Category: garden flowers

Australia · autumn · chocolate · David Austin roses · family · garden flowers · grandchildren · in my garden · roses

In A Vase On [Easter] Monday!

Joanne22 Comments

Our family Easter celebrations began two weeks ago this year. My eldest son and his wife are in Bali for the long weekend, while youngest son, his wife and their two boys are in Adelaide, so we had a “whole family” get together two weeks ago for Easter. This weekend I had my two daughters and their families here. So what with one things and another, it has been a busy time.

During the past two weeks also, we have had rain nearly every day, not huge in quantity, but enough to prevent me from doing any gardening. How frustrating! Yesterday, however, when the sun shone for the first time in days, I got all my washing done. I also put my empty “bunny” vase in place last night, ready to add flowers today for my contribution to Cathy’s regular Monday event, In a Vase on Monday.

And what did I awaken to this morning? You guessed it, more rain!

Between showers, I collected a few pretties to add to my vase, although my lovely Gerberas, which I had thought were finished for the season, are a tad bedraggled again. The weight of the raindrops tends to make their delicate petals flop downwards.

Raindrops on roses – (and whiskers on kittens – sorry, I had to say it!) – on the other hand always look so beautiful. This lovely rose is a long stemmed ‘Olivia Rose Austin’; all the other roses on the bush were short stemmed, so wouldn’t suit my bunny vase.

There were a few red roses, but I only chose this one as it is fully opened. I am surprised by how many rose buds are still on all of my rose bushes, given the time of year and the number of rainy days we have had.

The Tibouchina flowers look rather stunning with raindrops on their petals as well. They are slightly weighted down by the moisture, but being stronger petals they seem to cope. I should also mention that the green foliage in the background is a few stems of Port Wine Magnolia. It isn’t in flower just now, but the foliage acted as an ideal vase filler, to hold the flower stems in place.

Being Easter, I had to add a prop of Easter eggs with my vases. The little ones all know where Nana’s stash is, and know that a simple “please” when they visit will have me sharing their “special treats”.

I read today that in the USA, there are no chocolate Easter eggs; also, there isn’t a four day long weekend over Easter, which is what we have here in Australia. So perhaps in the comments you can let me know how Easter is celebrated in other countries? 🙂

When I turned the calendar page to April today, I was surprised also to see a picture on the calendar of cows. That’s not very Easter-ish, but I do love cows. The calendar has an Australian country scene for each month, so that might be something that might interest some of you. This stand in the main living area, where I keep my recipe books – well, some of them – has become my favourite place to display my vase of flowers each week.

I have a row of various coloured Impatiens in my front garden and they have survived the hottest summer days, and now the cooler autumn days very well indeed. When we have a fine day again I will take a photo of them in the garden, as they really do look lovely.

This small vase of Impatiens sits beside me as I write. They have been indoors for about five hours now and I have noticed that the petals, now dried, look much more lively than in this photo.

It is rather late though, so I won’t take another photo. Today was another busy day, complete with visitors – who raided Nana’s Easter egg stash while here 😉 – and I am about to call it a night. I am dreadfully behind in replying to your lovely comments and also visiting everyone’s blogs, but this week I expect life to return to the usual schedule for a while.

Thank you once again, Cathy, for hosting In a Vase on Monday. ❤

Australia · autumn · challenges · David Austin roses · garden flowers · rain · roses · subtropical weather

In A Vase On Monday ~ Rain

Joanne16 Comments

There were times this morning when I thought I may have to forego my contribution to Cathy’s In A Vase On Monday this week. We have had several days of rain, and I know from past experience that with the amount of rain we’ve had, flowers need time to dry out. They look rather droopy and frazzled otherwise.

This is the scene I was met with when I reached the pink Gerberas. With heads laden with raindrops and drooping towards the ground, they otherwise looked okay … ish! I thought I’d pick them all, and see how they faired when taken inside the house and left to dry out for the day.

A very lovely Jude the Obscure rose tempted me; however, with that amount of water on her petals, I know that Jude would not be any happier indoors.

Likewise, Desdemona appears fresh and beautiful now the weather has cooled slightly, but she needs to dry before she can visit a vase indoors.

By later this afternoon, the Gerberas were beginning to dry off. Their petals are not as perfect as I have seen them in the past, but given their appearance this morning, they look much happier now.

Even the back off the Gerbera flowers are rather attractive!

Today, I gained a new appreciation for IAVOM contributors who manage to arrange a single species of flowers in a vase successfully. Who knew how difficult it would be!

When the pink Gerberas flopped to the side of the “vases” I knew I needed more flowers to hold them in place, so dashed outside again to grab a few red flowers.

