This guy is a Great Carpenter bee (Xylocopa aruana), the largest of Australia’s native bees. If you want to attract these big beauties to your garden, I suggest you plant something from the family Melastomataceae. This family of flowering plants includes all the beautiful varieties of Tibouchina and our own Australian Native Lassiandra or Blue Tongue (Melastoma affine), shown in this picture.
Melastoma affine is an evergreen rainforest shrub growing to 2.5 metres tall, making it a great choice for hedging or as a feature specimen. Tibouchina varieties range in size from small shrubs (eg. ‘Jules’ and ‘Jazzie’) to small tree size (eg. ‘Alstonville’ and ‘Kathleen’) so you’ll find one to suit any size garden. Tibouchinas come in a range of flower colours including white, shades of pink, lilac and purple. Melastoma affine and Tibouchina sp. are fast growing and love sunny positions with moist, well-draining soil. Trimming them after flowering encourages dense foliage.
When I see a Tibouchina blooming I always get a feeling of nostalgia. My Grandparents had a large, gnarly old Tibouchina tree in their front yard next to their mailbox. When it was in bloom you could tell which house was theirs from the end of the street by the mass of vibrant purple flowers.
Come see our range of Tibouchina varieties in store today and add a fantastic pop of colour to your gardens.
Another native Australian tree with spectacular flowers is the Ivory curl (Buckinghamia celsissima). At this time of year, they are abundantly covered in long ivory coloured, sweet smelling, nectar filled flowers. Loved by many species of bees, beetles, butterflies and birds, this tree is a great addition to wildlife gardens. Ivory curl trees grow well in full sun to part shade positions, they are dry tolerant when established and can grow in a range of soil types. In warmer regions of Australia these trees grow to around 8 metres tall but in cooler climates they will only grow to the size of a large shrub. Ivory curls are often used as street trees and they make great feature specimens or can be mass planted as a screen.
We have a range of sizes of Ivory curl trees available at Nursery Traders.