A walk in the park

Story by AB Bishop

We visit Perth’s King Park and the Western Australian Botanic Garden to explore some unique botanical treasures. AB Bishop showcases five sensational native plants and how to grow them.

As part of the Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand (BGANZ) Botanic Gardens Week (May 19 to 25), gardens from Australia and New Zealand will be showcasing five plants from their collection. We asked Kings Park and Botanic Garden’s horticulturists Ali Smith and Eloise Barnie for their personal picks from the WABG collection. They share their growing tips and information on when the plants flower according to the six-season calendar of the Whadjuk Nooongar people. Here’s a preview:

Red and green kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos manglesii)

Flowering from Djilba to Kambarang, this WA state emblem is a pollinator favourite. “Various honeyeaters visit the flowers for nectar and get a dab of pollen on their head. The next flower they visit gets pollinated – it’s lovely to watch that relationship,” Ali says. This kangaroo paw grows naturally in sandy or sandyloam soils, from WA’s coastal plains and jarrah forests to Wheatbelt areas. Although the strappy-foliaged plant is a perennial, it lives for only two to three years and is treated as an annual at Kings Park, with 500 seedlings planted every autumn for a spectacular spring display.

“In the home garden, if the plant dies back over summer, it should reshoot again in the right growing conditions in winter. It’s worth experimenting with positioning,” Ali says. Position them where there’s good air movement and avoid watering the leaves to minimise fungal problems. “You can tell when they’re thirsty as the flower spikes droop.” They tolerate various soil types, provided they’re well-draining, and can thrive in pots, too. Prune dead flower spikes at the base of the stem, or leave intact for seed collection or insect habitat.

Flowers from August to November
Position in full sun or part shade
Grows 1m high and 1m wide
Suitable for arid, warm temperate and cold temperate climates

Bird-beak hakea (Hakea orthorrhyncha)

This unusual shrub (below) gets its name from the beak-shaped woody fruit. “The cockatoos particularly love eating the seed from the fruit, but it’s also a great refuge for small birds,” Eloise says. This medium–large shrub has an open habit and its red flowers are clustered along the stems of the old wood throughout Djilba. “It’s a wonderful screening or windbreak plant,” Ali says. This plant thrives in well-drained soil and tolerates moderate frost and the relatively high humidity of Australia’s east coast.