No Outing Today. 29th November 2013.

Curtain Fig Tree, Nth Queensland 1989.

 

Our Home Garden.

It was too hot to go out the other Friday, today it was too wet (plus strong winds and possible hail) to go any distance. Not wanting to have 2 blank Fridays I did a quick dash around our home garden in between rain showers. 

Even though all these plant are in our own garden, I haven't always recorded the names and therefore some of the plants will just have a generic family name.

A Hoya, which is growing in a pot in the fork of a Firewheel Tree.

Iberis  -  Candytuft.  These are self-sown from plants I first grew last year. 

Epidendrum ibaguense  -  Crucifix Orchid.

Crinum pedunculatum  -  Swamp Lilly  (native).

Desmodium varians  -  Slender Tick-trefoil  (native).

Sedum 'Gold Mound'.

Plectranthus parviflorus  -  Cockspur Flower  (native).

Flower of Tillandsia usneoides  -  Spanish Moss, Grey beard, Old Man's Beard.

Hibiscus geranioides  -  Geranium-leaf Hibiscus  (native).

Pansies.

The smaller fertile flowers of a 'lacecap'  Hydrangea begin to open.

The larger sterile flowers of the same plant  (fertile flowers can be seen at the back).

Melaleuca hypericifolia  -  Hillock Bush  (native).

Salvia.

Austromyrtus dulcis  -  Midyim, Midgen Berry  (native).

Anigozanthos flavidus  -  Kangaroo Paw  (native).

A Salvia that prefers a bit of shade and moisture.

A Hosta awakes from it's winter slumber.

Brillantaisia nitens -
 Tropical Giant Sage, False Tropical Sage, Tropical Giant Salvia. 

Love-in-the-Mist.

FEATHERS, FUR and FANG.                 Some Of The Wildlife Seen Today.

This caterpillar was making a meal of my Tropical Giant Sage.

Very happy to see that we have Stingless Bees (Trigona sp.) in the yard, even if they are on an exotic plant. This now
brings to about seven species of native bee that visit the garden.

Blue-banded Bee, the most common bee in the garden.

An Eastern Water-skink in the veggie patch.

Rainbow Lorikeets add a splash of colour.

No Outing Today. 15th November.

Cancelled due to helping move number 2 son and his family into their new home.

Snow Gums 1982.

A Visit to a Native Garden.

Jean and Allan's native garden, at Baulkham Hills, was opened as part of  the Australian Plant Society's NSW November Gathering.

I last visited this garden about 25+ years ago and I was just as amazed at the variety and quality of the plants this time as I was then.

(This outing was on the Saturday ( I cheated) luckily, as I stayed home on Friday because they were expecting temperatures up to 40 C (104 F) with total fire bans which meant National Parks would be closed)

Click on photos to enlarge.

The front garden gives a hint as to what is to come.

One of the native 'Hibiscus'.

A colourful gathering of smaller Grevilleas.

Dianella tasmanica  -  Tasman Flax Lily

Bulbine bulbosa  -  Bulbine Lily, Golden Lily, Native Leek.

A very good looking Xanthorrhoea sp. ( not the one in shorts).

A cool spot amongst the fern for the birds.

Grevillea  'Peaches and Cream' gives the other sun a run for its money.

Allan shows some of the visitors around the garden.

Derwentia arenaria  -  Speedwell.



Goodenia ovata  -  Hop Goodenia.

Flowers of the rain-forest.
Pink Lilly Pilly flowers
Graptophyllum ilicifolium  -  Holly-leaved Graptophyllum.  (top right)
and  Graptophyllum excelsum  -  Scarlet Fuchsia.

I don't think this is normal for the seed-pod of Acacia cultriformis  (Knife-leaf Wattle, Dogtooth Wattle)
but it makes for an interesting photo.

One of the Grevilleas.

Angozanthos  'Bush Pearl',  Kangaroo Paw.

Differing leaf designs

One of the Grevilleas.

Ricinocarpos sp.  -  Wedding Bush

Like gold dust, Chrysocephalum apiculatum  -  Yellow Buttons, adds a glow to the garden.

One of the Grevilleas.

FEATHERS, FUR and FANG.                 Some Of The Wildlife Seen Today.

Small butterfly on Wedding Bush.

This is the first time I had seen a Resin Bee.

Butterfly on Fan-flower.