When Small is BIG!

It’s easy to be seduced into thinking that Bigger is always Better. Large flowers must automatically be more attractive, right?

Depends on the eye of the beholder is the answer. Ask any honeyeater flitting around your garden.

While it’s true that nectar-seeking birds are opportunists and will make the most of what’s on offer (have you noticed Spinebills on camellias, for instance?), some careful observation will soon show distinct preferences.  And of course what’s on offer will vary with the seasons.

Take grevilleas, for instance. In all States, vast numbers of grevilleas flower in winter. Many honeyeaters will include insects in their diet but are mostly dependent on nectar for energy and warmth. It is vital that our gardens help to sustain them through the coldest conditions when insect life is at its lowest, so planting a good range of grevilleas is one of the most user-friendly things you can do.

And it is quite apparent that many of the grevilleas that bear large clusters of small flowers are high on honeyeaters’ shopping lists. It’s a guarantee that if you include Tangerine, Orange Box, Pretty Polly (all colour forms), Bonnie Prince Charlie, Charlie’s Angel, Jubilee, Tucker Time® Fruit Box, Tucker Time® New Day, Metallica® Supanova, Old Gold, Canterbury Gold, Rosy Posy, Rosy’s Baby ….. hey, you’ll need a park-sized garden if you plant ALL of them…. you will need to get out of the way as they all dive in for a feed.

And for a change of style, remember that many banksias are also winter bloomers. Try our Banksia Yellow Wing for a start. It’s named that way because the Yellow-winged Honeyeaters swarm all over it every day. Banksia Black Magic is finding its way onto the market now, and is a must for every garden, even a very shady one. The small compact forms of Banksia spinulosa (Birthday Candles and Cherry Candles) are also still producing lots of candles well into winter.  These two are perfect for the garden that is tiny ~ try them in tubs with a good free-draining potting mix and a sunny aspect.

Then there’s more. Hakeas (look out for our Pink Lace) …. and Hardenbergias (which again the Spinebills adore) such as Happy Duo, Free ‘n Easy and Snow White ….  and many eucalypts ~ there should not be a single garden that doesn’t have Euky Dwarf growing!  From May to November, it’s a mass of blossom and don’t the birds know it.

When Winter is here, who needs Spring?

 

Sue Forrester & Bill Molyneux