Byron Bay, Image : Foursquare Costa visits The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, which is on Dharawal land. In late winter the mass plantings of more than a million wildflowers create a carpet of colour, mostly from different everlasting daisies. Costa tours the Acacia collection with Curator Manager John Siemon and they discuss the benefits these plants, generically called wattles, can bring to a garden. There are more than 1000 Acacia species, in a huge range of forms. They have been used by First Nations people for thousands of years for food, medicine and tools. There are Acacias to suit every spot in a garden, from tall trees casting light shade that allows other plants to grow underneath, to thick groundcovers that can cover slopes and retaining walls. Some are small enough to grow in containers. The colour goes particularly well with purple hardenbergia, which is often flowering at the same time. The roots interact with bacteria in the soil to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and make it available for the plant to use. This gives Acacias the ability to grow in very poor soil, which they improve by adding nitrogen. What appear as leaves are actually modified phyllodes, or leaf stems. This helps them survive tough conditions. Many Acacias are prickly and provide great habitat for small birds. Because some Acacias are short lived, it makes them excellent starter plants for new gardens, providing instant shade and shelter to help get a longer-lived plants growing. Featured Plants Pink Sunray Rhodanthe manglesii Pink and white everlasting Rhodanthe chlorocephala Showy everlasting Schoenia filifolia subsp. subulifolia Golden wreath wattle Acacia saligna Purple coral pea Hardenbergia violacea Fan wattle Acacia amblygona 'Winter Gold' Narrow-leafed bower wattle Acacia cognata ‘Bower Beauty’ Black wattle Acacia concurrens Curracabah Acacia crassa Streaked wattle Acacia lineata Acacia saligna and some other wattles can become environmental weeds in some parts of Australia, so always check with your local authority or go to before planting. Filmed on Dharawal Country"/> SERIES 31 | Episode 25
Costa tours the Acacia collection with Curator Manager John Siemon and they discuss the benefits these plants, generically called wattles, can bring to a garden.
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