15 early spring flowering Australian natives across climate zones
Through August and into September, while temperatures are still cold overnight and the days are short, a first wave of native plants comes into flower. These are not the bold summer bloomers, but they reward the gardener paying attention.
The first native wildflowers of spring appear weeks before most gardeners expect them — from alpine meadows and coastal heaths to WA sandplains and dry woodland.
The fifteen plants here span the six major climate zones of Australia. What they share is a flowering window that opens ahead of the main spring flush, when pollinators are emerging and the season is turning.
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1. Narrow-leaf bitter pea (Daviesia leptophylla)
Narrow-leaf bitter pea is among the earliest pea flowers in the south-eastern bush. The small yellow flowers with deep maroon markings appear in dense clusters along broom-like stems from August, often weeks before the surrounding understorey responds to the lengthening days. It is drought tolerant, handles moderate frost and establishes well in poor soils. Plant in well-drained soil in full sun. Do not fertilise with high-phosphorus formulations.
Narrow-leaf bitter pea (Daviesia leptophylla) — small yellow and maroon pea flowers produced in dense clusters from August, among the earliest of the southern bush's pea-flower display.
2. Matted bush pea (Pultenaea pedunculata)
Matted bush pea is a prostrate, spreading groundcover that produces masses of orange-yellow pea flowers with reddish markings from early spring through summer. Individual stems can spread to several metres wide while remaining only 20cm high, making it one of the most effective low flowering groundcovers in the south-eastern native palette. The cultivars 'Pyalong Gold' and 'Pyalong Pink' are more widely available than the straight species. It is drought and frost tolerant once established and handles coastal conditions. Worth noting: the straight species is listed as endangered in NSW, though common in VIC, SA and TAS. Prune lightly after the main flowering flush to maintain density.
Matted bush pea (Pultenaea pedunculata) — a prostrate spreader that covers bare ground in orange-yellow pea flowers from August; one of the most floriferous native groundcovers for cooler temperate gardens.
3. Soft crane's bill (Geranium potentilloides)
Soft crane's bill is a small, softly hairy perennial native geranium of moist grasslands and shaded forest margins. The flowers are small, white to pale pink with fine veining. The plant produces them continuously from August through summer in a low mat of finely cut leaves. It is one of the earliest native herb flowers in the cool temperate south-east, appearing reliably in sheltered positions from late winter. It suits the garden as a groundcover filler under taller shrubs in moist, shaded positions where little else will flower at this time of year.
Soft crane's bill (Geranium potentilloides) — small white-pink flowers in a low mat from late winter; an underrated native groundcover for moist, shaded garden positions.
4. Narrow-leaf hovea (Hovea linearis)
Narrow-leaf hovea produces its deep purple pea flowers in August and September. The flowers are clustered along slender stems above narrow, dark green leaves. It grows naturally in the understorey of dry sclerophyll forest in the south-east and suits a sheltered, part-shaded garden position in free-draining, acidic soil. It is a food plant for the larvae of several native butterfly species.
Narrow-leaf hovea (Hovea linearis) — deep purple pea flowers in August and September, one of the few genuinely purple wildflowers of the south-eastern bush at this time of year.
5. Twining glycine (Glycine clandestina)
Twining glycine is a delicate, fine-stemmed native climber that threads through surrounding shrubs from late winter, producing small pale pink to lilac pea flowers through early spring. It is one of the most widely distributed native legumes in southern Australia, occurring naturally from coastal heath to dry woodland and alpine margins. In a garden it climbs lightly through an open shrub or fence without causing damage, and flowers reliably without any intervention.
Twining glycine (Glycine clandestina) — pale pink to lilac pea flowers on fine stems from August; a delicate climber that threads through other plants without competing with them.
Why natives flower before spring
The trigger for early spring flowering is not warmth — it is day length. As days lengthen through July and August, a group of Australian natives responds to the photoperiod signal rather than waiting for temperatures to rise. This places them in flower when pollinators are emerging from winter dormancy and competition for those pollinators is at its lowest.
For the gardener, this means a planting that includes early spring flowerers extends the pollinator-supporting season backward from the conventional spring peak into the months when native bees, honeyeaters and other insects are most in need of a resource.
6. Woolly pomaderris (Pomaderris lanigera)
Woolly pomaderris is one of the most generous early spring performers in the south-eastern bush. Through August and September the entire crown covers in dense clusters of small yellow flowers. The woolly, silver-grey undersides of the leaves provide year-round textural interest and the plant is effective as an informal screen or windbreak. It grows naturally along moist gullies and creek margins in the south-east and performs best with reliable moisture in the root zone.
Woolly pomaderris (Pomaderris lanigera) — dense clusters of yellow flowers smother the canopy through August and September, one of the most striking early spring displays of any east coast shrub.
7. Willow-leaved hakea (Hakea salicifolia)
Willow-leaved hakea is one of the earliest native trees to flower, beginning in July and continuing through to October. The small, cream-white flowers are produced in clusters along the stems, fragrant and visited by honeyeaters and native bees from the first warm days of late winter. As a garden plant it is fast-growing, tolerates clay and a range of soil conditions and makes an effective screen. The narrow, bright green leaves give it a fine texture year-round.
Willow-leaved hakea (Hakea salicifolia) — cream-white flowers from July along narrow-leaved stems; one of the earliest large shrubs to flower in the east coast native garden.
8. Olive-leaf grevillea (Grevillea olivacea)
Olive-leaf grevillea is a WA species that produces its red and cream spider flowers through winter and into early spring — one of the earliest grevilleas to come into full colour in the southwest. The flowers are a significant nectar resource for honeyeaters at a time when the WA bush is beginning its spring flowering sequence. It is drought tolerant once established, handles alkaline soils better than many grevilleas and suits Mediterranean and dry temperate gardens in WA and SA. See the full guide to growing grevilleas by climate zone.
