Hibbertia scandens or Guinea Flower is one of the most hardy and useful native plants I know of. It can be used as a ground cover, a low shrub, climber or it can even be pruned and shaped into lovely topiary shapes. In the images of this post I used it as a screening species growing on a weld mesh fence in a narrow difficult shady position which is also a wind tunnel. As you can see it is handling this hostile spot with ease and even looking quite lush and green.
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Hibbertia scandens is a local species along much of the eastern coastline, from Cape York to the NSW South Coast. It is common in wet sclerophyll forest and coastal dunes making it a very hardy and adaptable native plant.
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The large yellow flowers are around 5-6cm across and appear from Spring through to Summer, they are followed by showy fruit which splits to reveal red seeds.
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Another feature of this climber that I like is the reddish Pink new stems, you need to keep your eye out for them when establishing your Hibbertia scandens as a screen. Always train the climber along the horizontal axis first to where you need the coverage then allow the new stems to climb up to the higher trellis.
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Once the whole fence or trellis is covered you can then either prune off the new twining stems or feed them back into the trellis.
![](https://malleedesign.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/DSC05770-1024x683.jpeg)
This species is tolerant of coastal, salt laden winds and very sandy soil but can also be grown on clay as long as it doesn’t get boggy. It makes a great weed suppressant ground cover or low dense shrub if you dont mind regular pruning.
![](https://malleedesign.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/DSC05776-1024x1536.jpeg)
Hibbertia scandens gets very few diseases or pests and due to its long flowering period is great for pollinating insects. Its dense mounding shape also makes it a good habitat plant for lizards and small birds.
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So if you have a difficult position which calls for a climber this might be your answer.
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