Thursday 23 June 2016

START OF WATTLE SEASON

Wattles, also called acacias, are amazing Australian native plants. More than 850 species of wattle (Acacia spp; family Fabaceae) grow in Australia, ranging from ground covers and charming shrubs to giant trees that provide fine timber and screening. With this number of species and many cultivars there is a wattle for just about any garden in Australia.

Most wattles are quick growing, short-lived plants that will usually last for about seven to 12 years. Some species, however, are longer lived. If planted in a thicket, they will self-sow, which will mean that short lived plants are quickly replaced. Wattles are tolerant of a broad range of conditions. While there are wattle species which flower throughout the year, the winter-flowering species are particularly attractive in the landscape, where their bright yellow or cream flowers bring colour to the garden at a time when many of the more traditionally grown plants are bare or not flowering.

Currently, in the cold and wet Winter of Melbourne, the gold of the wattle flowering is beautiful in the green landscape. Especially so, when the days are fine and the sky is blue, the wattles reign supreme... The illustrated species is Acacia baileyana or Cootamundra wattle.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.






3 comments:

  1. Beautiful plants, thank you for sharing these photos with us, I really enjoyed them!
    —Charles

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  2. The gold of the wattle flowering really IS beautiful in the green landscape, especially in your close up photos. I live in a garden suburb of Melbourne, but we never see the gorgeous gold around here. I wonder if suburban gardeners are biased against native flora ... or if the soil and rainfall in the SE of Melbourne are not suitable.

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  3. Ooh, I just learned about wattles, I think from you (: They are one of my new favorite things. I bet it makes a winter cheery, too bad they don't last very long.

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