A great advantage of Gerberas, however, is how photogenic these beauties are, when photographed individually. ❤

So my contribution this week to In a Vase on Monday, albeit late in the day – and using imperfect flowers – was once again an enjoyable challenge! 🙂

Australia · David Austin roses · garden flowers · in my garden · roses · seasons · subtropical climate

In A Vase On Monday ~ Remnants of Summer

Joanne37 Comments

As the last of the summer flowers begin to call it quits until spring, I collected flowers for today’s In a Vase on Monday, hosted each week by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, that I may not see many of for the next few months, while the weather is cooler.

The Hydrangea shrubs look extremely healthy since the weather began to cool slightly; however, the flowers are looking just a tad battle-weary. They have been fighting the hot summer’s days for a while now, and are preparing to hibernate for winter. I still love their huge, showy blue blooms though, and picked nearly all the flowers that were left on the shrubs, bar a couple that may still grow larger.

The vase I chose for the Hydrangeas is one I had forgotten about! It lives in the guest bedroom, an old-style wash jug and basin with a dainty blue design. The design can just be seen in the first photo as a reflected image, so another day I will choose flowers to display in the vase that don’t insist on hiding the design!

The intricate detail of each flower, made up of several tiny, individual, flower-like sections is a wonder of nature, as far as I am concerned. Every year, I have to take at least one close-up of a flower.

On the wall in the guest bedroom, I have a canvas of a vase of hydrangeas, which can be seen on the wall behind the vase. The vase is sitting on top of a chest of drawers.

And here is a close-up of the picture. I really am a sucker for all things “Hydrangea” related.

As I have mentioned previously, the flowering season for the roses I adore is drawing to a close also, so I wanted to take full advantage of showing some more roses before they end.

This week, I have mainly David Austin’s ‘Roald Dahl’ roses in the vase, and as you can see, this photo shows some of the imperfections caused by summer heat and hungry insects.

David Austin’s ‘Jude the Obscure’ is also showing signs of heat affected petals. In spring, however, when the roses begin to bloom again and the weather isn’t quite as hot as in summer, the roses will look … well … just as pretty, but with less imperfections.

A cluster of Periwinkles growing beneath the shade of a Frangipani tree have recently started blooming, so I added a few stems to the vase, along with a pale pink salvia that has also just started to flower again.

In a tiny vase – a miniature wash jug and basin – I chose an assortment of miniature roses, mainly ‘Chameleon’, and one lilac ‘Love Potion’ which can be seen at the front of the vase.

The deep purple Tibouchina flower is from a recently planted shrub. Being such a young plant, I hadn’t expected it to flower so soon, so these beauties are a lovely surprise.

The daisies are beginning to flower again now. I have two plants of this gorgeous deep salmon-orange colour, and these two are the first on one of the plants. Before long, I will have enough daisies in bloom to fill a whole vase. 🙂 And on the right is a purple salvia.

As always, the tiny vase will spend the next few days beside my desk. Last week’s vases lasted until the end of the week – five whole days – which is a huge improvement on previous summer flowers, which started dropping after a couple of days. Now the weather is cooling, the flowers are much happier when they are brought indoors.

Also, since the weather has been slightly cooler, I have been spending more time in the garden. So if I temporarily go missing, as I have this past week, you know where I’ll be. 😉

Australia · autumn · Changes · garden flowers · in my garden · native Australian plants · rain · subtropical weather

Feels Like Autumn

Joanne16 Comments
Magnolia ‘Little Gem’.

We had 15 mm of rain – 0.6 of an inch – yesterday, and so far today we have had double that. The temperature has dropped substantially as well, today reaching only 23 degrees Celsius – or 73 Fahrenheit.

Finally, it feels like autumn is in the air!

The wet garden looked so pretty, so I took my camera out to the front veranda and took a couple of photos, nothing spectacular, just “feel good” photos of my garden soaking up the refreshing rain and cooler weather.

Just the other day, I dead-headed the summer-tired flowers on the Magnolia ‘Little Gem’, leaving just new buds on the shrub. Today, the pure white flowers have opened – shown in the first photo. I was sorry I couldn’t take my camera out into the rain for a closer look! So zooming in on the flowers from the protected veranda gave me a clearer view.

A Jade plant, of sorts.

The second photo is of a plant my mother always called a Jade. I’m not convinced that’s it’s actual name, as I have seen Jade plants that look different to mine, but to me, it will always be Jade.

Salvia and Hydrangea.

This Salvia is looking lovely right now, although it has been, at times, a tad frazzled over summer. The Hydrangea next to it provides some protection from the hot afternoon sun. As for the Hydrangea, I am amazed that it is still covered in so many lush green leaves at this time of year! It is really enjoying the rainy weather.

Gardenia.

The Gardenia is beginning to flower again now, after a quiet summer of dormancy. It’s a shame these flowers do not last for long looking this soft and velvety or I would bring them indoors for a vase.

Chameleon Roses.

Yesterday morning, when choosing flowers for my vase, I didn’t pick any Chameleon Roses as I can see they will drop their petal soon. Today, however, they are still hanging on, possibly due to a new lease on life with the rain. The lilac bud in the top-left of the photo is a new Society Garlic flower.

