Great summer flowers for Australian conditions
If you’re anything like me, your Instagram feed will be full of images of frothy English, European and Northern American gardens. Cottage gardens, wildflower gardens, blousy vintage gardens and traditional borders - I absolutely adore all those more whimsical floral styles. But our harsh Australian conditions can be tricky. Unless you live in Tasmania or high on the Great Dividing Range, many of the flowers I so admire are off limits. But there are still many beautiful traditional flowers that can grown very well here. Here’s five I recommend.
Dahlia
Dahlia’s nostalgic charm has cast a sell on the flower lovers world in recent years. Their huge range and diverse colour palette means you are bound to find one you like. They range in size from tiny to huge - as big as a dinner plate - and come in a variety of shapes including pom pom, single or double petal and even spiky ones.
In hot climates, the smaller dahlias will do better than the big dinner plate varieties, but even the big ones - like the legendary Cafe Au Lait - are worth having a go at if you are prepared to mulch heavily and are prepared to offer them some shade (ie shade cloth).
Dahlias like good soil, consistent watering (but not wet feet) and a feed of weak liquid fertiliser once a week. The more you pick the more you get, so if you are not harvesting blooms for display (and I encourage you to do this, they are so beautiful) then deadhead regularly. You’ll have blooms right up until the first frost.
Although Dahlias are usually grown from tuber, you can grow them from seed although you will get a bit of a mixed bag of colours, sizes and styles. I actually like this - it’s always exciting to see what pops up. See this garden diary entry to find out more about growing from seed.
Zinnia
Zinnias are the training wheels of the cut flower garden - super easy and totally confidence building. They like to be planted directly and just eat up the heat - they thrive in our hot summers and provide armloads of fantastic blooms for months and months. The more you pick, the more you get.
I started my flower farm with a bed of zinnias and a bed of dahlias, so I have a soft spot for these cuties. My current favourites are Queen Lime and Zinderella Peach. The doubles can resort to being the less spectacular but still delightful singles in extreme heat, but are beautiful nonetheless. Moderate watering required, a weekly feed also helps keep them going.
Statice
A milllion colours, a great bouquet filler and it lasts in the garden for weeks, meaning you don’t have to rush out and harvest it all at the same time. I admit I had statice cringe (too many memories of awful 1980s dried flower bunches in every dentist’s waiting room) but used fresh from the garden this flower is a winner. It looks so good in bouquets, adding that airy element that helps elevate a bouquet from ‘bunch of flowers’ to ‘magical’.
Strawflowers
Xerochrysum bracteatum is native to Australia, so it is no wonder it does so well in my garden. This beautiful flower looks great fresh, but can also be used in wreath work and other projects when dried. It doesn’t need too much water, and just keeps on blooming from late spring right through to late autumn. Like many of my other favourites, the more you pick the more you get. I am loving Vintage White this year, but I also adore the gentle pinks. Easy to grow from seed.
Feverfew
An absolute powerhouse in the garden, these dainty daisy like flowers last and last as a cut flower. I remove most of the foliage before using it in a bouquet and this helps give them a long vase life. If the plants start looking scrappy, try cutting them right back for a second flush in late summer/early autumn. Beware - these plants get really bulky - allow plenty of room in the garden and I like to corral mine to stop them flopping all over the path.
Happy planting!