Striking Christmas bell wildflowers are again blooming prolifically in a Mid North New South Wales nature reserve this summer.
The Australian native flowers are creating a splash of red and yellow among coastal heathland south of Port Macquarie at the Lake Innes Nature Reserve, in an area of the reserve known as Christmas Bells Plains.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said growing conditions had been favourable for the Christmas bells, Blandfordia grandiflora, in the wake of drought, bushfires and then consecutive years with high rainfall.
Christmas bells became a symbol of recovery and hope after the region was razed by bushfires in late 2019 as the delicate flowers bloomed from the burnt earth.
Hastings/Macleay NPWS ranger Erin Sigley said it was encouraging to see the plant in bloom.
"It's really great to see them come back again, possibly even a bit more predominant than last year," she said.
"They are able to overtop the understorey at the moment and just put on a beautiful display for us.
"The tea tree and other plants there are still staying fairly dormant, which is really giving the Christmas bells a chance to come up and over the top and show off their flowers."
The Christmas bells are dispersed between the spikes of wallum grass trees across the heathland.
Ms Sigley said many factors, aside from fires, contributed to Christmas bell growing conditions, including their favoured sandy soil, climate and temperatures during the year.
"They are able to sit dormant for a while and in winter do need a vernalisation period — basically they are dormant," she said.
"They've had a good time in the winter season, and they have all their energy and now this open area they can grow up into."
Ms Sigley said Christmas bells could have numerous flowerings when growing conditions were favourable
"But other years it's just an energetic few plants that flower and the others stay dormant," she said.
"It's encouraging to see a third good year after the fires … it's very promising to see it's a healthy system and to see them coming back year after year."
Display follows 'exquisite' flannel flowers
The display of Christmas bells comes after an "exquisite display" of native flannel flowers in spring in the nature reserve, Ms Sigley said.
"The reserve has been putting on an extraordinary show for us this year," she said.
"I know some of the rangers who have been around for a lot of years have seen nothing like it.
"It was like a blanket of snow and some of the tallest flannel flowers we have seen there."
Ms Sigley said with the colourful Christmas bells following too it was an "amazing time" in the nature reserve.
"We are now just seeing this brilliant, exceptional display of striking red and yellow Christmas bells popping up," she said.
"Nature is putting on a beautiful show that's giving me a lot of hope that it's bouncing back after those fires and the drought and other things we've seen."
