With Spencer Shaw – FOREST HEART Eco-Nursery
THE more native plants I get to grow and see, the more I’m amazed about their diversity and beauty.
It’s great to go for a walk in the bush at any time of year, there’s always something flowering, from the Coastal heaths to the Forests of the Hinterland the precious remnants of our native ecosystems put on spectacular shows of colour.
It’s one thing to admire these native plants when going for a walk, but many of us live surrounded by exotic plants, not necessarily because they’re easier to grow or even because they’re better looking, but due to an inherited culture of loving anything exotic and an ignorance of our native plants.
The lack of local native plants in our gardens to date is strange, because to many of us, these plants are as exotic as you can get.
So many of these great local native plants can also be grown in your garden to add a splash of colour, with the added benefit of you giving a home to our local natives and providing habitat for a wide range of native animals.
South East Queensland is one of the world’s Biodiversity Hotspots, with over 3500 local native plants.
We have subtropical and temperate influences.
We have rainforests, woodland and heathlands.
We have mountain tops, beaches, rivers and a great diversity of soils and geology that make for a unique place to call this place home.
Let’s get back to our wildflowers and their potential for our gardens.
The diversity of our daisies (Asteraceae) and their mass flowerings is truly impressive; our fabulous Fabaceae (Pea Family) bloom in purples, yellows, pinks and oranges; our gorgeous Goodenias are out in splendid shows of yellow; Lobelias and Violas with splashes of purple and blue; our marvellous Myrtles (Bottle Brushes, Eucalypts, Ti-trees) are massed in red or white and the list just goes on and on.
Make space for local native flowers and be blessed with blooms, bees and beauty.