An ode to wattle: the perfect winter blossom

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Our wattle species have been enshrined in Australia since Aboriginal communities first used the plant for food, fuel, medicine and craft.

In colonial times, the plant was formally named for the use of springy stems in wattle-and-daub huts by settlers.

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It has since inspired musings and high praise from many a writer, botanist and historian.

“In spring, the most delicate feathery yellow of plumes and plumes and plumes and trees and bushes of wattle,” D.H. Lawrence wrote.

“As if angels had flown right down out of the softest gold regions of heaven to settle here, in the Australian bush.”

For many, the golden wattle has become a symbol of unity as time has passed - the species is uniquely suited to endure Australia's harsh conditions from droughts and bushfires to icy winds.

Its resilience is akin to the resilience of Australian people.

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Luckily for us, winter and spring is the best time to enjoy our nation's 960 species of flowering wattles - in the bush or your garden.

Our national species - the golden wattle - usually begins flowering in late July through to the beginning of September, signaling the start of Spring.

This year, it's blossomed a little earlier - and we certainly need it while enduring our fifth lockdown amid a cold snap across the region.

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Golden wattle though, like many of life's most enjoyable things, is a transient plant.

Its lifespan isn't long, with each species only surviving for about 10 years.

Ten years to enjoy its delicately scented blossom, and its lush yellow flowers in the midst of a cold, dreary winter.

So take a walk around Shepparton's Victoria Park Lake, or follow a track along the Goulburn River, and soak up magnificent flashes of yellow wattle brightening our landscape.

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