MY FAVOURITE GARDEN FLOWERS

I rather had to cheat when I came to the letter "Q" but we do have two of these growing in our garden so thought it was only a tiny cheat as they are rather beautiful and have a lovely sweet scent:

QUEENSLAND PITTOSPORUM is an evergreen small to medium tree with glossy leathery leaves and heads of small white flowers followed in autumn by clusters of bright orange berries with black seeds. It is also known as 'sweet pittosporum".  It is native to eastern Australia, where it grows in rainforest, wet and dry sclerophyll forest and woodland.  It is adaptable to a range of acid soils, and is hardy to frost and will grow in either full sun or part shade.

Pittosporum are sometimes attacked by leaf miners which leave lines of brown blisters along the surface of the leaves.   Ours have looked quite unsightly at times after the leaf miners have paid a visit, particularly the shrub in the front garden.

Don Burke's fact sheet states that this plant has become a weed in all states of Australia except the Northern Territory.  We have had our two shrubs for many years and never have they seeded down and I have never seen any birds eating the seeds, although that of course doesn't mean they don't when I am not watching.