Wildflowers of Perth
WESTERN AUSTRALIA IS FAMOUS for its stunning displays of wildflowers. Tourists come far and wide to see parts of the State that are, at certain times of the year, blanketed in swathes of brightly coloured flowers, such as the paper daisy, also known as everlasting.
Spring is the obvious time to visit, but the wildflowers aren’t necessarily so accomodating. While many flowers bloom from July to November, there are others that flower all throughout the year.
Seasonal weather, too, can have its effect. While the east of Australia has been soaked in drenching rains that have broken droughts and greened the desert, the west has had an unusually hot and dry spring – which means the wildflowers haven’t been out so much this year.
However, that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to see. On my trip out there in late October I found that you don’t have to go very far at all to find the hidden beauties. “People think you need to go hundreds of kilometres out to see the wildflowers, but they don’t realise that you can just see them in the suburbs of Perth,” says Rick Martin, a wildflower tour guide based in Perth.
So that’s where we headed – to the Pickering Brook area of the Perth Hills, about 35 km west of the city centre. This is scenic wine and orchard country and is a lovely place to spend a day cruising around, checking out the vineyards and exploring the wildlowers. While we didn’t see thick blankets of everlastings, we did see plenty of other Western Australian beauties.
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