Category: Australia

Australia · garden flowers · gardening · in my garden · native Australian birds · native Australian plants · photography · seasons · subtropical weather

A Week of Flowers ~~ Day 5

Joanne19 Comments
Brachyscome Mauve Bliss – cut leaf daisy

For Day 5 of A Week of Flowers, hosted by Cathy at Words and Herbs, I am sharing photos of some native Australian plants growing in my garden, along with two other plants which, although not natives, blend perfectly with their dainty features.

Most Australian natives are drought-tolerant plants, they have to be to survive our often harsh climate conditions. We are fortunate in our subtropical zone to have a high annual rainfall compared to other areas of the country; however, all plants suffer during drought. Low water requirements do not mean no water is required!

The Brachyscome Mauve Bliss, pictured above, is a pretty little native groundcover. I recently renovated a very large sloping garden at the front of my house, situated in full sun for most of the day. The five flowering plants featured today are all growing happily in that particular garden, even thriving in the plus-thirty degree temperature we had recently, for four days in a row. I will plant more Brachyscomes now I have discovered how easily they grow. Next time, I will buy some of the pink and white varieties.

Leptospermum Ballerina

I often order plants online from a nursery located a couple of hours north of here, which is also in a subtropical zone. The company specialises in tube stock plants, so usually, when first planted, I have tiny plants that can easily disappear into the background of mulch. When I first planted my tiny native Leptospermum Ballerina I could hardly see it until right up close. Yesterday afternoon, I took a few photos of the garden when the sun had almost set and the day had cooled. As I was heading to the seaside daisy, which is the next photo, I noticed my Leptospermum has a flower now! So this dainty little pink ballerina definitely had to be included today.

Erigeron – seaside daisy

The description of Erigeron seaside daisy is that it spreads easily, has a weeping habit, and is a great groundcover for hot positions – perfect! The mass planting I did in October is already beginning to spread across the garden, which is now covered in tiny white native daisies.

Seaside daisies, with another new Australian native addition to the garden. ❤

This morning, I had my first sighting of one of this year’s baby magpies. When I took my camera out to grab a quick photo, I startled baby Maggs, who retreated into the seaside daisies. Two Australian natives together – it doesn’t get any better than that. 🙂

Cuphea ‘Honeybells’

Although native to South America, the Cuphea is similar to the Australian Correa in both appearance and climate requirements. I found this beauty at a local plant nursery, and it hasn’t stopped flowering since it arrived in October. Apparently, frost can end the flowering season, but we rarely, if ever, have frosts. That will keep bees happy all year round. 🙂

Diascia ‘Flirtation Pink’

The slope of the renovated garden, in some areas, has been formed into a rockery, where this ‘Flirtation Pink’ Diascia, a South African native plant, with its cute little pink flowers, seems to be happily growing. It hasn’t missed a beat with flowering since being planted in October. I have read that Diascias only need extra water during hot, dry spells, so the amount of rain we have had recently seems to agree with this new addition to my garden.

Thank you for hosting A Week of Flowers, Cathy. I took over a hundred photos around the garden yesterday afternoon, which is far less strenuous than gardening in hot, humid, summer conditions. 🙂

Australia · garden flowers · gardening · in my garden · roses · subtropical weather · summer

In A Vase on Monday

Joanne9 Comments

… and A Week of Flowers ~~ Day 4

The vase I chose to use this week is one I bought several years ago on a whim, and have rarely, if ever, used. That will change from now on, as I hadn’t realised – because of not using it – that this vase is perfectly sized and shaped for displaying narrow-stemmed flowers, such as gerberas and Susanna Mitchell daisies.

Amid the colourful gerberas and pale yellow daisies, I have also added two Olivia Rose Austin and two red roses …

I bought the red rose bush several years ago and planted it among other rose bushes. None of the plants grew well in the position I chose; some didn’t even survive! So a couple of winters ago, I transplanted the surviving rose bushes. The red roses are from one of them. Clearly, the plant is much happier growing in its new garden bed.

This beautiful, delicately scented, pale pink rose is Olivia Rose Austin, a David Austin rose named for his granddaughter. After seeing the gorgeous flowers on the first Olivia I bought a few years ago and enjoying them so much, this winter I bought a second plant.

I received my first gerbera plants as a gift about twenty-five years ago, and they are still growing well. In my subtropical climate, I have learned that if a plant thrives, even when neglected, it’s a keeper. This palest pink gerbera flower is a recent addition to my garden. I love the fine, two-toned petals, pink at the ends with white closer to the centre of the flower.

This orange gerbera, while not as finely featured as its neighbours in the garden, is an extremely striking plant. Visitors often comment on how lovely it looks.

The red gerberas are from my original plants. If you look closely you will see a small hitch-hiker, in the top, right-hand corner of the photo, who ended up indoors with the flowers. Escaping from the heat of the garden, obviously. 😉

Anthemis ‘Susanna Mitchell’ daisies are a new addition to my garden this year. They seem to love everything about the soil, heat, drought and rain my subtropical climate throws their way, and are thriving! Susanna is a spring bloomer and her flowers are coming to an end; there are still plenty of blooms left, however, to enjoy indoors.

