Some natives survived the big wet, writes John Elton of Illawarra Grevillea Park

I doubt there was a single garden in the Illawarra that didn’t suffer in the drenching through summer and autumn. But some plants defied the odds and are looking as good as ever.

At the Illawarra Grevillea Park, we did not lose a single tropical grevillea from the hundreds we have planted. These are the plants with the very large flowers. They include plants like Moonlight, Honey Gem, Callum’s Gold, Miami Pink, Bush Lemons, Katherine’s Fire and Clare Dee. Grafted grevilleas also laughed at the rain. These are plants grafted onto the rainforest species Grevillea robusta, a plant that could probably grow in water!

Another species that did particularly well was banksias. None were lost and the iconic banksia cones are once again covering the plants. Some of these are planted in well-drained soil, others in less than ideal conditions.

Come and see these plants in flower at the Winter open days – 10am-4pm on Sat & Sun, July 2 & 3, 9 & 10. Grevillea Park Road, Bulli,
www.illawarrgrevilleapark.com.au