4 Grevillea

No surprise here, as Grevillea ‘Robyn Gordon’ has long been among Australia’s top-selling plants. This native grows in all areas and suits every style of garden – as a shrub, tree or groundcover.

While grevillea flowers are beautiful, especially those of the showy toothbrush forms, what draws many gardeners is a desire to attract birds. Many grevilleas are long flowering, adding to their appeal and their value as habitat and food plants for birds, insects and even small native animals such as ring-tailed possums.

There are two main types of grevilleas: the toothbrush-flowered varieties, such as ‘Robyn Gordon’, ‘Sandra Gordon’, ‘Golden Lyre’ and ‘Pink Mist’, best grown in warm climates; and the spider-flowered species, which are more tolerant of cold and temperate conditions, and include G. lanigera ‘Mt Tamboritha’.

Grevilleas grow best in either full sun or semi-shade, in well-drained soil.

Prune after flowering, and feed these members of the Proteacaea family with a low-phosphorus fertiliser.