By Beatrice Hawkins
I received a very excited phone call from a friend recently about a plant she has had in her garden for a number of years… it appeared that it was finally going to flower for the first time after 19 years!
The plant in question is a bird of paradise or strelitzia reginae.
They are native to South Africa and apparently are very easy to grow in any soil given full sun and some water but not too much. They like to be root bound and will flower well under these conditions.
My research says that we should be patient as they may take 3 or 4 years to flower. I think my friend has shown great patience waiting 19 years! Good thing it wasn’t me. I have never lived in one place that long so I would have missed out sadly.
They do come in a variety of forms. There appears to be 4 different types of the basic strelitzia reginae depending on size and leaf types. “Glauca” is an orange one with powdery grey leaves and stems, “pygmaea” or “humilis”, again orange and only grows to about a metre tall and lastly, “ovata” that has more oval or rounded leaves. Then there are many hybrid varieties giving a great range of colours.
Next there is strelitzia juncea that is the leafless variety. The “leaves” look more like the stems of the flowers, round green sticks!
And lastly there is the giant one that I have seen in one of the theme parks on the Gold Coast on a visit with my grandchildren. This one is strelitzia caudata and can grow to 25 foot high. The ones I saw were at least 15 foot with huge blue and white bird flowers about 18 inches long – spectacular!
I love the smaller ones and will get a variety called “Mandela’s Gold” one day and put it in my garden or maybe keep it in a pot, as google suggests in many articles. They make ideal pot plants and actually bloom more readily when they are pot bound.
The leaves do contain hydrocyanic acid that is non toxic to humans but can be harmful to pets if they take a fancy to eating the leaves.
Driving down East Street near the Woolworths complex I admired the beautiful show that the golden grevilleas are providing. They have grown really well and at present are covered in deep golden flowers. I do love our native plants and this particular variety obviously thrives where it is planted. Another addition to my garden when I can get moving again.
My neighbours over the back fence are keen gardeners and have done great things in the short time they have been there. The latest addition is a large area of mulch surrounding shrubs they have planted and the eye catching addition of white gravel down the edge representing the Condamine River with it tributaries going to the base of each of the bird attracting shrubs.
It is good to be considerate of each other in what we plant on fence lines so that it doesn’t interfere with the other persons yard and this garden is proving to be a delight to me.
The beautiful chrysanthemums in last week’s photo are in another yard while the last of a neighbour’s roses are still blooming and the colours are really lovely. Next to her is a block with a thriving row of olive trees, some very healthy black muscat grape vines and a beautiful bed of roses, plus assorted shrubs. Across the road are some really lovely grevilleas.
Happy gardeners in my small street!
Of course, not to be forgotten, in the same area but just around the corner are two gardens, that in times past have won Festival Garden in the Horticultural Societies Spring Garden Competition held each year in October. I know at least one of them is already planning ahead to enter again this year.
I certainly don’t aspire to that level of commitment, but I do like plenty of variety and colour and delight in other people’s achievements.
With some luck and no intervention from Covid, I am hoping to be in Western Australia around August/September to enjoy family and the marvellous wild flowers over there. Three years ago King’s Park was a delight in September. I would love to see how the huge Boab that was relocated from the Kimberly on the back of a semi trailer is doing.
Like my neighbour, plan ahead to have your gardens ready for one of the many categories in the competition with judging to commence on October 3rd.
Don’t forget to add the Gardening Extravaganza during Jumpers and Jazz in July to your diary.