Like last week’s vase, this week I have positioned my vase on the mantlepiece in the family room. By next week, I will have started to decorate the room for Christmas, so space will be limited in this room and every other room in the house! I will always find somewhere for another vase of flowers though. ❤

Thank you to two Cathys – Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting In A Vase on Monday each week. And also to Cathy at Words and Herbs for suggesting A Week of Flowers to brighten everyone’s days for the week.

Australia · in my garden · Mount Warning · native Australian birds · spring · subtropical weather

Figbirds

Joanne11 Comments

When my blogging friend, Barbara, added a post recently showing a brown thrasher bird, I commented on the similarities between the thrasher and a regular visitor to my garden, the figbird. Our figbirds are natives of Australia. The female, pictured above, has specked feathers not unlike the speckled breast feathers of the brown thrasher Barbara shared a photo of after spotting one during a walk In the Woods.

The male figbird, pictured above, looks like a different species of bird. Typical of many male bird species, they are the showier of the two with their olive green feathers and a distinctive red ring around their eyes.

I was fortunate enough to have a figbird “couple” perched on the finished flower of a ponytail palm this week, close to my window, so I didn’t need to zoom in too much to take photos of the pair.

The ongoing damp, humid weather we have had recently continued this week. Overnight, however, the weather seems to have righted itself and is now more consistent with the season. Today, the sun is shining, and the sky is a brilliant blue with hardly a cloud in sight. The temperature is also much higher today – nearly 32 degrees Celsius (or 89 Fahrenheit), yet the day feels cooler today than it did yesterday when the temperature was only 25 degrees Celsius, humid, and raining!

I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the valley today, on the last day of spring, with clearly defined slopes and crevices amid the mountain and ranges.

Dare I hope that those pesky mosquitoes will disappear now, along with the rain?

Australia · garden flowers · gardening · native Australian plants · nostalgia · rain · seasons · spring · subtropical weather

In a Vase on Monday ~ Early Christmas Blooms

Joanne20 Comments
Various heights of flowers give a layered effect when displayed in a well-loved, solid-based, vintage vase.

The usual rain expected at this time of year has made an appearance during the last two or three weeks. In the subtropics, this is our wettest time of the year – it is also when the combination of the heat of summer approaching and regular rainfall creates high humidity.

And what annoying little insect loves the humidity? Mosquitoes!

My garden is fully responsible for my recent absence from blogging. Every day, I hear the collective murmurings of the leaves, the flowers, the trees, and of course, the weeds, beckoning me to join them. And why argue with them? It’s exactly where I want to be.

So now the summer rain is here – and the mosquitoes – I have been unwillingly forced indoors, several times, although I don’t mind staying outdoors if the rain isn’t too heavy.

Hydrangeas are in bloom for most of the year.

From the windows inside my home, I have been admiring all of the plants I have been tending during the cooler months of winter now bursting into bloom. My roses are simply stunning, and clearly appreciate the extra care I have been giving them since completing my online university degree and abandoning my computer. I find that roses grow well in the subtropics. They are hardy plants, with the worst problems being aphids, which are easily removed by hand, and sometimes black spots on the leaves caused by too much rain. New leaves grow fast once the affected leaves have been removed.

Today, however, I am sharing what I believe is a stunning combination of flowers and colours when together in a vase – agapanthus, hydrangeas, and New South Wales Christmas bush.

Always making a regular appearance in my summer garden, agapanthus brightens the landscape both indoors and outside during the summer months.

The trio is a sentimental favourite of mine. Many moons ago when I lived in Sydney’s temperate climate zone, I grew all three in my garden, and with the climate south of here being slightly cooler than where I now live, they were all blooming beautifully at Christmas time. So every year on Christmas Eve, I would bring cuttings and flowers of all the plants indoors, enough to fill several large vases, to decorate the house for Christmas.
Here in the subtropics, the hydrangeas are in flower for many months. By Christmas time, however, the agapanthus looks bedraggled and the red stars of the Christmas bush have faded. My lovely trio simply always arrives one month too early for me to decorate the house for Christmas with them here in the subtropics, so I have to enjoy their indoor display prior to Christmas.

New South Wales Christmas bush — Ceratopetalum gummiferum.

With being an Australian native plant, the New South Wales Christmas bush may be unfamiliar to people from other countries. New South Wales is the state where I live, so I must admit to having a soft spot for this beautiful small tree. In fact, during winter, I purchased a second tree. It has grown to around a metre tall since becoming a new resident in my garden and I expect its full height will be around four metres tall. I have taken the cuttings today from my older tree.

New South Wales Christmas bush close-up – including a fine insect web. I love the tiny, star-shaped flowers which cover the tree when the weather warms.
One of my mother’s vintage vases.

I chose my oldest crystal vase to arrange the display in an upright position. The centre of the vase can be removed, but I prefer to leave it in place when displaying tall flowers, such as the agapanthus, to give them stability. This vase is a particular favourite, inherited from my mother. It is about as old as me and a vase that I treasure.

Given the wet weather today, which is preventing me from spending the day outdoors, I decided to bring some of my garden indoors. And being Monday, it seems appropriate to add my early Christmas stunners as a contribution to “In a Vase on Monday”, hosted weekly by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. Thank you, Cathy, for the inspiration to share some of my garden, indoors, on a wet, almost summer’s day. 🙂