Dianella caerulea, commonly known as Blue Flax Lily or Paroo Lily, is an excellent Australian native bush food plant for the home garden. Its attractive blue to purple berries are edible when ripe and have been traditionally eaten fresh, with a sweet flavour and a slightly nutty taste from the seeds. The berries also attract native birds, making this an attractive addition to a wildlife-friendly garden. Unlike many edible plants, Dianella caerulea can produce fruit in part shade and even fairly shady garden positions, although good light will generally encourage stronger flowering and fruiting. It is also exceptionally hardy, easy to grow and well suited to coastal gardens, with good tolerance of salt spray.

How to Use Dianella caerulea in the Garden

Dianella caerulea is a versatile evergreen native garden plant that forms attractive clumps of long, strappy green leaves. It generally grows to around 50–100 cm high, depending on the form and growing conditions, making it useful for filling the middle or lower layers of a garden.

Plant it:

• Along paths and garden edges as a soft, grass-like border

• Along driveways, fences and narrow garden spaces

• As a mass planting or groundcover beneath trees

• In part-shade and woodland gardens

• As an understorey plant beneath taller native trees and shrubs

• In coastal gardens and seaside plantings

• Around rockeries and informal native gardens

• On slopes where its spreading rhizomes can help stabilise soil

• In containers or large pots where space is limited

The blue-purple flowers appear above the foliage in spring and summer, followed by attractive blue to purple berries. The berries are also an important food source for native birds.

How to Grow Dianella caerulea

Sun: Dianella caerulea is adaptable and can grow in full sun, part shade or shade. For the best combination of healthy growth, flowering and fruiting, a position with sun or bright filtered light is ideal, but it is particularly useful where many fruiting plants struggle because it can still grow and produce berries in shadier positions.

Water: Water regularly while establishing. Once established, Dianella caerulea is drought tolerant and can cope with periods of dry weather, although it grows particularly well when it receives some moisture.

Soil: It is adaptable to a wide range of soils, including sand, loam and clay, provided drainage is reasonable. It is particularly well suited to sandy and coastal soils and can tolerate both relatively dry and moist conditions.

Wind: This is a tough plant suitable for exposed gardens. Its use in coastal landscapes reflects its ability to cope with wind and salt-laden conditions.

Seaside and salt: Dianella caerulea is a particularly useful choice for coastal gardens. It tolerates salt spray and has been recommended for coastal sites, including sandy coastal environments.

Maintenance: Once established, it is a low-maintenance, long-lived plant. It spreads slowly to moderately through underground rhizomes and can be divided when clumps become too large. Old or damaged foliage can be trimmed back to rejuvenate the plant.

Important: Not All Dianella Berries Are Edible

Although the ripe berries of Dianella caerulea are traditionally eaten and are described as edible by Australian bush-food and botanical sources, not all Dianella species should be treated as edible. Dianella is a diverse genus and some species have been associated with poisoning or adverse effects.

For this reason, only eat berries when the plant has been positively identified as an edible species such as Dianella caerulea, and do not assume that a garden Dianella hybrid or cultivar is suitable for eating. Some commercially available Dianella hybrids and cultivars are specifically sold with warnings that the berries should not be eaten.