Where to find wildflowers in South Australia

Native wild­flow­ers are bring­ing colour to nation­al parks. Find out what’s bloom­ing near you.

SA is awash with colour, with wild­flow­ers bloom­ing in nation­al parks, reserves and by road­sides across the state, after heavy win­ter rains. 

It’s been a bumper sea­son for the state’s icon­ic Sturt’s Desert Pea, with Flinders and Out­back parks manger Philip Stra­chan telling ABC Ade­laide the flow­ers had bloomed ear­ly, and in num­bers not seen by locals in the area since 1974. 

“It’s like some­thing out of Scot­land. It’s phe­nom­e­nal,” Mr Stra­chan told the ABC. 

“I don’t think I’ve seen a more beau­ti­ful flower. It depends on what you’re into, but I just reck­on it’s an absolute crack­er look­ing flower.”

The famil­iar red and black still dom­i­nates, but the scale of this year’s bloom has made rar­er white, pink and pur­ple vari­a­tions eas­i­er to spot. 

Ade­laide Botan­ic Gar­den Senior Hor­ti­cul­tur­al Cura­tor Matt Coul­ter told the ABC seeds can wait dor­mant in arid soil for years until con­di­tions are right to germinate.

“It’s one of the most remark­able things you’ve ever seen,” Mr Coul­ter said. 

This spring, Mount Remark­able Nation­al Park and Spring Gul­ly Con­ser­va­tion Park are putting on an excep­tion­al wild­flower dis­play, with orchids, choco­late lilies, ear­ly nan­cy, native leek, bil­ly but­tons, red par­rot-peas and vibrant native shrubs flow­er­ing in abundance. 

Since the win­ter rains, there has been spec­tac­u­lar colour across both parks, draw­ing vis­i­tors to the Flinders Ranges and Clare Val­ley to expe­ri­ence some of South Australia’s finest wild­flower displays. 

If you live in met­ro­pol­i­tan Ade­laide and don’t have time to make a long trip, you can still find plen­ty of these lit­tle gems in the Ade­laide Hills, espe­cial­ly tiny but beau­ti­ful native orchids.

Here are some to look out for in South Aus­trali­a’s nation­al parks:

Flinders and Outback

Spring is a spec­tac­u­lar time in Vulkathun­ha-Gam­mon Ranges and Ikara-Flinders Ranges nation­al parks, with wat­tles, native hop­bush, mint bush and Sturt desert peas enhanc­ing the amaz­ing landscape.

At Witji­ra Nation­al Park, poached-egg daisies and parakylia are spread across the dunes. Look along creek lines for pur­ple ver­bines and Dar­ling lilies, and on the gib­ber plains for daisies, lantern bush­es and Swain­son peas.

In Innam­inc­ka Region­al Reserve, native gera­ni­ums, ere­mophi­la and daisies are start­ing to flower, espe­cial­ly along the creek lines.

Mount Remark­able Nation­al Park in the South­ern Flinders is only a few hours from Ade­laide, and spots like Alli­ga­tor Gorge will be full of wild­flow­ers as spring pro­gress­es. Some to look out for are the choco­late lily, with its vio­let flow­ers and dis­tinc­tive choco­late scent, ear­ly Nan­cy and native leek, and orchids such as the scent­ed sun orchid, pink fin­gers, spi­der orchid and dad­dy longlegs.

The Cle­land Link Trail from Crafers to Mount Lofty Sum­mit is close to the city and ide­al to vis­it, espe­cial­ly for those with­out cars. 

A bus from the city takes less than half an hour and you can walk up to Mount Lofty Sum­mit or into Cle­land Wildlife Park, enjoy­ing wild­flow­ers such as twig­gy beard­ed heath, shrub vio­let and orchids like green­hoods, sun orchids and don­key orchids along the way. Look for the trail­head signs on the north­ern side of the free­way off-ramp, near the bus interchange.

Mori­al­ta has a beau­ti­ful show of native orchids, includ­ing green­hood, mos­qui­to and hel­met orchids, and sun orchids will start flow­er­ing soon. 

They are vis­i­ble from the Three Falls Hike walk­ing trail, which takes you past the park’s three water­falls.

Ade­laide Hills and Fleurieu

Belair Nation­al Park, Cle­land, Mori­al­ta and Black Hill con­ser­va­tion parks, and Sturt Gorge and Shep­herds Hill recre­ation parks are all teem­ing with wildflowers.

NPWS Con­ser­va­tion Ecol­o­gist Antho­ny Abley said the above-aver­age rain­fall had set things up for an ​“excep­tion­al” wild­flower sea­son across the region.

“The extra soak­ing has kept soils damp well into spring, cre­at­ing lush con­di­tions in places like Cle­land Nation­al Park,” Mr Abley said.

“Deep Creek has been par­tic­u­lar­ly spec­tac­u­lar, with the fire scar com­ing alive in a sea of lilies and orchids. Some of our rar­er orchids, includ­ing Behr’s Cowslip Orchid and White Spi­der Orchids, have also record­ed some of their high­est counts we’ve seen,” he said.

Spring is a spec­tac­u­lar time in Vulkathun­ha-Gam­mon Ranges and Ikara-Flinders Ranges nation­al parks, with wat­tles, native hop­bush, mint bush and Sturt desert peas enhanc­ing the amaz­ing landscape.

At Witji­ra Nation­al Park, poached-egg daisies and parakylia are spread across the dunes. Look along creek lines for pur­ple ver­bines and Dar­ling lilies, and on the gib­ber plains for daisies, lantern bush­es and Swain­son peas.

In Innam­inc­ka Region­al Reserve, native gera­ni­ums, ere­mophi­la and daisies are start­ing to flower, espe­cial­ly along the creek lines.

Mount Remark­able Nation­al Park in the South­ern Flinders is only a few hours from Ade­laide, and spots like Alli­ga­tor Gorge will be full of wild­flow­ers as spring pro­gress­es. Some to look out for are the choco­late lily, with its vio­let flow­ers and dis­tinc­tive choco­late scent, ear­ly Nan­cy and native leek, and orchids such as the scent­ed sun orchid, pink fin­gers, spi­der orchid and dad­dy longlegs.

Clare Val­ley

Spring Gul­ly Con­ser­va­tion Park near Clare is also full of colour, with a gor­geous array of orchids, includ­ing spot­ted don­key orchids, shell orchids and blue fairies, and many oth­er wild­flow­ers such as bil­ly but­tons, with their yel­low puff­ball flow­ers, wood­land creamy can­dles, red par­rot-peas and ear­ly Nancy.

Want to grow native flow­er­ing plants in your home gar­den? The State Flo­ranurs­eries at Belair Nation­al Park and Mur­ray Bridge can help with a wide range of native plants, includ­ing trees, shrubs, ground cov­ers and bulbs.
 

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