Olive-leaf grevillea (Grevillea olivacea) — red and cream spider flowers against dark olive foliage from winter into early spring; a reliable early-season nectar plant for WA and SA gardens.
9. Grevillea 'Evelyn's Coronet'
Grevillea 'Evelyn's Coronet' is a garden cultivar with soft pink toothbrush-style flower heads produced through winter and into early spring. It is compact enough for a suburban garden, tolerates light frost and is notably more adaptable to humid conditions than many grevilleas. The flower colour is a soft, dusty pink with a dark centre. Prune lightly after the main flowering flush to maintain shape.
Grevillea 'Evelyn's Coronet' — soft pink toothbrush flower heads from winter into early spring; a compact and adaptable cultivar for subtropical to warm temperate gardens.
10. Sweet bursaria (Bursaria spinosa)
Sweet bursaria is one of the most important early spring flowering shrubs. Its masses of small white flowers provide a major nectar and pollen source at a time when most other plants are not yet in flower. In its natural habitat it is a critical species for early-emerging native bees, beetles and flies. It is a thorny plant and this structure provides important nesting habitat for small birds. It suits a wide range of soils and conditions and is one of the most broadly adaptable large white-flowering natives available across southern Australia. Handle with thorn-proof gloves.
Sweet bursaria (Bursaria spinosa) — masses of small white flowers from August across a thorny canopy; one of the most ecologically important early spring plants in southern Australia.
11. Tall bluebell (Wahlenbergia stricta)
Tall bluebell is one of the most widely distributed native wildflowers in southern Australia. The clear blue to violet bell flowers appear from September on slender upright stems above a low rosette of leaves, and in a grassland or open woodland setting a colony in flower creates one of the most characteristically Australian spring scenes. In the garden it suits a sunny, well-drained position in low-nutrient soil. It combines naturally with native grasses and grassland plants and self-seeds reliably where conditions suit.
Tall bluebell (Wahlenbergia stricta) — clear blue to violet bell flowers from September on slender stems; one of the most widely distributed and most underused native wildflowers in southern Australia.
12. Common fringe lily (Thysanotus tuberosus)
Common fringe lily is one of the most beautiful small wildflowers in the Australian flora. The flowers last only a single day, which means a plant in full flower presents a continuously renewed display over several weeks. It grows from underground tubers and dies back completely in dry summers, re-emerging reliably after autumn rains. Plant in a sunny, well-drained position in low-nutrient soil. Because of the single-day flower longevity, the best time to look at a plant in flower is before noon.
Common fringe lily (Thysanotus tuberosus) — three deeply fringed mauve petals, each flower lasting a single day; one of the most intricate wildflower displays in the Australian spring flora.
13. Austral stork's bill (Pelargonium rodneyanum)
Austral stork's bill is a native pelargonium, a geranium relative that produces vivid magenta-pink flowers from September in dry, rocky grassland and open woodland. It is drought tolerant, handles poor soils and rocky conditions, and dies back in hot dry summers before reshooting from a tuberous root. In a garden it suits a sunny, well-drained position — a rockery, a dry bank or the edge of a gravel path — where its compact habit and vivid spring colour can be used as a seasonal accent. Virtually maintenance-free once established.
Austral stork's bill (Pelargonium rodneyanum) — vivid magenta-pink flowers from September in dry, rocky grassland; one of the most intensely coloured small wildflowers of the dry temperate south-east.
14. Blue lechenaultia (Lechenaultia biloba)
Blue lechenaultia produces a blue so saturated it looks almost artificial. The flowers smother the plant from winter through spring against fine, grey-green foliage. It is endemic to WA, where it grows on sandy, free-draining soils in full sun, and those conditions are non-negotiable in cultivation — it will not tolerate clay, poor drainage or humid east coast summers. For Perth and Mediterranean-climate gardens it is one of the most rewarding small shrubs available.
Gnangarra, CC BY 3.0 AU, via Wikimedia Commons
Blue lechenaultia (Lechenaultia biloba) — an intensely saturated blue that is almost unique in the Australian native flora, produced in masses through winter and spring on WA sandplains.
15. Large-flowered mirbelia (Mirbelia platylobioides)
Large-flowered mirbelia is a prostrate, spreading shrub from the heathland and dry sclerophyll of the Blue Mountains and surrounding ranges of NSW. The flowers are among the largest of any mirbelia: each flower up to 18mm across. The prostrate habit and sandstone origin make it a natural candidate for a sunny, well-drained rockery or raised bed in free-draining, acidic soil. It is difficult to source outside specialist native nurseries in the Sydney region — but for gardeners within its range it is one of the most rewarding early spring finds.
Allthingsnative, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Large-flowered mirbelia (Mirbelia platylobioides) — yellow to orange flowers with a deep red centre, among the largest pea flowers in the genus, produced from August on sandstone heathland near the Blue Mountains.
Planting for the early season
For pollinators emerging from dormancy, the early spring window is when a reliable nectar source matters most — competition from other flowers is at its lowest and energy reserves built up over winter are being spent. A garden that has something in flower from August is doing more for the local pollinator community than one that does not come alive until October.
Lomandra longifolia in early spring — the cream flower spikes appear from August, modest individually but produced in quantity and an important resource for native bees at the start of the season.
The plants on this list represent a range of heights, habits and climate zones, but they share a useful garden characteristic: most of them require no special treatment beyond the right soil, drainage and position. They flower because the days are lengthening, not because the gardener has intervened. Once established they will continue to bloom reliably without requiring anything in return.
Yellow boronia in early spring — one of many small native shrubs that time their flowering to coincide with the first emergence of native bees in August and September.
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