|By Judy Sharpe
THIS year one of our lovelier flowering natives has been in bloom for some weeks due to the unseasonal weather.
Acacia podalryifolia is covered in yellow balls of fluff, which are a great contrast for the Queensland wattle’s silver foliage.
Podalryifolia is one of the many wattles that will bloom from now through to spring – its round silvery phyllodes are furry and, like other silvery foliaged plants, it is hardy and provides a wonderful contrast in the garden.
The foliage of grey plants is as a result of their adaptation to the environment, many of which gain their greyness from fine white hair on the leaf surface. The grey leaf surface not only reflects heat, the hairs create a windbreak that helps reduce moisture loss.
The attributes of silver-grey plants mean that they are drought and sun-tolerant, playing an important role in gardens where regular watering is a problem.
This is substantiated by many of the echeverias, the rosette-forming succulents. They thrive on harsh conditions, are great in pots, inside or out, and look good planted as borders to contrast with deep greens or burgundies.
Silver-foliaged plants are ideal to link colours that shouldn’t be mixed or as landscape foil to make gardens appear larger when planted in the distance.
Paths look good when edged with low-growing grey perennials such as Cineraria senecio, which has grey-silver leaves. Growing to 30cm, it produces yellow button flowers. This silver cineraria is often available in seedling punnets, making it economical for mass planting or borders.
One of my favourite silver-grey shrubs is Convolvulus cneorum, also known as “silverbush”. It forms a compact, rounded, bushy shrub that grows up to 90cm.
Covered in white flowers, it is hardy, salt tolerant and looks great in mass planting.
Keep an eye out for a new release from PGA – Teucrium “Silver Box”, which has silvery foliage and bears sky blue flowers from autumn through to late spring. It is very hardy, growing to one metre, and it responds well to clipping for hedging.
I finish with a sad farewell to Wallsend Nursery, which closed last weekend. It has for many years provided quality plants and free, expert horticultural advice, which will be greatly missed.