English Daisy (Bellis perennis), dainty evocations of sweet nostalgia, and environmental invaders of coastal, riparian and alpine communities. At Yarra Park, English Daisy is a little too showy and delicate for its own good, and so it is limited to a few patches remote from foot and car traffic — it is established much more extensively in the less-trafficked lawns across the parade in Fitzroy Gardens and in the boulevards and traffic islands of East Melbourne.
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In comparison to many of this channel’s recently featured springtime lawn and pasture weeds, English Daisy is somewhat notable as a temperate escapee that is near-exclusive to Victoria and Tasmania, having apparently never succeeded in WA and only sparingly established in the coastal fringe of South Australia (Adelaide, Mount Gambier) and in NSW’s Blue Mountains. Brought to Melbourne by 1855 as an ornamental planting in the catalogue of J. and J. Rule, Richmond, the species is likely to have naturalised repeatedly from cottage garden plantings throughout the state, and perhaps also as a contaminant of grass seed imported from England.
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Search for information about Bellis perennis in the Flora of Victoria
View information and occurrences of Bellis perennis on the Atlas of Living Australia