Consistent autumn rains have again contributed to early sightings of wildflowers in the northern regions of the Western Australian outback.
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Wildflowers transform the region into a kaleidoscope of colour between July and October each year. But the ideal weather is having local experts predicting another bumper wildflower season.
Shelley Bogden from Mellenbye Station in Yalgoo has shared exciting videos of wreath flowers, reporting more than 400 of the plants starting to flower on her property.
Morawa Visitors Centre chairman Paul Offszanka said sprinklings of orchids and everlastings have also started to appear.
"Wreath plants have been sighted for several months now and are starting to show a few petals as well as bush like wattle, hakea, grevillea, thryptomene, hibbertia and dampiera," he said.
Frances Pollock at Wooleen Station in Murchison said the early rains have again started off the wildflower season well.
"They will continue to improve but we're seeing patches of everlastings, bachelor buttons, brachycomes, mulla mulla flowering now. Plus the acacias have been flowering on and off since the big rain in March." She said.
Home to the biggest display of wildflowers in the world - both in size and in species - WA puts on quite the show to celebrate the end of winter every year.
In fact, with more than 12,000 different varieties, the Gascoyne-Murchison, Wheatbelt and Goldfields together form the most diverse wildflower region on Earth.
There's plenty of time to plan a trip, making use of prepared Wildflower Trail Itineraries and outback wildflower information on the Australia's Golden Outback website. While on the road, the best way to source of information on where to see wildflowers are the local visitor centres throughout the region.
Learn about wildflower season in WA by visiting one of these pages:
- Outback Wildflowers for a great overview of what to expect, month by month.
- Where to See Wildflowers for the best places to see wildflowers in the Golden Outback.
- Outback Wildflower Trails for all your wildflower road trip and tour itineraries and info.
- Wildflowers of the Outback for more about the region's most popular native wildflowers
Another great way to keep track of how the wildflower season is progressing is by downloading the WA's Wildflower Tracker app - a crowd-sourced map-based wildflower report that gives you flower news and updates from across the state, so you can plan your trip accordingly.
For a comprehensive floral experience, wildflower Shows are held during the season.
In the south, the Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show is the world's largest show of its kind, and this year celebrates its 40th anniversary. Held from September 12-24, it will feature over 700 wildflowers on display from the UNESCO Fitzgerald River National Park and Ravensthorpe Ranges.
Nearby, the Esperance Wildflower Show will take place from September 20-24, again featuring around 700 species.
On October 28-29, the Reynoldson Reserve Wildflower Festival will take place at Wongan Hills around 180 kilometres north of Perth.
