By Beatrice Hawkins
A flower that I love to use in flower arrangements is the red hot poker.
It is hardy and does well in full sun and although it now comes in a range of colours from cream through yellow, green and orange, the common red one – from which the name is derived – is still my favourite.
In an area where I used to live some years ago, they had been grown on small train stations and, even though the line had been closed for many years, there were still large clumps that produced an abundance of flowers over a long period. I used to help myself to these and combine them with blue gum branches, also gathered from the roadsides, in a large, old fashioned black boiler for a very dramatic effect to decorate the wool shed for our annual stud ram sale. The boiler was filled with wet sand to hold them in place and it looked spectacular on the old platform wool scales, providing a link with history as clients entered the ultra-modern, state of the art wool shed.
At the moment I don’t have any in my garden but do have a position in mind for some amongst the agapanthus as they provide a great contrast of colour and form. Another project for the coming months. I may have to take a shovel with me on my travels so that if I come across some feral roadside clumps I can help myself!
As I have said in previous columns, I like my garden to be planted with memories, and these are some more I wish to perpetuate.
Another ‘must-have’ when I get my native garden organised is a banksia. It will have to be one of the old fashioned variety that has the “bad banksia men” seed stems from the ‘Snugglepot and Cuddle Pie’ stories as these were a childhood favourite and the type my mum grew in her yard. The tree was still there a few years ago when I drove past the old house and would be at least 60 years old. Mum was way ahead of her time in growing natives in her garden.
There are so many wonderful varieties that have been developed and adapted for the home garden now that the choice of size, shape and colour is almost endless. There are tall-growing, medium, dwarf and ground cover varieties. There are yellow, green, pink and bronze flower heads. There are short, narrow flower heads, long, thin ones and huge, fat ones both short and long. One beautiful bush I have seen growing in gardens in WA looks like a flock of Major Mitchell Cockatoos has landed in the tree – just spectacularly beautiful.
They are such a versatile, long-lasting, cut flower also but I must admit that one of my least favourite things is when they colour the beautiful blooms artificially and end up with bright purples etc – guaranteed to make me annoyed! Nature does it better! They also dry so well for use in flower arranging as well.
Some years ago I attended a lecture by Angus Stewart, of the ABC gardening show fame. He, at that time, had an extensive native garden at his home near Gosford, NSW. Even though this was on Hawkesbury sandstone country where many of the species grew naturally, his suggestion was to always build garden beds up for growing natives.
At least one species of wattle will also have to included and the one I’d like is a Cootamundra wattle, as this is the variety that grew at the end of the road where I grew up and from where, in later years, I caught the bus to school. For my early school years I was doubled on the bar of my brother’s bike and then graduated to my own bike until high school when the bus became an option. I loved that wattle tree with its silvery grey foliage and early spring blossoms.
As a result of sharing these happy memories I was spoilt with a bunch of the first wattle to appear each year on our property. As September 1st was officially declared wattle day by the then Prime Minister’s wife Hazel Hawke, it is lovely to see so many different varieties flowering in the bush at present. As there are so many varieties that cover such a wide area of our country, it is fitting that it should be our national flower.
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Garden comps…
• The Warwick Horticultural Society Annual Spring Flower Show will be held at St Mary’s Parish Hall. All entries need to be in no later than 10am on 17th October. Judging starts at 10am same day. The show will be open to the public from 12 noon 17th October and 9am 18th October. Cafe will be open with sandwiches, tea and coffee, and sweets. Plants and jams and spreads will also be available for purchase on the day, $3 entry fee.
Entries for the Annual Floral Window Display for Warwick businesses close at 5pm October 25th, judged October 26th – part of Rodeo Week. Entry forms available from Brysons Place, 44 Palmerin Street.
*This is an old article that has been digitised so our readers have access to our full catalogue.
