September the 1st is National Wattle day, did you know that? I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t until fairly recently…whoops!
Wattle Day has quite a long history going back to when the Wattle became our National emblem, you can read more about it here http://www.wattleday.asn.au/about-wattle-day-1 What I find particularly interesting about this National Day of celebration is that there is starting to be a little bit of a push for Wattle Day to replace Australia Day, how wonderful!

So seeing it is Wattle Day I thought I might share some photos of one of my favourite wattles in full bloom, this is Acacia cognata, the all important parent to all those very popular dwarf varieties and the one and only ‘Lime Majic’ (Although I did hear last week that there might be a Dwarf form of Lime Majic out soon).

I had no idea Acacia cognata flowered so profusely especially when it is growing in shade as this one is, I have two in my garden and they are too are growing in heavily shaded positions.

One of the reasons this wattle appeals so much to me is of course for its soft weeping habit, it has long pendulous leaves that give the overall habit of the plant a shaggy appearance, that is incredibly tactile. Acacia cognata gets to about 5 or 6 metres tall and 3 to 4 wide, this make it an excellent small feature tree and it looks great planted in the open or under the shade of bigger, taller trees as seen below.

Most Acacias are winter flowering and will flower through Spring too, they give an early welcome to spring with their bright yellows, varying flower shapes and heady perfume. So celebrate Wattle Day, even if its just to stop and have a smell 😉