Not as commonly seen in recent years, the fluffy yellow sprays of mimosa appear in florists’ shops early in the new year. These are cut flowers transported from the south of France and Italy where the weather warms up a little earlier than here, and harsh weather to damage the flowers is not as likely. Though often associated with the Mediterranean region, mimosa is actually native to Australia and its botanical name is Acacia dealbata, one of several acacia species from that country grown here.