Recently I attended a Climate-ready revegetation think fest along with Landcare volunteers and personnel led by CSIRO scientists. Whew talk about heavy going, we were boggled with information by the end of the day.

We spent the day looking at climate predictions for our region and what this might mean for the survival of our local species and for our gardens in general whether they are planted with natives or exotics.

We talked about the need for genetic diversity, species distribution, and choosing strategies for selecting plant provenance to increase the likelihood of local plants surviving into the future.

​Quite my favourite shrub in the garden is the Philotheca, formally called Eriostemon. It is in full glorious flower now but not only that, it has held its pretty pink buds all winter, as a promise that spring would come. Joy, it has! Now these Philotheca have so many flowers that one can barely see the leaves. In my garden I currently have mature shrubs of Philotheca myoporoides and Philotheca ‘Winter Rouge’. Philotheca myoporoides has limey green leaves, light pink buds through winter and white flowers in spring. Philotheca ‘Winter Rouge’ has darker green foliage tinged with burgundy, deep pink buds through winter and white flowers in spring. Both have foliage that is pleasantly aromatic when brushed against. Both have neat rounded dense profiles, Philotheca myoporoides grows to 1 - 2mH x 2mW while Philotheca ‘Winter Rouge’ grows to 0.8mH x 0.8mW. At IDP Nursery we currently have for sale Philotheca myoporoides, Philotheca ‘Profusion' 1.5mH x 1.5mW and Philotheca ‘Bournda Beauty' 1 - 1.5mH x 1 - 1.5mW. The latter two are just as glorious in flower as those in my garden, being just slightly different in size and a little different in leaf only. 
Of course there has to be other benefits to this plant to make it my all-time favourite. The first is that it is so adaptable to either full sun or shade. It is also very hardy to both frost and dry conditions and  there is a form to fit any shrubbery or it can be pruned to form the most dense of hedges.
This Saturday Iris will have her plants for sale at Cool Country Natives in Pialligo and on the 20th October she will be selling at the Australian Native Plants Association plant sale at the Australian Botanic Gardens. Either day it is wise to get in early for the pick of plants from growers who not only grow plants that suit the local environment but also grow the plants locally. Happy gardening this spring!