Today it has felt like winter may be on its way. Even though the days have been cooler, I haven’t felt like cuddling up under a warm blanket at my desk while studying yet, which is something I often do during winter.
The sky turned a subtle shade of orange at sunset, looking very pretty, although not as dramatic as yesterday’s sunset. If you missed it, it’s worth taking a minute to go back to yesterday’s entry to take a look at when the sky and clouds put on an breathtakingly dramatic display.
The cooler weather hasn’t stopped my summer flowers from blooming yet. I noticed today there are a few new hibiscus on the hedge beside the pool.
On Monday, I gave my potted fuchsia a light prune, making sure I left a few unopened buds on the plant – just in case … and as you can see, they are already in bloom! Perhaps not growing as vigorously or as luscious looking as during the summer months, but still very lovely and much appreciated.
During the weekend, I plan on doing some more pruning around the garden. It’s that time of year for us here in Australia after all. 🙂
That much I know I have right – it’s New Year’s Day, 2021. But what day of the week is it again?
Never mind, it’s holiday time, so I won’t concern myself too much with remembering what day it is right now. When the usual rhythm of everyday life begins again, I’m sure the days of the week will all fall back into place as well. 😉
We have had more rain today, along with long spells of, well, not sunshine, but it hasn’t rained all day either. The valley cleared to some extent, although Mount Warning decided to hide for the day. I’m sure there are plenty of people, regardless of Covid rstrictions, who may have over-indulged last night and wanted to hide away for the day, just as Mount Warning did.
Little Hoppy, my Butcher Bird friend with the gammy leg, visited today with one of the babies. I’m never sure who the actual parents of these baby birds are, but this little one seemed to follow Hoppy everywhere.
Later, I had a baby Butcher Bird perched on the top of the trampolene, singing at the top of its voice. They sing such a pretty song, filled with an extensive range of vocal notes, once they get into their song.
Not to be outdone, later in the day I had Baby Magpie in the front garden, extending his vocal chords to full extent as well. 🙂
While I was in the front garden with my camera, I had a look at a few plants. Some of them have taken a battering this summer, what with all the rain and gusty wind. These lovely white Mandevilla flowers broke into bloom only a few days ago though, and so far haven’t succumbed to the blustering wind. It’s a fairly new plant, I only planted it last summer, but it seems happy in the place I chose for it.
The only place I can grow Fuchsias is in a large pot on my front veranda, where the plant is protected from the harsh sun and wind. This plant is three years old now, and this flowering season it has already been in bloom for several months. I have to water the plant every day as it is quite a thirsty plant, and stresses quickly in the heat if the soil is left to dry out.
How did everyone celebrate New Year? I imagine quietly, like I did. Husband and I stayed up to watch the televised fireworks display on Sydney Harbour, welcomed the New Year in with a glass of sparkling wine, then off to bed (which is where I’m heading now!) 🙂
Just this one strip of mist lay in the valley this morning. The mountain sits to the south-west of the back of my house, and directly to the south the valley looked completely clear and sparkling green. We had rain overnight, hence the vivid greenery. I didn’t take any more photos today, because the clouds rolled in and we have rain again. It’s just as well I took some photos around my front garden yesterday.
I think I first saw Queen Anne’s Lace on my blogging friend Robin’s old blog, Bogs of Ohio. Robin started a new blog when she moved from Ohio in 2013. Gosh was it that long ago? Well, after all these years I’ve finally planted some Queen Anne’s Lace, which I’m sure Robin told me can get out of hand if I don’t keep an eye on it. It’s looking very pretty and well contained right now.
This white Buddleia is less than a year old and already it is about a meter tall and covered in flowers. The flowers are supposed to attract bees and butterflies, and as you can see, it is doing well in the butterfly department. At first I thought this could be a cabbage moth, but it’s actually a Female Brimstone.
A little Noisy Miner dropped by to say hello during my wandering around the garden. I’m sure it had something in its beak, but it didn’t sit long enough for me to see what it was. We’ve hung the little bird dishes on the chain wire fence for some Eastern Rosellas that we often see on the fence where the Miner is sitting, with some seed and water in. I think they may have a nest nearby.
I still don’t know what this plant is called, but it’s covered in pretty white flowers. It’s been in flower for a few weeks now and the flowers are growing bigger and more prolific every week.
The daisies are growing well too! I love this lilac colour in the garden.
The flowers on the Callistemon tree, or Bottle Brush as we like to call it, are maturing well, much to the delight of the birds. We planted this tree as a tiny plant about twenty-five years ago and now we have to trim the top back every year to keep it from growing too tall and hitting the gutters of the house.
