In a Vase on Monday ~ Early Christmas Blooms

November 20, 2023November 21, 2023 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.*

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. 🙂

Australia · autumn · garden flowers · in my garden · Mount Warning · pets · Tweed Valley

A shady corner, a pink carpet, and moss!

May 3, 2021 Joanne10 Comments

After a few days of rain, the sun returned today. Occasionally it disappears behind a cloud, but for the most part, the day has been sunny, but cool.

The light today is ideal for taking photos, so I took advantage of the day and photographed a shady area in my back garden. Husband built this retaining wall from volcanic rocks – our soil is full of them! – many years ago. I love the “aged” look the rocks have now, even though they would have been tens of thousands of years old when the wall was built. They seem to have melded into their surroundings over the years.

The wall faces south, our cool aspect, and moss happily clings to the rocks all year round. We also have a few plants growing amid the moss and rocks, although we didn’t plant them. Maybe birds have dropped seeds in the ideal place for these lovely plants to germinate.

I suspect some of the plants are staghorns, and others elkorns, but I don’t know for sure. Regardless, they look very much at home where they are.

These tiny plants seem to be growing in the moss, rather than in the gaps between the rocks. Only time will tell if their position is secure, or if their increased weight as they grow will cause them to fall.

Can you see the movement in Bronte’s tail? She was a very happy girl when she found her missing yellow ball. 🙂

Just a few steps away from the moss covered retaining wall is another small retaining wall, also built by husband many years ago. This is where the oldest camellia tree in my garden is in full bloom.

And beneath the tree, beautifully contrasted against the green grass, is a carpet of pretty pink petals.

Right next to the camellia is the shadiest corner of my garden. This area is the coolest place in my garden during our hot summer months. Even though it is shady for most of the day, all year round, the agapanthus always flower late in the year, just before the hottest days of summer arrive.

For now though, I am enjoying the cool sunny autumn days in my garden. 🙂

Australia · clouds · daughter · floods · granddaughter · grandson · Mount Warning · palm trees · rain · rivers · subtropical weather · summer · Tweed Valley

The Rain Continues …

December 14, 2020December 14, 2020 Joanne16 Comments

There was a brief break in the rain this afternoon, so I ventured outdoors with the two dogs to have a bit of a look around. I have spent most of the last two days indoors, watching the rain pelting down and the wind ripping at the trees in my garden. As the first photo shows, looking down towards the pool, debris from the palm trees is piled beside the pool and floating in the water. There’ll be a big clean-up down there next weekend!

What looks like a massive pond in the valley is actually water-filled sugar cane fields.

Low-lying land pockets as far as the eye can see are filled with rain water.

And no surprises here, the mountain is still hiding behind a thick, white veil.

It looks like there are two rivers running parallel to one another. The actual river can be glimpsed behind the row of trees in the photo above. The other “river” in the foreground is flood water.

The river ran across roads in many areas, and people were advised not to go out unless they had to. My daughter, Hayley, went out as she had an appointment for her 20 week ultrasound. Luckily, her husband drove her to the appointment in their four-wheel-drive ute. From there they took the sealed envelope that had been given to them to our local balloon shop to have a special balloon made. The envelope contained a card with the gender of her baby on it. 🙂

Aurora, who is to be a big sister, was pretty excited about popping the balloon ~~ Mummy and Daddy were excited to see what colour confetti was in the balloon ~~