TOUGH AS PETALS
One of the features of late winter is the number of shrubs that flower on bare stems, so their flowers appear before the leaves.
These flowers that bloom on bare stems seem fragile, but in reality they are very tough as they have to survive the full force of winter weather. The petals are usually robust and thick.
At present Japanese flowering quince (Chaenomeles japonica) is in flower with a display of scarlet red flowers on smooth brown but wickedly thorny stems.
The red flowers are lovely to see in the garden when so much else is bare. As a bonus, the picked branches can be used to create a stylish flower arrangement to bring colour inside as well.
Also showing its flowers before the leaves is witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis), the plant used to produce the astringent product used in cosmetics and medicine.
This tall shrub has clusters of small flowers, each with long, thin petals around a cluster of stamens. The flowers, which can be gold, yellow or dark red, resemble small starfish.
If you have room for this shrub, which grows to about 2m-2.5m high and wide, it is a trouble-free, low-maintenance garden plant that adds interest in winter when it is in flower and also colours up nicely in autumn.
Quiz answers: 1. The Block (Australia) 2. Mario Fenech 3. Japan 4. 1919 5. Six 6. Gold Coast 7. Colombia 8. Cadbury 9. False 10. Yes sir, yes sir 11. South Africa 12. Ben Elton 13. Hunter Killer 14. Africa 15. Townsville Fire 16. Tree Fu Tom 17. Generator 18. Kurt Cobain 19. Vietnam 20. Copernicium 21. True 22. Lewis Hamilton 23. Java Sea 24. Michelangelo 25. Rugby union 26. Julia Zemiro 27. Zero 28. Isuzu 29. Happy 30. Darren Cahill
Target word answers: arete, arrest, aster, austere, dart, darter, date, dater, datu, dearest, desert, deter, duet, dust, duster, east, eater, ester, etude, rate, rated, resat, reseat, reset, rest, rested, rete, rudest, rust, rusted, sate, sated, saute, seat, seated, seater, sedate, serrate, seta, setae, star, stare, stared, starred, stead, steed, steer, stud, suet, sutra, tare, tared, tarred, taus, tear, tease, teased, teaser, teed, terra, terse, terser, trad, trade, trader, tread, treasure, TREASURED, tree, treed, trued, tsar.