Only a short walk today from the Visitor Information Centre (VIC) to the environs of the café.

1. As you leave the VIC look left across the paving to see Helichrysum rutidolepis [Section 212], or Pale Everlasting, which has yellow ball flower heads on grey foliage. This plant is native to southeastern Australia, including Tasmania.
2. Now turn to see on your right Correa alba [Section 221] with grey-green leaves and white star flowers. This correa is a popular and reliable plant in the garden. It is native to eastern coastal regions of Australia from northern New South Wales to Tasmania and eastern South Australia.
3. On the right of the VIC entrance in a pot is Banksia victoriae [Section 221], or Woolly Orange Banksia, with attractive grey-green toothed foliage and very large orange flower heads. This plant is found around Geraldton and Perth in Western Australia.
4. Just before you cross the bridge to the café on your left is Xanthorrhoea glauca subsp. angustifolia [Section 60], a large grass tree with rippling grey-green linear foliage. This plant is found in the wild in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
5. On your right is an even larger grass tree, Xanthorrhoea arborea [Section 60], which can grow a trunk up to two metres tall. This plant is found in a restricted area from Rylstone to Sydney in New South Wales.
6. Go over the bridge and cross the lawn near the café to see on your right Correa ‘Canberra Bells’ [Section 243], a low spreading bush with red bell flowers with white tips. This cultivar was developed by local plant breeder Peter Ollerenshaw to mark the Centenary of Canberra in 2013.
7. Further on your right is Correa ‘Summer Belle’ [Section 243], with pink bell flowers with greenish tips. This cultivar was developed from seedling that arose in the garden of Neil Marriott in Stawell, Victoria.
8. Again on your right is Callistemon viminalis ‘Wild River’ [Section 243], a small tree with bright red “bottle-brush” flower heads.
9. Cross the lawn to the path to the Crosbie Morrison Building to see on your right Crowea exalata ‘Southern Stars’ [Section 240], a dainty bush with dark green foliage and pink star flowers.
10. On your right is a Banksia species [Section 240], with stunning new brown cones with reddish tops.
11. Turn left up the hill to see on your right Callistemon ‘Baroondah Station’ [Section 310], a tall shrub with a graceful pendulous habit and pink flowers.
12. Also on the right is Callistemon viminalis [Section 310], a medium-sized tree with drooping foliage and brilliant red flowers. This plant is also known as Weeping Bottlebrush, and often grows along watercourses in its native New South Wales and Queensland.
13. On your left is Crowea ‘Cooper’s Hybrid’ [Section 240], a neat bush with dark green foliage and pink star flowers.This cultivar is a cross between Crowea exalata and C. saligna and arose as a seedling in the garden of Mrs. R. Cooper of Turramurra, New South Wales in 1983.
14. Also on your left is Thomasia petalocalyx [Section 240], or Paper Flower, a small bush with pinkish-mauve flowers and striking brown anthers. It is a native of the drier parts of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
15. Turn right to see on your left Banksia spinulosa var. spinulosa [Section 131], or Hairpin Banksia, which is found in open forests and woodlands of the coasts and mountains of New South Wales and Queensland.

Rosalind Walcott