1. What do wildflowers look like?
- Wildflowers can be any native flowering plant, including trees, shrubs and herbage.
- They are usually associated with carpets of colour, such as those famous in Western Australia.
- Gum trees can turn snowy white and drip with nectar; bluebells create a blue blur along roadsides; wattles produce a golden blaze; and flowering peas appear in pink, purple, yellow, orange, red and white.
2. Is spring the best time to see wildflowers, or are there other times?
The peak is in spring; however, while some plants flower early, others don’t start until later, into summer. The warm weather kicks plants into action as they make the most of it before the summer heatwaves begin. The lead-up to this year’s wildflower season has been dry, which may mean the season will be shorter unless the wildflower areas receive some much-needed rain.
3. Where are the wildflowers at the moment?
- Places such as Western Australia and the Granite Belt near Stanthorpe are wildflower meccas.
- Wildflowers can be found in local national parks, state forests, botanic gardens and stock route reserves, as well as along roadsides.
- Plants in full flower can be easy to spot; however, smaller plants can also be easy to miss. A wildflower stop makes an interesting way to spend your break on a long country drive.
There are wildflowers growing closer to home right now. Our seasonal Wildflower Wonderland tour will take you to Gurulmundi, a hotspot of delightful native wildflowers nestled northwest of Miles in southern Outback Queensland. This area is renowned for its plant diversity, attracting plant enthusiasts and travellers each year.
Rose Aisthorpe, Boobook’s botanist, will lead you on our tour. Her enthusiasm for all plants, great or small, will ensure you see plenty of things the average visitor passes without noticing. There are multiple stops along the tour, including our fully catered, home-baked morning tea and tasty picnic lunch, set against a backdrop of colourful flowers.
4. Can you pick the flowers to take home?
No, it’s better to take photos of them because many don’t last long. Picking flowers also prevents the plants from setting seed for future generations. It also means other visitors won’t get to enjoy them.
5. If I don’t get to see them this year, can I still see them next year?
This depends on next year’s season; however, most shrubby and tree species will flower again next year. Annual herb species rely on the timing and amount of lead-up rainfall. The spring wildflowers during the flood years were astounding, thanks to all the rain, whereas there were far fewer flowers during the drought.
Variations in the seasons give different plants the opportunity to flower more or less from year to year, so you may see different results next year compared with now.
6. Has Boobook got a favourite local wildflower spot?
We like to keep finding new places to see wildflowers locally, but there are a couple of spots worth visiting:
- Thirty kilometres north of Roma along Grafton Terrace Road, via Roma–Taroom Road, makes a good day trip to see wonga vines, bush peas, wattles and other species.
- For those heading west, an area approximately 10 kilometres south of Charleville has some beautiful grevilleas and heaths.
- And, of course, there is Gurulmundi, as mentioned previously.
If you’d like to join us on one of our Wildflower Wonderland tours, visit the tour page to find out more about dates, pricing and booking.