Bronze Flax

This is a large weeping flax (or Phormium) with fat, dark leaves in shades of brown and bronze. It grows head high and forms a clump nearly two metres wide, with thick gently arching leaves.

dramatic bronze-brown flax leaves

The leaf colour often starts out a rich chocolate brown, with hints of purple and bronze in the sun. These flaxes are too big to be ignored, though I didn't realise they'd be quite that big!

Bronze Flax by the House

Flaxes and Roses

I have a big browny-bronze flax filling a triangular piece of garden by the east side of the house. This is under-planted with pink and red leaved Coprosmas and has a huge Mutabilis rose for its next-door neighbour.

Some days when I look at it I'm certain I've made a big mistake - this flax is far too big. After one snowstorm the leaves all collapsed sideways - not a good look! It stayed like this for many weeks.

Flax Flowers

Another large bronze flax sits like a sentinel in the Pond Border, marking the corner with its huge weeping leaves. It has brilliant dark brown stems covered in black-red flax flowers in summer - the bellbirds can often be found drinking the nectar.

Yet another big bronze flax used to mark the narrow grass gap between the Apple Tree and the JAM borders. Finally, after years of indulgence (and complaints from the mower of the Moosey lawns), I have had the courage to chop it down. This huge specimen was the least colourful of my large weeping flaxes - the colour had turned a rather drab olive-bronze.

I've noticed that several of my reddish-bronze flaxes have also dulled in colour as they've grown bigger.

Bronze Flax by the Water

Water-Side Flaxes

My latest idea to minimise any more flax-planting mistakes is simple - large flaxes should be restricted to growing by the water only. I might have finally got it right - as evidenced by this beautiful bronze flax growing sensibly by the water race! There was a nice narrow path going past it, until a few years ago, but paths are easy to shift...