Banksia Coccinea

There are certain things that exemplify Australia, that are true icons of the amazing Land Down Under and there is no doubt that the Banksia is one of them. Banksia have earned a place on this list as they can be found all over the country. Many varieties have names that describe a certain physical characteristic, like the Banksia coccinea… or also known as the Albany banksia, the Waratah banksia or the scarlet banksia. Native to the coastal sand dunes or the southern edge of Western Australia, Coccinea is considered the most picturesque, though by far not the biggest of the banksia flower spikes.

The blossoms of the scarlet banksia illustrate the signature qualities of this protea genus, a barrel-shape inflorescence with hundreds of tiny flowers mounted on a woody cone in corn-cob-like rows. The male flower parts are the white and the longer female ones are intensely red. A general reluctance to reflex keeps these structures or pistels looped back in on themselves until they are finally released at anthesis - the period during which a flower is fully open.

Nature’s Window

Creating a Nature’s Window is another simple way to bring a touch of nature indoors. This trendy, chic design showcases the entire flower, from stem to bloom transforming any space into a blooming botanical exhibition.

Our arrangements are only a start. In just a few simple steps you can create your own windows; and there are many ways to display them. One idea is to place several clear vases of the same size, or even different sizes down the length of the table versus using a traditional centerpiece. Or put a vase or two on a windowsill that faces the sun, allowing the light from outside to shine through the vase and through the blooms.

1. Pour 2 or 3 inches of water into the vase. Cut the flower stems to varying lengths. 
2. Position the shortest blooms in the vase. 
3. Repeat with all the flowers, adding them by height and inserting the tallest last.

Leucadendron Tango

Banksia Coccenaea

The Business of Banksia

There’s only one spot in the world where all 79 species of Banksia in existence grow and that’s in Kevin and Cathy Collins’ delightful five-hectare garden in Mount Barker, Western Australia. Kevin, who is also known as the ‘Banksia Man’, owns and runs The Banksia Farm in this sleepy wine-growing region of Australia. Kevin claims, “This was never a planned business, it’s a hobby gone mad.”

Kevin educates everyone from visiting school kids to botanists. “I don’t have a day’s botanical training,” he says. “I was just over in America lecturing on it.” He is the co-author of books on botany and is valued as an expert on Western Australia’s wildflowers in particular. As well as holding the most recently found banksia, the garden also has many of the world’s species of dryandra, which are closely related.

Kevin says the climate of Mount Barker has helped them grow all 79 species of banksia. The other thing that assisted them is the huge variety of soils. “We have everything from pH 4.5 to 6.5, and by moving them around we were able to mix and match and grow them all.”

Bronze Menziesii 

Oak Leaved Banksia 

Occidentalis

Coccinea 

Menziesii 

Coastal Banksia 

Kevin is quite animated as he explains why he loves banksias. “Many are killed by fire, and yet they’ve been around for 50-70 million years, he says. “They’re so diverse. Some need fire and follow-up rains to release seeds. And historically they’ve been used for so much.”