and Daffodils. What’s the Difference?
Narcissus-tazetta-0006a
Narcissus tazetta. Jonquils. They have several flowers to each stem.
For the botanist, probably quite a lot. But for those of us who just need
to know the basics, Daffodils have one large flower head per stem, and
Jonquils have several smaller flowers per stem. They are both called
Narcissi, belonging to the Narcissus family. Our Jonquils have been
flowering for over a month in their little pot in June/July. You’ll find
them in your nursery and online now. So grab a catalogue from your
favourite supplier. There are over 50 different species of Narcissi which
have given us thousands of cultivars. So for winter blooming plants,
Narcissi are great for starters. Jonquils are definitely winter blooming
plants, but you may also have luck with Daffodils in late winter if you
live in the right place.
Pansies and Violas Are Very Much Winter Blooming Plants.
Unknown flower-9
The dainty sweet Pansies bloom from winter through spring and summer and
into early autumn and even into winter again. Violas do the same thing and
so do Heartsease or Johnny Jump Ups (Viola Tricolour). These dear little
favourites will flower and flower. Remarkable when you think about it. They
may look delicate but they are tough. Pansies look especially pretty with
Lobelias around them, but any place in your annul or perennial garden will
look much more cheerful with Pansies scattered around or clumped together.
And now science has once again done it – with Pansies. New Wave Pansies.
The original Pansy Flowers were the Viola tricolour plants which grew as
annuals in Europe. However, today we have just so many varieties available
which have been cultivated and crossed (hybridized) and crossed again, that
we can choose whether we want the original Heartsease or some of the many
hybrids we see in magazines and catalogues everywhere. Pansies have always
represented ‘thoughts’, especially in Victorian times. So if you receive a
card with Pansies or Violas on it, someone is probably thinking a great
deal about you. Simply beautiful little faces smiling up at you, even
through the snow.
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Perennial Flowers. The Ones We Can Rely On Year After Year After Year.
Pathway through a perfect Perennial Flower Garden.
Morning Mist in the Perfect Perennial Flower Garden.
Perennial Flowers are those which take one or two years to produce their
first flowers, and then they keep flowering every season after that for
several or many years. They just keep on going. Some kinds may live up to
30 years or more. However, there are many perennials which will flower
within a year and every year from then on. If you are not sure of the
flowering times just look on the plant tags. All the perennials on this
page can easily be grown in Australia.
Just as we can divide flowering plants into Monocots and Dicots – which is
handy if you are studying, or for identification purposes – classifying
flowering plants (Angiosperms) according to their flowering cycles (or
growing seasons) is useful for gardeners because it lets them know what is
about to flower and when, or do some other amazing thing like produce
fruit.