Wordless Wednesday ~ Baby Magpie’s Breakfast
Category: Australia
In A Vase On Monday ~ A Scorcher!
Well, aren’t I glad arranged a brand new vase on Saturday morning as I had guests arriving in the afternoon – today is an absolute scorcher! Indoors is 28 degrees Celsius, outside is 34 degrees, yet our weather station in the kitchen – I love it as it keeps us up to date with actual details of the weather in our garden – says it “feels like” 40.3 degrees. I checked, and the conversion to Fahrenheit is 104.54F!
I am indoors today, adding my ‘In A Vase on Monday’ post, hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, with doors and windows closed and ceiling fans going in every room. We don’t have aircon. I always think that for the few days of unbearable heat we have here each year, I will survive without it; on days like today, I question my wisdom!
It was hot enough on Saturday morning as well, as evidenced by the scorched rose petals. I collected my vase of flowers in a hurry, while also deadheading as I went along; I also used the same vase as last week for the sake of speed – I had guests arriving soon – so hope I am forgiven for being boring. The roses I salvaged one or two of were Olivia Rose Austen, Souvenir de la Malmaison and Jude the Obscure. I feel dreadful about leaving my plants so badly unattended, but with this summer heat, I have no choice. 😦
I deadheaded far more Gerberas than I brought inside. A couple of red flowers had damaged stems, so they were placed right down low, beneath the foliage.
As you can see, some of the Gerberas are a tad frazzled, but the Verbena Polaris are loving the heat!
It was good to see that some Society Garlic ‘Tulbaghia’ flowers had survived, although most had fallen over and died in the heat. With flowers this pretty, I must plant some more when the weather cools.
For a greenery backdrop, I decided to try some sprigs off my Lilly Pilly tree. This variety may be Weeping Lilly Pilly ‘Waterhousea floribunda’, but as the flowers are not fully formed yet, I can’t be sure. I planted the tree around fifteen years ago, and can’t remember the details of its name. I do recall, however, that it was in a large pot near my back door, not looking healthy at all, so I decided to plant it in my (then) newly-built garden. It took off! And now it is a fully-fledged tree.
Previously, I have only added closeup shots of my vase and flowers, and from comments, I’ve realised that a full view is needed to add perspective of the size of the vase and flowers. So today, here is a full view of the vase in situ, in the living room at the front of the house. 🙂
When the larger vase was full, I had a few small stemmed leftovers, so I made up a smaller vase for the living room at the back of the house. My Lavender is beginning to bloom – doing a happy dance about that! – and I had a few sprigs of leftover Verbena and Lilly Pilly as well.
If we have too much rain it may upset the Lavender plants, so I am hoping it doesn’t get too wet before the season is over. From memory, this is French Lavender.
I think the Lavender and Verbena make a great team when together in a vase.
In the interests of providing perspective, here is the full view of the smaller vase. You might remember the miniature ornaments that featured in my Tiny Treasures post a couple of Mondays ago, seen here next to the vase.
I have just one more “vase” to add, and this one is from yesterday. My son, his wife and their two boys – featured modelling Christmas aprons I made late last year in this post – came to visit and swim in the pool. Later, when Masters Seven and Two (almost three) came back to the house, they presented me with four Frangipani flowers that they had picked for me.
I floated the flowers in some water immediately. 🙂
What Nana wouldn’t want to save as beautiful a memory as that? ❤
Thank you for getting me out in my hot garden, again, to choose flowers, Cathy! 🙂
A Rare Visit From A Pheasant Coucal
We share our garden every summer with these stunning birds, yet rarely see them near the house.
This week, however, a Coucal paid a visit. In great excitement, I (quietly) grabbed my camera to (hopefully) get a shot before he flew away. They can be pretty skittish birds!
When he went to fly away, I thought that was the end of the visit, but he flew to my clothesline. Meanwhile, I stood quietly taking photos as the Coucal posed this way and that.
It may have even seen me, just inside the glass door, clicking away with my camera, but clearly, it didn’t believe I was a threat. As you can see it was cautious, as he fluffed his feathers and spread his wings, probably in preparation to take flight.
When the Coucal settled and turned, I took a photo of its back view.
