Bush Flowers by Cassandra Hamilton & Michael Pavlou
Whether you’re growing for personal or commercial use, creating your own source of flowers is every flower lover’s dream! Even the smallest garden can produce special things to bring inside and use to decorate your home.
Words: Cassandra Hamilton & Michael Pavlou Photography: Cassandra Hamilton, Michael Pavlou, Lauren Bamford & Ryan Creevey
Arranging Eucalyptus pleurocarpa foliage and gum nuts into vase with Geraldton Wax (Chamelaucium). Main Hero Photo & Above: Lauren Bamford
Rice Flower (Ozothamnus diosmifolius).Photo: Cassandra Hamilton & Michael Pavlou
Plant boldly en masse. Whether you’re growing commercially, for personal cut flower use or because you love to garden, it’s just better to plant more than one of something. Pictured: Flannel Flower (Actinotus helianthi). Photo: Cassandra Hamilton & Michael Pavlou
When starting with native flowers, look for things that are indigenous to your area – these will naturally grow best in your environment and contribute to your local ecosystem.
Local nurseries are a great place to start looking for indigenous plants. Ask questions of your local nursery staff and your neighbours – gardeners love to share knowledge (and maybe even cuttings and seeds, if you’re lucky). What’s growing well for others in your area will often grow well for you.
There are lots of initiatives around Australia to encourage people to use indigenous plants at home. Local councils, bush regeneration groups and nurseries produce and then sell at cost (or in some cases give away) indigenous tubestock (smaller plants with established roots) to encourage people to use native plants to regenerate their area.
Your environment
Look closely at the growing conditions in your patch. How much light do you get? Where are the sunniest spots? Are there shady or damp positions?
Plants always grow best when you plant them in places that replicate the conditions of their homeland. Look at how much light and moisture each position gets and select plants to suit that particular spot. For example, place sun-loving desert plants in your sunniest open position, and choose rainforest plants for humid shady spots.
The ground itself is a very important part of replicating conditions as plants need the right soil and fertilisation. Lots of the really spectacular Australian native plants originate from quite harsh conditions in sunny, sandy areas of Western Australia so they will need sandy or very well-drained soil to thrive.
Some plant species produce different varieties in different parts of Australia so the flowers may look similar, but their optimum growing conditions differ. Choose the variety with growing conditions similar to your environment to give your plants the best chance of flowering and thriving. An unhappy plant rarely produces many flowers.
There are also lots of amazing cultivars that have been developed to suit different growing conditions, so it’s important to do some research to find varieties that suit your areas. Many plants included in this book have other, similar varieties that might suit your location better – ask your local nursery for recommendations. Even if you don’t have the ideal conditions in your garden for a plant you love, you can sometimes create that environment by using pots, both outdoors and indoors. These smaller, contained environments will allow you to control the drainage conditions and position.
Plan your garden. The best gardens take time to establish but a little planning goes a long way. Watch the light and conditions closely and think about how you want to use the space. If you’re planting for cut flowers, it’s good to plant varieties in pairs or trios. Look for varieties that will flower at a similar time as they will often work well together. Don’t forget foliage – there are so many beautiful foliage plants that will combine with flowers in a superb bouquet, or just look great on their own.
Succession planning is always a good idea for extending your flower- picking season. Stagger the sowing of your seeds so you will have the same variety of flowers for longer. Or look for plants with different varieties that flower at different points in the season. On a practical note, make sure you plan out the structure of the garden and leave yourself enough room to pick the flowers!
Flowers can take time. Many Australian plants are slow to flower. For example, Banksias take a few years to get established and often don’t flower for three to five years. They are well worth the wait, though, because once they do, they are quite prolific. Layer your garden with things that are fast-growing or quick to establish so you will get some immediate gratification. Investing in some larger, established plants will help you realise your dream garden more quickly.
Think about the scale of the plants and where you’re planting them. There’s the perfect size plant for every spot. Watch out for planting tall Gum trees close to houses and buildings as they can be difficult to remove when they get too large.
When buying plants look for strong, healthy specimens with signs of good new growth. They should be free from damaged or yellowing leaves and bugs. The larger the plant the more time and energy the nursery has invested in it, which is why an established plant will generally be more expensive. Pictured: Silver Gum (Eucalyptus cineria). Photo: Ryan Creevey
Straw flowers (Xerochrysum bracteatum). Photo: Lauren Bamford
A striking vase of Mulla Mulla (Ptilotus exaltatus). Photo: Lauren Bamford
Don’t feel pressured to choose between traditional-style plants or native plants. Australian plants mix well with all styles of gardens and cut flowers. Whether you want a cottage-style garden, a Mediterranean-style garden, a formal garden or a coastal garden, there are spectacular native plants that will complement and add to your exotic species to achieve any design you like.
Look at the overall shape and form of plants and try substituting similar native forms where you may have previously thought to use something exotic. For example, Veronica, with its lovely vertical flower spikes in purples, whites and pinks, is often planted in cottage-style cut flower gardens. This could be substituted for a beautiful native Veronica, such as Veronica derwentia or Veronica perfoliata. Both of these varieties are very popular with bees and butterflies and look completely at home in a cottage garden. There are so many rare and amazing local plants that can be substituted for exotics and will be more likely to thrive in the local environment.
When buying plants look for strong, healthy specimens with signs of good new growth. They should be free from damaged or yellowing leaves and bugs. The larger the plant the more time and energy the nursery has invested in it, which is why an established plant will generally be more expensive. If you’re on a budget you can grow plants from seed or buy smaller tubestock plants and nurture them yourself. Plant swaps and cuttings from other gardeners are also a great way to keep costs down while picking up tips from more experienced gardeners.
Planting
Plant boldly en masse. Whether you’re growing commercially, for personal cut flower use or because you love to garden, it’s just better to plant more than one of something. It could be a copse of trees or a drift of wildflowers – a grouping by any other name will always be beautiful and useful! It can be very hard to pick flowers from a plant when the quantities are limited, especially when you have nurtured it from seed. Planting more, whether for cut flowers or foliage, will give enough product to use and also provide a backup in the event that some of your plants don’t flower, or even die.
It’s best to avoid the use of pesticides on cut flowers as much as possible because you will be handling the flowers and bringing them inside homes. Commercial flowers are often treated with pesticides but thankfully a lot of Australian flowers are very hardy and, with care, don’t require as much. Shift your perspective to start seeing small blemishes on flowers as a
sign of strength rather than weakness. The flower has survived the tough conditions of growing outside! A tiny nibble from a visiting caterpillar is a good trade-off for avoiding excessive chemicals with potential health risks.
Picking
Once your plant has grown you have the joy of picking your own flowers. The best time to pick is in the morning before the heat of the day. For maximum vase life flowers are usually picked before they reach their full flowering form. Some are picked while still in bud so they can continue to open in the vase.
All the rules for foraging apply to picking in your own garden: use secateurs for nice clean cuts, don’t butcher the plant, pop the stems into water immediately if possible.
Anytime you’re pruning in the garden is an opportunity for cut flowers and foliage. Keep an eye out for when your neighbours or local council are pruning as well. This can be a great time to get lots of beautiful branches and foliage.
Don’t overlook established plants or things that have been in your garden for a million years. You might spot a beautiful branch or a supportive foliage that will help you when you start arranging.
