This season is the first time I have had a decent flush of fruit on my Dianella caerulea and I have been pleasantly surprised by the taste, although it doesn’t hit the same spot as the midyim berry, it is actually tasty enough for me to pick and munch on whilst in the garden.

Not only is it reasonably flavoursome and sweet it also is very showy with the deep purple berries, they really stand out in the shady spots where I have them growing I know most people say it is too rampant to grow in their garden, but I am completely embracing its running habit and have planted it where I want it to take over.For instance under my big Eucalyptus where other things struggle or under the kids swings where it gets regularly trampled on and doesn’t give a damn. It makes a great soil stabiliser and weed suppressant too.

Dianella caerulea grows to almost a metre tall and sends out runners unto a metre from its parent, it has a lovely weeping habit and looks lush and green even in a drought – plenty of shelter for small birds like wrens and thornbills. I like to plant it with other stroppy leaved foliaged plants like Lomandras, Moraea robinsoniana and Cordylines. Another positive for Diannella is that the fruits are eaten and collected by Satin Bowerbirds who use them to beautify their bower nests.

Dianella also comes in many hybrid forms which are dwarf and not so invading, like Dianella ‘Breeze’ and Dianella ‘Little Jess’.