Fraser Island’s (K’gari) heathlands are home to several banksia species, including the wallum banksia and coastal banksia — hardy, sculptural shrubs and trees that thrive in pure sand and salt air where few other plants can. Flower spikes on some species grow to an impressive 20 centimetres, and each spike carries hundreds to thousands of individual flowers, creating a genuine nectar feast for lorikeets, honeyeaters, flying foxes and sugar gliders.
These hardy natives draw life from nutrient-poor sand, and their sweet scent drifts through the coastal air, especially at dawn and dusk when wildlife activity peaks.
Closer to home, two ancient banksia specimens stand right in the backyard at Orchid Blue — old growth trees that were already mature when the block was cleared in the late 1980s, and arguably more than 150 years old today. Gnarled, sculptural, and still blooming with vitality, they’re visible right from the decks — sit beneath their twisted limbs with a morning coffee, or watch the lorikeets dance among their flowers at sunset.