Not only are the clusters of bell shaped, nodding flowers of Tetratheca ‘Bibelles’ enchanting when at their peak in spring, they are also a feature just about year round. This is one of those little shrubs (it grows just 50 centimetres high and about 60 centimetres wide) that is dainty looking, with its fine green foliage and dainty flowers, but is also easy to grow. It likes a good soil and a cool root run, which can be achieved by mulching with compost or decayed leaves, and grows happily in sun or a little shade.
It’s charming at the front of a shrub border or mass planted beside paths and patios. It also does very well in a container where its prolific and prolonged flowering is a real advantage, as is its compact habit.
Little care is needed, as it seems to be untroubled by pests or diseases, and is such a tidy grower that only an occasional very light trimming is required to keep it shapely.
In the garden this eastern Australian native is a stunning shrub to grow as a group. When mass planted it becomes a low maintenance feature too.
When combined with other very compact, easy care, free flowering, evergreen shrubs with similarly small foliage it looks stunning. It mixes well with little shrubs such as Zieria ‘Pink Crystals’, which is a very tidy grower and has lots of small, powder-pink flowers which start to open in winter and carry on for months, well into spring. Another stunning companion is Acmadenia ‘Starblush’, with pink flowers for much of the year on a 50 centimetre high bush.
It also works well as a foreground plant for the taller growing Loropetalum ‘China Pink’.
There are some intriguing possibilities for combining Acmadenia ‘Starblush’ with ground cover plants such as Geranium incanum, a real ground hugger which has lilac flowers for most of the year. It’s also mighty impressive when positioned behind a group of shiny black mondo grass, Ophiopogon ‘Nigrescens’.
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Schemes & Themes
using Liddle Wonder Plants