An opened Finger Lime.

And finally, I promised I would share a photo of a Finger Lime fruit – and here it is. Those tiny caviar-like balls are so full of limey taste; I am surprised there isn’t a Finger Lime tree growing in every garden in Australia!

Who knows if this lovely autumn weather will continue, but for today, I am enjoying every cool minute of it. ❤

Australia · autumn · from my garden · garden flowers · nostalgia · remembering · roses · seasons

In A Vase On Monday ~ Heritage

Joanne23 Comments

Autumn has arrived! However, the daytime weather seems to have not read the memo yet, and the humid, damp days continue. Nights are cooler though, which continues to affect the garden: the Frangipani tree branches look barer with each passing day and the rose bushes continue to lose foliage without much regrowth at all.

I started to collect a few stems from the garden as my contribution to Cathy’s In a Vase on Monday post yesterday, between showers of rain. The Verbena Polaris continues to bloom and is looking healthier now than it has all summer.

The Verbena Polaris is in flying form!

There is so much new growth on my Camellia shrub that I needed to trim a few branches which were beginning to encroach on a walkway … and kept a few for my vase. I also noticed buds beginning to form, so took care not to take any of those branches. The foliage is beautiful and glossy, but you will notice the telltale signs of insect nibbles and heat scorch on the leaves. Hopefully, this will end as the weather cools.

Bud-free Camellia branches.

When I was hunted back indoors by a downpour of rain, I left the cuttings in a container of water on the kitchen bench. By the time rain – which developed into a storm – had stopped, the garden was in darkness.

This morning I cut a few stems of a Tibouchina shrub called ‘Peace Baby’. Every year after flowering finishes I cut the shrub back hard. It begins growing again almost immediately, which shows the hardiness of the plant.

Tibouchina ‘Peace Baby’.

I knew I had a rose bush in bloom that I haven’t brought in for a vase before. I think I have mentioned before that the blooms don’t last long in the summer heat, so there was only one stem suitable to bring indoors. It is slightly affected by heat, but has two pink buds beside the open flower. The buds probably won’t open, but they look very pretty just as they are.

A new David Austin rose to share ~ ‘Heritage’.

When I added the David Austin ‘Heritage’ rose to my vase, it crossed my mind that I should follow Cathy’s example by adding a prop to give meaning to the vase. My own heritage, although I was born in Australia, is English, but I don’t have a Union Jack to display. Hmm, what would tie into my British heritage, I wondered?

David Austin ‘Desdemona’.

Although I hadn’t planned on adding any Desdemona roses, there she was, as usual, waving her beautiful white blooms at me! It would have been rude not to bring her indoors too. 😉

The vase needed a little “something else”, so back outside I went and picked all the pink Gerberas I had in the garden. These are all new blooms since last week, which shows have fast they flower.

Happy Gerberas.

When I placed the vase where it will be on display in the family room this week and took a photo, I didn’t realise that I had inadvertently discovered a prop for my English heritage, albeit a sad mention … let me explain.

The first In a Vase on Monday contribution for autumn in Australia.

As you can see, I have turned the page of the calendar, which now shows the month of March – the first official month of autumn here in Australia. Usually, I would have cropped out the top shelf of the stand, which contains some of my recipe books, but look closely … there lies my heritage.

The world heard the sad news last week of the passing of Dave Myers, one half of the cooking duo The Hairy Bikers. I always enjoy watching Dave, along with Simon King, joking their way through the dishes they cook during their biking journeys. And both Dave and Si are from England, specifically the north of England, which is where my heritage lies. I will continue to enjoy watching reruns of episodes from The Hairy Bikers – the food they make, and their strong northern accents reminds me of my parents, who arrived in Australia with my three sisters several years before I was born. ❤

A tiny vase for my office.

Not wishing to end on such a sad note, I will now share the tiny vase of flowers I picked to sit beside my desk in my office. You will notice in the photo above, just one tiny Brachyscome ‘Mauve Bliss’. There are three in the vase, but the others are lost beneath the Gazanias!

Miniature peach rose.

To add context to the size of the flowers, the vase is only 6.5cm. tall, and the roses are miniatures. The peachy coloured rose bush has the most flowers in bloom just now and I really love this gentle shade of peachy colour.

Deep violet-purple ‘Love Potion’.

When I dead-headed the Love Potion rose, I found there was only one flower suitable for a vase this week.

Purple Salvia.

And the purple Salvia adds a touch of background interest.

At home in my office, for me to enjoy while working. 🙂

So they are my two vases for this first week of autumn’s contribution to In a Vase on Monday. Don’t forget to visit Cathy, and other Monday vase contributors during this week to admire the new flowers that are springing out of the ground and adorning branches in the Northern Hemisphere. 🙂