To be honest I didn’t realise this lovely medium shrub hailed from the West, silly me. I think I assumed Darwinias were local to coastal NSW due to the prominence of taxifolia and fascicularis when I go bushwalking close to home. They are a stunning Genus, all have intresting leaf structure and get covered in reddish flowers in Winter and Spring.

The flowers are borne in slightly pendulous terminal clusters of four or more and hang a little like tiny lanterns.

Darwinia citriodora is a small to medium shrub growing anywhere from 0.5m to 1.5m high and around 1 metre wide. It loves a well drined soil in part to full sun and is reasonably frost tolerant. However this native species does not appreciate humidity at all, if you are growing in an area where Summers can be sticky it is best to plant it in the part shade.

Darwinia citriodora respondes well to tip pruning and can easily be shaped into a dense screen, border plant of as in the image above as a mid-layer specimen.

There is so much texture in the leaves and they will often colour with the weather, turning from blue green, to purple to red. This native shrub makes an excellent small bird habitat plant due to it nectar rich flowers and compact habit.

Another most excellent feature of Darwinia citriodora is its lightly lemony scented leaves and flowers, when pruning or brushing against this native shrub the citronella oil in the leaf is freed.