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?
During the past year, I have been giving my garden a revamp. I have completely ripped out some garden beds and transplanted various plants that I decided I didn’t like growing where they were. I have no idea how much I have spent on new plants, but all the time and money spent has been worth it, especially when I am rewarded with beautiful flowers, especially roses.
David Austin rose, Desdemona.
During winter I ordered several bare-root roses and could have ordered more if I hadn’t restrained myself. I could justify limiting my new purchases though by reminding myself that after I see how big the rose bushes grow during summer, I can evaluate how much room I have left. There’s always next year, and the year after, and the one after that … to buy more.
Pierre de Ronsard.
Desdemona has company in the vase, of course, including this pale pink beauty. Another David Austin rose, a climber called Pierre de Ronsard was named in honour of the French Renaissance poet. I have two Pierre’s now, I purchased a second this year, and have them growing on both sides of a garden arbour.
Going back to the star of this week’s vase, according to the David Austin website, Desdemona was named after “the tragic heroine of Shakespeare’s Othello”. Austin roses are often named after literary figures, which appeals to me due to my love of literature. Desdemona grows to one metre in height, but I suspect she may grow taller in our fertile soil. We’ll have to wait and see, given she is a newcomer to my garden.
Beautiful buddleia.
The buddleia I picked this flower from has been in my garden for a few years now. I planted a Gertrude Jekyll rose next to the buddleia, then wondered why my rose never flowered. A quick read gave me the answer, Gertrude does not like being overshadowed by other plants. I was prepared to sacrifice my buddleia so cut it back close to the ground.
Gertrude thrived and bloomed! And so has the buddleia, but a smaller version of its former self. I actually prefer the plant now it has regrown, as it looks healthier than before and I regularly cut off the spent blooms to keep it in shape.
Verbena ‘Polaris’.
Yet another new addition to my garden this year is Verbena ‘Polaris’, a drought-tolerant plant which thrives in the summer heat. The foliage of the plant is rather coarse, but I love the delicate flowers and thought they would look beautiful sharing a vase with Desdemona.
Right at the back of the vase are a couple of sprigs of New South Wales Christmas bush, which I added for an extra touch of greenery.
I enjoy the contrast of the other flowers added to the vase, but I suspect that when my Desdemona rose bush has grown more and has more flowers to pick, a whole vase full of her blooms would be an amazing sight to see. 🙂
The weather is still overcast here this week. We have had an occasional touch of sun breaking through the clouds, but the house continues to be rather dark and gloomy for this time of year. I took most of the photos close to a window, for extra light, but my vase this week will be displayed on the mantlepiece, in front of a large mirror.
The reflection in the mirror makes the flower display appear even bigger than it actually is. 🙂
My vase today is a contribution to In a Vase on Monday, hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. Thank you to Cathy. 🙂
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 outsideduring the summermonths.
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 flowerswhich 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. 🙂
In My World 