It’s meant to be spring now and we are well into the first month but thanks to the La Nina weather event, the third in a row, the experts tell us that Australia’s east coast is in for another wet, and cool spring and summer.

Here in South Australia we are feeling the effects too with much cooler and wetter conditions than we would usually expect at this time of year.

Nature though is trying its best to put on a show and give us hope that some warmer days are ahead, so here’s a snapshot of some of the sunshine that the gardens are providing lately. These plants are mostly natives and found in coastal areas we’ve visited lately and some from my garden.

Wattle trees (Acacia) can be found in every region of Australia and their bright sunny blossoms usually signify the beginning of spring. The wattle withstands drought, winds and bushfires and its resilience represents the spirit of the Australian people, which is why it’s our national flower and on national days of mourning it’s appropriate to wear a sprig of wattle as a symbol of remembrance and reflection.

Also at this time of year you can see Banksias and Bottle Brush flowering and all sorts of Eucalyptus trees blossoming in all shades of pink, red, white and even purple. These are such hardy Australian trees and yet they have the most delicate of blossoms, looking like fluffy tutus amongst the grey green leaves.

Living in a coastal area can be tricky finding the right plants to withstand salty sea air and strong winds but these plants are thriving and giving us a great show at the moment. Kangaroo paws are one of my favourite plants, so Aussie and so unique and they come in a range of colours too.

Silver Cassia makes a good wind break and is a riot of yellow flowers at the moment. For brilliant orange colour and interesting flowers the Leptospermum plant is hard to beat as a coastal growing bush and another interesting flowering plant is the Olive Grevillea.

Some nice low growing and groundcover type plants that are flowering now are Brachyscome, a small daisy like plant, coastal saltbush with beautiful grey foliage and an everlasting daisy plant called yellow buttons.

The best display at the moment though has to go to all the brilliant yellow Canola crops that are growing in just about every direction you drive in South Australia.

Enjoy spring and hopefully the warmer weather soon!

Glenys