This week, Cathy at Words and Herbs has asked bloggers to share flower photos to brighten up the grey days as winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere. Here in Australia we are just a few days off summer, but every day is a good day to share flowers, as far as I’m concerned.
One of the greatest attractions of Cathy’s suggestion, for me, is seeing so many gorgeous gardens, and flowers that I don’t recognise. Some flowers are familiar, but others I can only dream of growing. Our harsh, subtropical climate prevents me from growing some of the more delicate varieties.
My favourite flower colours to have in the garden are shades of purple, pink and blue. Most people would recognise the first photo of a Hydrangea which is one of my favourite flowers, but I wonder, are Tibbouchinas, shown in the second photo, grown in the Northern Hemisphere?
We have enjoyed a fine weather here today. As the last photo shows, there are no clouds tonight and Mount Warning is clearly outlined against the orange sun-setting sky.
I’ve had an extremely tiring day, washing curtains, cleaning windows, vacuuming and mopping floors, in the hope that I would have our living area back in order now the new floor has been laid. No such luck! I think I set my target too high, so I will have to continue getting the room back together tomorrow.
Thank you so much for all the lovely comments this week. For now, I’m off to bed, but I will catch up with everyone tomorrow. I don’t think I will be able to keep my eyes open much longer tonight, so goodnight. ❤
In My World 
I love purples and blues also. Not familiar with your Tibbouchinas but certainly recognize the hydrangea. It’s perfection.
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Hydrangeas are very old-fashioned flowers, but to me they are perfection too. 🙂
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Beautiful!
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I glad you like my flowers, Nicki. 🙂
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I hope you’re getting a good night’s sleep, Joanne. As my sister’s old landlady used to say, “little by little a lot gets done.” Apparently there are tibbouchinas native to South America and as far north as Mexico, but not up here. Very pretty flower!
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I’ve had a few too many late nights lately, Barbara, but I will eventually catch up. There seems to be so much to do, with the home improvements, but also catching up on chores I neglected while uni was in full swing.
Tibbouchinas must be a warmer climate plant if they are native to South America, so we are lucky we can grow them here. 🙂
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What a busy day you had, I felt tired just reading your list, ha! Hope you had a good sleep. 🙂
Tibbouchina is a new one to me, but it is grown in our warmer states of Florida and California. It is lovely, but not frost-hardy here. Nice share!
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Thanks, Eliza. 🙂
I had a few late nights, but now I’m trying to have earlier nights while still catching up on everything on my ‘to do’ list.
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Wow I love purple flowers!
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Thank you! 🙂
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Tibbouchinas is unfamiliar to me Joanne. It is really pretty though and the foliage is also very attractive. A lovely Hydrangea too. Sleep well and my motto is always ‘What doesn’t get done today can wait till tomorrow’. 😉
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I think it’s going to take a few tomorrows before I’m completely caught up, but I agree. We can always keep on with the chores the next day.
The Tibbouchina is very lovely. I should have mentioned that my tree is in flower nearly all year round, so it’s a colourful addition to the garden through all seasons. 🙂
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Just beautiful – especially that Tibouchina. Hope you are sleeping well by now – you must be exhausted after all that! Tibouchina is grown in the Temperate House at Kew Gardens (min temp 2 cent), but as far as I know not outside in Britain. Here in France I suspect they could risk it outside much further south than me, but would have to be prepared to lose it sometimes
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We don’t get frosts here, so I don’t know how a Tibbouchina would cope in a much cooler climate. It’s wonderful that they are grown in a controlled temperature environment though, so people in the Northern Hemisphere can enjoy them too. 🙂
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I haven’t met any Tibouchina here, so thank you for sharing! I adore its rich color, and those ribbed leaves add great texture.
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They are indeed gorgeous plants. 🙂
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Wonderful photos .. I have a tibouchina which I grew from a cutting, a favourite!
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Thank you Julie. 🙂
How low do your temperatures drop in winter? I’m curious, because they seem to be a warmer climate plant.
I should try growing one from a cutting and see if I have any success. 🙂
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Hey Miss good morning! Yes do try growing one, they are beautiful! And I love purple … Our temps in Auckland in winter don’t really drop too much at all .. daytime sits around 14 – 16. 🙂
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That’s similar to our low-end winter temperatures, which surprises me – I imagined NZ was colder than Australia! 🙂
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Those are Auckland temps.. it get much colder the further south you go 🙂
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