A really hot topic at the moment is water scarcity, with this in mind we should all be planning water-wise gardens and this means planting indigenous plants that belong in this area and are adapted to local conditions. So before your property is cleared look carefully at what grows there. Many indigenous plants can be rescued beforehand and put into pots and then be replanted in the garden.
This beautiful flower belongs to a ground orchid Eulophia speciosa. If you’re observant you may have seen a tall flower spike with ten or so flowers in various stages of opening growing on vacant plots, road verges or in gardens in the summer. Although it is regarded as common in sandy coastal areas it is at risk when property owners clear their plots to build or even to cultivate their gardens. Another orchid worth cultivating is the Green Wood Orchid (Bonatea speciosa), which grows in the understory of coastal bush and flowers in October/November. Having bushy sections of garden filled with indigenous plants ensures that you’ll have lots of birds to watch too.
Photo: Yellow ground Orchid
