Grevillea Honey Gem is one of Australia’s favourite garden plants.

It is quite fast growing but will take around five years to reach its optimum height of around 3-4 metres by around 2-3 metres in width.

With its attractive, ferny foliage it makes a good screen or informal hedge – but of course its main attraction are the wonderful golden flowers that are produced for most of the year.

Honey Gem is perhaps the most famous ‘Queensland’ cultivar, being a cross between Grevillea pteridifolia and Grevillea banksii and was the first compact golden orange coloured Grevillea created.

But not content with just looking spectacular, the flowers also positively drip with nectar and will attract a multitude of birds, bees and insects to your garden.

Lorakeets in particular will swarm all over them first thing in the morning when pickings are at their best.

And these are easy to keep plants – happy in warm and cooler climates – even being able to handle a light frost.

All they need is a trim now and then after flowering – it helps keep them a bit more compact and they will fill out well when pruned back a bit harder.

Being an Australian native they don’t like phosphorous much so be careful to avoid regular fertilisers – best to use a low phosophorous product like Bush Tucker – or even just ordinary Blood and Bone which is naturally slow release and full of all the other nutrients Grevillea like.

Grevillea Honey Gem is rightfully the queen of Australian natives – a title earned by so many wonderful attributes.