When he checked me out again, his feathers were unfluffed – he had apparently calmed down.
For me, this was an incredible opportunity to zoom in on this beauty. When I hear them call, it is often when rain is about. Many people call them Storm Birds, due to hearing their call when storms are about. Their call echoes… and I found a webpage where a recording of their whooping call can be heard. Click on this link and on the right side of the page, under the heading ‘Calls’ is a short recording to listen to … then imagine heat and humidity in the air, lush green growth in the garden which is the Coucal’s preferred habitat, and the sloping terrain heading down into a valley at the back of my house, which adds to the echoing quality of the call in my garden.
The Coucal’s tail feathers are quite long,
… and on its back, it has soft downy feathers.
I was not about to let the opportunity of this Coucal’s visit pass me by without zooming in on every detail. Look at that fine, white-flecked detail in his feathers.
And when he turned again, I took the opportunity to capture a closeup of his face.
When he scratched, I took a photo …
… then with one last look my way, he flew to the ground and disappeared from sight. ❤
I have a busy couple of days ahead now. My mother-in-law turns 91 today and we have all the family visiting for a barbeque tomorrow. I have salads to prepare, etc., but I will return on Sunday to catch up with everyone.
Enjoy your weekend! ❤
Wordless Wednesday ~ Gypsophilia
In a Vase on Monday ~ Heat Survivors
Late last year, when reading an ‘In a Vase on Monday’ post, I noticed that Cathy at Rambling in the Garden said she had collected her flowers on Sunday to take indoors. Given the heat of summer, and knowing how much water I need to add to the vase the day after bringing my flowers indoors, I decided to pick my vase choice this week on Sunday instead of on Monday morning. The first photo, taken this morning, shows a more upright collection of stems than yesterday when the flowers were first picked. It’s amazing how much more sprightly my flowers look after a few hours out of the heat.
While having a wander along the garden near the pool, which is hit by the main heat of the day during the afternoon, I noticed the salvias looking quite happy, even though there was a warm breeze blowing.
This is a purple salvia, Salvia verticillata ‘Purple Rain’, and is growing well. I need to plant more. The buds are not all open yet, so I hope now they are indoors, they open fully. There’s a bit of “trial-and-error” happening here!
In another garden nearby, which is slightly shaded, I saw several, perfectly formed Ixora ‘Prince of Orange’ flowers blooming. My other two shrubs of the same plant, growing in a more exposed area of the garden are long past blooming now, so these were a lovely surprise. I wouldn’t usually put vivid orange and purple flowers together in a vase, but these seem to work.
The Verbenas – Verbena rigida f. lilacina ‘Polaris’ – are coping well in the heat too. I love these flowers, both in the garden and in the vase – it’s getting them into the vase that is a challenge. The leaves and stems are so coarse! I adore their dainty flowers though, which belies the texture of the greenery.
When I had almost reached the house I stopped off to check out my struggling veggie patch. The silverbeet plants have been munched on by insects and frazzled by the heat, so out they came. I also need to go back out into the garden today to pick a few rhubarb stems before I lose any more, but the rosemary is flourishing. I snipped a couple of stems, just to add a touch more greenery to the vase.
Some of my parsley has gone to seed. I was about to cut the seeding umbrel stems when I thought perhaps they would look pretty in my vase. I have never considered adding herb cuttings to a vase of flowers before, but why not? They are interesting foliage, and they smell beautiful. 🙂
Once I had arranged the flowers on my kitchen bench into a new vase – a gift to myself just before Christmas – and I had taken basic photos of my chosen flowers, I began to notice the light outside changing. I clicked away a few more times, and about half an hour later I had taken far more photos than I intended!
Nearly every photo I took was a play on darkness and light.
And when I looked at the upper section of the vase, the leggy stems, flopping this way and that, reminded me of a wildflower meadow.
The green of the parsley umbrels, which I had considered removing from the vase, began to glow in the changed light.
In other shots, the background glowed while the vase contents remained darker.
The deep green Rosemary stems against a reflection of light added a new layer of interest to the photos.
When the room is in focus, evidence of the playful light dancing through the windows can be seen.
Many thanks, once again, to Cathy for hosting the weekly In a Vase on Monday meme. ❤
In My World 