Paper Daisies
A pressed flower is a moment trapped between the weight of pages…..saved for another time. But as time passes the flower’s petals loose their colour and shape, becoming something else altogether. A new kind of beauty.
Not the Paper Daisies of Western Australia though. They stand as tall as they did in their glory even as dried flowers holding their pinks and yellows as if time hasn’t passed at all.
“These pink and white everlastings are the quintessential iconic Australian wildflowers.
When the droves of tourists come to Mullewa and ask where the everlastings are these are, these are usually the type they have in mind (although this variety does not actually occur naturally in that area!)
Named “everlasting” as the petals are dry like tissue paper and if cut and hung to dry upside down they can last for years in perfect condition – even keeping their colour!
I have flowers that I pressed as a child over 30 years old that have only slightly faded.
I love how the inside of some of these flowers contain small black dotted circles like an Aboriginal dot painting – isn’t nature amazing? ”
Helen Ansell
“Different plants of this one species grow either pink or white flowers. Common names are Rosy Sunray or Pink Paper Daisy. They are mainly found in Western Australia’s Gascoyne, Murchison, Wheatbelt, Goldfields and less frequently in the Pilbara and Interior, with some even in South Australia.
Plants spring up when conditions are right, during warm sunny weeks, after germinating rain, with flowers appearing 10 to 12 weeks after germination and lasting for 2 to 10 weeks. Fruit appears approximately 4 weeks after flowering.
Flowering generally occurs in the wild from August to November, mainly governed by location – earlier in the east and north and later in the south. In a good year they carpet the countryside. The plants prefer full sun through to dappled shade and grow well in open woodland.
Grown in full shade they tend to be long and spindly. They thrive in well-drained sandy soils but are smaller when growing in heavy, clay soils.”
Don Miller
These flowers are held in Australian’s hearts as reminders of happy seasons and fields of colour.
Kings Park in Perth is a-blush with them in September when they hold their wildflower festival. Below is a photo of Helen sat in Kings Park amongst the flowers she is inspired by.
It seems fitting that her prints featuring these and other wildflowers of regional Australia are available at Aspects of Kings Park. A Fine Art Print or any piece of art is another way to trap a memory so that it doesn’t fade with passing time.
Paper Daisies is now available for purchase as part of the Helen Ansell Fine Art Print Collection.
