Once Upon A Time we used to travel to lands far, far away. However just because that’s not possible for now, it shouldn’t mean we can’t have our fairy tale. It’s time to explore, be home among the gumtrees, and marvel at our own backyard. And what a stunning backyard we have! One that is alive with the most exquisite native flowers.
So, to celebrate this bounty and bring the fairy tale right to your doorstep, the amazing team at Flowers Across Australia has launched their range of bouquets incorporating many native blooms and grasses. Not only have they chosen the best of what Australia’s nature got to offer, they're beautiful, dried flower arrangements are also right on trend and will last for up to two years.
For all the nature lovers, backyard adventurers, interior designers and romantics, here are our top five Australian Native Flowers. We will also dive into some home decor tips and ideas to achieve the look yourself.
1. Banksia Baxteri
It makes perfect sense to us that this native of Western Australia is commonly known as the Birds Nest Banksia. Its lovely lemon coloured, oval flower spike really looks a bit like a nest perched on a solid, straight branch – just a bit uncomfortable perhaps. As far as drying goes, Banksias are actually super easy to work with. Their woody stems don’t carry as much moisture as most flowers so they can just be left to dry in a vase and will hold their shape – no hanging upside down needed. Once dried, their large flower head will add a nice natural hue to your bouquet and will be a great focal point when paired with gum or dainty grasses. A perfect example of how to let the Banksia shine and how flowers and foliage chosen complement each other is the Waltzing Matilda Dried Flower Bouquet. With its earthy tones, this one will always be a timeless beauty in any room.
2. Billy Button
For a pop of saffron yellow happiness, you cannot go past the Billy Button. The name is cute, the flower is pretty and versatile, and you’ll find it widespread across Australia – and New Zealand – from coastal regions to the mountains. Billy Buttons can grow up to 50 cm, with a straight stem, so will add height to your flower arrangement. They’ll be happy in a vase for 8 – 10 days but if you want to keep them as dried flowers, then air-dry them by hanging them upside down in a cool and dark place. Here’s the cool thing about these charming buttons: They’ll add interest, colour and a bit of sunshine to any dried floral arrangement, but they are equally exquisite and timeless in a simple vase all by themselves. For some handy hints on how to grow your own Billy Buttons, check out this guide.
3. Emu Feather Fern
This fern is quite widespread in Australia, but perhaps most commonly at home around New South Wales’s coastal regions, around Sydney as well as the Blue Mountains. It’s a vividly green, graceful plant and can grow up to 120 cm. Emu Feather Ferns are long stemmed, with a fan of elegant, feather-like foliage. Dried and preserved, they lose their colour and turns into this rather delicate, soft white and feathery leaf. Grandfather’s beard is another common name for it, and we can totally see why. It will add a dainty elegance and texture to any arrangement. For inspiration, have a look at the Native Glow Dried Flower Bouquet from the creative minds at Flowers Across Australia. Here the Emu Feather Fern adds a soft touch to the rustic Banksia, contrasts the gum foliage and adds a lightness to the whole arrangement.
4. Preserved Misty
What starts its life as Limonium or Sea Lavender in the salt marshes and mud flats along Australia’s East Coast, somehow ends up being called Misty by the time it’s dried and preserved. And much like its name, it will have gone through quite the transformation by then, the most obvious one being the change in colour to a bright natural off-white hue. That said, you can get it dried professionally in a range of hues. The lovely Mistys are fantastic fillers in any arrangement, adding lightness and neutral tones and ultimately softening a bouquet. Like with most blooms and grasses, it’s best to hang them upside down in a cool and dark place to dry them if you plan to do so yourself. The alternative is of course, to buy them from the professionals. It means that your dried foliage has been preserved to a high standard and will likely last longer. It also gives you the added bonus of having a choice of colours. Mistys are the ultimate companion plant – the fairy dust for your bouquet. But as with most of the dried flowers and grasses here, they’ll also very happily stand their own ground.
5. Lotus
Not to be confused with waterlilies, the Sacred Lotus is a native to Northern Australia and can be grown from seed in the right climate. If you ever get the chance to take a cruise through the Corroboree Billabong in the Mary River Wetlands in summer or autumn, you’ll be surrounded by a sea of beautiful pale white to deep purple flowers. For dried flower arrangements, it’s the pods we want though. With its flat top and seedpods, it will an eye-catching, sculptural piece in any bouquet, With its dark, earthy tones, it will contrast beautifully against some of the lighter and brighter grasses but also against the greens of the gum leaves. Have a look at how dried lotus flowers add stunning contrast, colour and shape to the Australiana Dried Flower Bouquet. For a modern, minimalist look, add a couple of lotus pots to a narrow vessel on their own!
Source: Unsplash
Are you feeling inspired yet? Have we given you enough to get started? To be honest, the vibe about dried floral arrangements has carried on like a massive Mexican wave for some time now; we believe we’ve only just scratched the surface with our ideas and tips and this list is by no means exhaustive. That said, because dried flower bouquets, event arrangements, wedding centrepieces and the use of dried foliage in interior design is such a big hit, there’s also a wealth of information out there.
For the visual people amongst us, try #driedflowersdecor on Insta. For the explorers and green thumbs, this article is a comprehensive guide to Australia’s wonderful native flowers. And for all the interior designers, decorators, and creative people amongst us, well, you just cannot get past Pinterest.
Now that we have inspired you to go bush exploring for your own Australian Native flowers, perhaps you would like to learn how to preserve your own. We have prepared a comprehensive guide on all things dried flowers, you can check it out here.
Alternatively, if you want to purchase a ready made dried flower bouquet, check out our new Australian Natives Dried Flower Collection below:
Whether you get yourself a ready made, stunning bouquet of dried Australian flowers from our new collection, or whether you go out and see what you can find. Either way, you’ll end up bringing the beauty of nature inside, with a little bit of Australian native glow, gum leaves and all.
And if you have any questions or special requests, need to know more about how to care for your dried flowers, then check in with us at service@floweracrossaustralia.com.au, or give us a call on Phone: 03 7036 3317. We’ll always be happy to help. Let us know how you get on.