My Spanish Moss is very special to me. My mum gave me this, and she’s been gone for twenty-seven years now. Over the years I have started up new collections of the plant by draping it over tree branches, but this one is the original. It’s crowed by some of my mother-in-law’s orchid plants at the moment! To the right, one of my Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, or Brunfelsia, shrubs is covered in flowers too. That’s another plant I have to prune to keep control of, as it grows so vigorously in our subtropical climate.
I’m so proud of my potted Fuchsia! It is thriving just now on my front veranda and the flowers look incredibly healthy. I think it enjoys the drink of seaweed solution I feed it every fortnight.
And finally, this is the lavender that I didn’t think would survive. It’s planted under a tree near the front boundary of my garden and was over-run with weeds up until two weekends ago when I tidied the area. Since then, it has burst into flower again! I think it could be Italian Lavender, but I’m not one-hundred percent sure.
Tomorrow, weather permitting, I plan on spending the day in the garden. There’s a bit more weeding to do, some pruning to finish before summer arrives, a vegetable garden to organise, and a few new plants that arrived by mail order that I need to get planted. 🙂
Today is the first official day of spring in Australia. Everywhere I look on the internet I see “Spring Has Sprung!” talk, yet in my subtropical area of the country I have hardly seen the sun at all today.
Grevilleas
The temperature today reached 21 degrees Celsius, so 5 degrees lower than yesterday. I know the heat will return though, so I’m happy to enjoy the cooler weather while it’s here – first day of spring or not!
Gerberas
During the past week I have noticed buds springing from winter-dormant plants all over the garden. I’ve taken several photos and thought today would be the ideal day to share them. That plan has worked out well, as even though I have made a commitment to share a photo of the changing view of Mount Warning each day, I haven’t seen the mountain today! The valley has remained hidden by a layer of misty haze, so hardly inspires an image of the perfect spring day. This is how the mountain, or lack thereof, looks today. It just doesn’t seem right to post a dismal photo today of all days!
Tibouchina
During the last few weeks I have planted a few new plants in my garden. The pretty pink tibouchina flower, above, is the first flower on one of my new plants. It’s only about eighteen inches in height now, but it will eventually become a small tree. Can you imaging the beautiful sight of a tree covered in these flowers?
White Puffs
“White Puffs” is not the official name of this flower, it’s the name I have given to a plant I can’t recall the name of! The flowers are so delicate and pretty, and so photogenic that they need to be shared.
Rose bud
My roses are growing incredibly well this year, and the season has only just begun! I am really looking forward to seeing more of my rose bushes in bloom over the next few weeks and I will be sure to take plenty of photos to share. My husband sneezes easily when around fragrant flowers, but even he loves the roses. He draws the line at having jasmine in the garden though. In the early years of our marriage I planted a beautiful jasmine which grew and flowered prolifically over our front patio. I loved the scent and would go into the garden especially to take deep breaths of the gorgeous fragrance! My husband spent the whole jasmine flowering season sneezing.
Fuchsias
I absolutely adore fuchsias! My subtropical climate, however, is not kind to these beauties when planted out in the garden during summer. The solution? I have a fuchsia in a large pot on my front veranda, where it gets just the right amount of morning sun and is shaded and protected from the harsh midday and afternoon sun during the hottest days of summer. This lovely plant has now survived two subtropical summers, and this year has sprouted more new buds than ever before.
Port wine magnolia
Port wine magnolia is another favourite and grows incredibly well in my climate. A few of the buds on the tree near my front door have popped open now, and the fragrance at dusk is amazing! Surprisingly, the fragrance doesn’t bother my husband, well, not too much anyway. 😉
Budding hydrangea
Call me old fashioned – many have! – but to me, a garden just isn’t homely enough without a hydrangea plant or two. During summer I water the hydrangeas every day, remove leaves looking anything but pristine perfection immediately (to prevent any possibility of disease) and prune the old flowers to promote a longer flowering season. I also feed my hydrangeas, as well as several other flowering plants, with a regular dose of seaweed solution which I find improves the health of all plants, either decorative or edible. The start of my first hydrangea bloom only appeared a couple of days ago and I’m keeping a close eye on it to watch its development.
Prince of Orange
The Prince of Orange (Ixora) is another plant which thrives in the subtropics. The buds have just begun and I expect any day now to see the lovely tiny segments open up in full bloom.
Over the years it’s been a lot of trial an error in my subtropical garden. While there are less “errors” these days, it’s still a “trial” every time I introduce a new variety of plant. It is so rewarding to see so many of my old faithfuls, as well as my new plants, all in bloom even before spring begins this year. 🙂
In My World 