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Still in Summer Mode in Western Australia

© John Bottomley

The day before Australia Day, 2001, my wife and I spent a few hours in Kings Park and the Botanic Garden, Perth, Western Australia. We had just spent a few days in Fremantle, and were heading back to our home in the Darling Ranges. Kings Park is 404 hectares (almost 1000 acres) of cultural heritage in the centre of Australia’s western most city, Perth. This park was first reserved in 1872 and has been since then a place of inspiration, relaxation and recreation for the people of Western Australia and for all the visitors who come to admire this beautiful park. It was called Perth Park originally, and in 1901 the name was changed to Kings Park to mark the accession of King Edward VII. There are honour avenues and special memorials that are dedicated to those who died in the service of their country. More than two thirds of the Park consists of bushland, which is remarkable in the heart of a capital city. Trees that dominate the park are banksias, eucalypts, and she oaks. The bushland features more than 450 plant species and 70 bird species. There is also 17 hectares (42 acres) of Botanic Gardens that presents a year round display of the unique flora of Western Australia. One particular plant featured in the autumn issue of the Newsletter of Friends of Kings Park, was the Calytrix flavescens or Summer Starflower. It is one of the 3 Calytrix species (Starflowers) found in the bushland around Kings Park. The other species are C. fraseri (Pink Summer Starflower) and C. angulata (Yellow Starflower). C. flavescens is a small shrub that grows to about 5 metres (1.5 feet) that is found n various parts of the bushland. It flowers from December to February and adds a splash of colour to the bush after the main spring flush of the wildflowers. Late summer to early autumn is one of the peak periods when banksias are in full bloom. Banksia beds in the Botanic Garden have been established now for about four years. Many of these species require several years before they will show their spectacular blossoms. However, the plants in these beds are now reaching their prime and put on a very beautiful display. Such banksias as Banksia media, Banksia baxteri, Banksia ashbyi, Banksia quercifolia, Banksia meisneri, Banksia telmatiaea, and Banksia coccinea are now on display and showing off their floral symmetry and emerging styles. There is a very striking Water Garden in Kings Park. Recently the garden has been redesigned to provide a memorial celebrating the centenary of Women’s Suffrage. The integration of the memorial to Women’s Suffrage has been integrated into the naturalistic design features in the landscape. The garden was originally developed in the 1960’s and is a good representation of the garden design of that time. The opportunity has been taken to introduce a model of a Darling Scarp stream and a cascade system. There are excellent design elements with natural wooden bridges and granite boulders that have created a very natural habitat and are popular with visitors and locals alike.