A flowering ironbark is one of the most potent bird
attractors around Canberra. I remember during the Great Regent
Honeyeater influx (was it 1995?) they were often on such trees. For the
suburban gardener a problem can be to nail a pink one. In about 1989 I
bought one for the nature strip, being assured that ‘oh yes, that’s a pink one
alright’, and finding some 10 years later when it blossomed that of course I had
the cream flowered one. Even if my complaint was not time-barred, that
particular nursery had gone out of business by then. Below are a couple of
examples of the current ironbark season, both snapped in the course of the last
couple of weeks not too far from Canberra.
