Spiky blue devils and chocolate lilies: Victorian grassland bursts with wildflowers after ecological ‘reset’

Careful management including weed control and a burn laid the groundwork for floral abundance in Boorhaman reserve

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Thousands of native daisies, aromatic lilies, milkmaids, billy buttons and rare orchids have blossomed in a pocket of north-east Victorian grassland in one of the best wildflower displays in years.

Glen Johnson, an ecologist at Wild Research, said Boorhaman reserve, located north of Wangaratta, was “an amazingly diverse environment from the knees down”.