floria

ESTELLE THOMSON. A versatile little lady is Mrs. Estelle Thomson, the author of a charming booklet on Australian wild flowers. Living in happy domesticity in her home on the Eight Mile Plains, she is within easy reach of her beloved bush and its rich harvest of shrub and vine and flower. Mrs. Thomson chose her parents well, inheriting from one her love of nature, and from the other artistry that with a deft touch of pencil and brush can make form and colour the medium of her beauty. At the beginning of the year, Mrs. Thomson was elected as President of the Queensland Naturalist Club, an honour that has only been accorded to one other woman in this State. Botanists, of course, have named and labelled all our Queensland flowers. Mrs. Thomson is interested in an attempt being made to add fanciful descriptive names to many of these flowers—names that the children growing up will remember and love. Not content with helping her own three young Queenslanders to study nature, she has visited a country school week-in and week-out to teach the students there something of the joy and loveliness he found in bushland. A fitting title for her is surely this: "The little lady of the flowers." FLAME. Source: trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/182842542# The Week, 27, May 1931

Boronia pinnata or Pink Boronia is an open, spreading shrub with dark green sweetly scented leaves. It flowers profusely in spring producing sprays of fragrant, pretty light pink flowers. This Boronia is a popular cut flower in Australia and is one of the most attractive of all native species. Source: www.gardensonline.com.au/gardenshed/plantfinder/show_861....

The star-like flowers of the boronias have long enchanted bushwalkers in various parts of Australia from the east to the west coast. Add to this the delicate floral perfumes and cut flower qualities of species such as the brown boronia (B. megastigma) and you have a group of plants worthy of the attention of gardeners. It should be said, however, that boronias do not rank among the easiest of plants in the garden but it is fair to say that with the right attention to horticultural detail you can enjoy delightful displays of this outstanding group of Australian plants. If you treat boronias as short-lived perennial shrubs in your garden then you can enjoy them while they last without being overly disappointed if they do not become a more permanent part of the landscape. Boronias belong to the citrus family (Rutaceae) which is characterized by the presence of all kinds of interesting essential oils in the foliage and flowers. By holding a leaf up to a light source you will usually see translucent dots that represent the oil glands that are spread across each leaf. Crushing the foliage usually unleashes a scent that can vary from delightful to distressing, depending on which member of the family you are examining. Boronias are typical in this regard and foliage fragrances vary from the pleasing lemon-like Boronia citriodora to an odor, not unlike that left by a tom cat marking its territory as in B. pinnata. A number of the boronias also have wonderfully perfumed flowers such as brown boronia and native rose (Boronia serrulata). The Melbourne suburb Boronia was named for its historical connection with the highly perfumed brown boronia. Even though this species occurs naturally in Western Australia it was widely grown for its outstanding qualities as a cut flower by local councilor Albert Chandler who happened to also be a nurseryman and cut flower grower. Source: www.gardeningwithangus.com.au/boronias-for-beginners-2/