Greetings fellow Foxies,
The peak of the flowering season has past and the drive-snap crowd has departed, but for observant nature lover there is beauty in post-flowering new plant growth. Proteaceae are particularly intriguing with a myriad of shapes and colours and woolly or hairy growth. These plants are superbly adapted to thrive in the lateritic soils that they create.
I am so lucky to be able to observe the annual cycle of life- death- rebirth of the plants and animals in Foxes Lair. It provides a reality check in the increasingly chaotic outside world.

Despite profuse flower numbers, proteaceae produce relatively few viable seeds, so another way to tell the difference is flower position. Hakea flowers emerge from the junction where the leaf joins the stem (the axil), whereas grevillea flower clusters are generally at the end of the shoot. Flowers range from being insignificant (see Hakea incrassata below) to stunningly beautiful.
In June flowering Honeybush (Hakea lissocarpa) plants (below) are dotted throughout the gravel areas. Most are white with the occasional pink variant. Bees love them.

Greetings fellow Foxies,
Grevilleas are family Proteaceae plants that are often confused with hakeas. As a general rule of thumb, grevilleas have flowers at the end of the shoot (terminal), and have papery seed capsules instead of hard nuts.
There are only two grevilleas in Foxes Lair., but several hakeas.
 Grevillea tenuiflora/Tassel grevillea  is a beautiful but atypical grevillea with narrow clustered flowers and a mildly rude pistil.
It has unusual and stunning flowers that remind me of a picture of marine spoon worms that my daughter sent from Korea. Koreans call them gaebul (penis fish), and consume them with relish to enhance their (ahem) vigour. Without claiming efficacy, I recommend a stroll on the Banksia walk in September to see masses of the flowers. Latin scholars amongst you know that tenuiflora is a taxonomist’s way of saying ‘narrow flower’.

Grevillea leptobotrys/Tangled Grevillea is a great ground cover type plant that flowers on Banksia Walk brown stony loamy gravels in November/December. Its germination is also stimulated by fire

Hemiparasites such as the lush flowering Nuytsia floribunda/Christmas tree steal moisture and nutrients from adjoining plants. 
Microstilt plants reduce exposure to high soil temperatures by elevating the plant above the soil.