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In the dreary grey of a rainy or overcast winter’s day you may see an occasional burst of brilliant yellow in some gardens. Go to the Royal National Park and you will see masses of wattle trees alongside the roadways and bushwalks through July to September. There are 960 species of wattle in Australia and up to a third flower in winter, the rest flower throughout the year. This means that somewhere in Australia, no matter what time of year, a wattle is flowering.
Acacia longifolia, or the Sydney Golden Wattle, is a tree of up to about 6m (16') which flowers from July-October. The flowers are scented and attract insects and birds. The wonderful golden flower spikes in late winter and early spring are widely available throughout Australia. As the name suggests, the leaves are long, up to 20cm.
Wattles attract birds and bees for pollination and have a lot of pollen. The wattle will use any beetle, wasp or bee which lands on them to do the job of spreading their genes. This plant attracts bees, not by producing nectar, but the pollen itself, which is a rich source of protein for the bee. Mites and thrips feed on the flowers, then beetles and wasps prey on those insects. Birds are then attracted to eat the beetles and in turn become pollinators.
Plant wattles to help enrich the soil (they bind nitrogen into the soil) and as quick growing plants to prevent soil erosion.
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