If you mention wattles around most allergy sufferers you’re sure to set off a rush of sneezes that rival a mini-cyclone. Yet wattles aren’t guilty of this myth that’s been purported via decades and decades of housewives tales. In fact, pollen from acacia trees may only affect less than 5% of the population.

The reason they get the bad wrap is that wattles flower at the same time most grasses do: the end of winter. They also have a very strong scent and inhaling this may tickle very sensitive noses leading to the belief that people have allergic reactions to them. However, this is all nonsense and wattles could do with some better PR so that gardeners opt to plant them in their gardens instead of shunning them at nurseries.

And with so many variations on yellow, wattle trees are a perfect addition to any yard. While every other plant in the garden is just starting to wake from its dormancy, wattles are now flowering their heads off and providing a rich tapestry of colour that stands out like a lighthouse on a hill.

While you may have argued in the past that wattles were just too big for your garden there are more and more hybrids coming onto the market that will suit even the smallest yards. For example, Acacia cognata “Limelight”, grows no more than 1m (3.3ft) tall and offers a weeping compact shrub with such graceful foliage.

But if you’re looking for a standout tree then wattles such as the Cootamundra Wattle, Acacia baileyana, is a neat option. Its foliage is a silvery, grey which seems to highlight the blooms to maximum effect and it will only grow to about 10m (33ft). In the same department is Australia’s flowering emblem the Golden Wattle, Acacia pycnantha. Its deep green foliage doesn’t get in the way of a spectacular yellow flower show and it will only reach the same height as the Cootamundra. Another often overlooked wattle is the glorious Acacia dealbata or Silver Wattle.

Tree wattles aren’t hard to find though and there’s a fairly exhaustive list of these gorgeous acacias here [link since removed]. However, finding good medium shrub wattles is a little less easy.
I’ve shown off Acacia ashbyae, Ashby’s Wattle, before on this blog which is a delicious medium-sized shrub with weeping spindly foliage and blooms that teeter on the orange spectrum more than the yellow. The larger Sticky Wattle, Acacia howittii, is another awesome shrub but this one will grow to around 6m in height.

Other shrub wattles include; A. hubbardiana, A. jibberdingensis (to 3m) and A. kempeana that grows to a similar height.

So, if you’re looking for some serious colour to brighten up your garden after a long, grey winter then wattles are an obvious choice.

Photo source: dinesh_valke