Game time!

Anyone want to guess what these are?
You can click on the picture for a larger image.

 

Collected last weekend in Pokolbin NSW

 

No prizes except bragging rights! (I may have a clue or 2 up my sleeve).

 

UPDATE:

This is what the next stage will look like:

 

 

And then this! Crinum pedunculatum, or Crinum Lily. 

 

 

Mauve Monday

Today ventured out into the garden to see what's flowering after all the rain we've had, and I'm noticing a theme... deja vu anyone?

 

I've heard that flowers in this colour range are great for attracting insects (and therefore insect-eating birds) and the insect diversity definitely seems to be increasing, so I must be doing something right!

 

 

Melaleuca decussata

  

Melaleuca thymifolia

 

Lagerstroemia hybrid

 

Allium sp.

 

Photo of the week - Joy to the World

Clematis aristata is commonly called Travellers' Joy and flowers in the spring, then carries these delightful twirly seed heads through Summer. It's a climber that twines over shrubs and small trees, with glossy heart-shaped leaves.

 

 

I'm in a carolling mood at this time of year, and can't help but look at them with joy myself while collecting the seeds for the next generation of fluffy beauties!

 

Wattleseed haiku

It's quiet and hot.

The office is alive, though,

with sounds of freedom

Triumphant crackles

As seed pods twist and tighten

Splitting at their seams

The dry husks make way

Exposing a glint of life

A seed of new hope

Forest finds

A weekend away a few weeks ago was a great re-charge with family in the forest at Telegraph Point on the Mid North Coast of NSW. This is the scene of campfires and fireflies, both of which I didn't even try to photograph!

I've decided my favourite time for natural photography is late afternoon (and on this day I finally learned how to turn my camera's flash off). My Oma was also there and said that Opa used to call this time of day 'golditops' when they lived in the bush, since the tips of the trees catch all the light as the sun goes down.

Here are some precious finds.

I don't know exactly what they all are, which adds a bit to the magic of discovery!

Getting more than I bargained for...

I first saw white Waratahs for sale a few years ago when working at a local nursery, and I thought the flower must be the most elegant thing in the world! After we moved in, I just happened to find one when looking for windflowers in May 2013. Months of waiting ensued, as the plant took a little while to settle in, and then began forming a bud. I had high hopes for a first flower and would have been devastated if it had only produced leaves, but sure enough, the white started to show. I was not disappointed in the least.

 

 

 

Watching the flower unfurl slowly was magical enough, but I have been extra blessed to discover that the flower produced 2 more buds from within itself and gave me three for the price of one! 

 

 

 

 

 

This particular variety is called Shady Lady White, and is growing happily on the cool, shady southern side of the house. I've since invested in a Shady Lady Crimson to keep it company, and will wait equally patiently for those flowers! There is a yellow form as well, but it eludes me...for now.

 

I've always been taught that you should prune Waratahs back after flowering, but this one seems as though it has branched from right inside the flower, so I'm reluctant to cut the new 'branches' off.

 

Would you prune it back or let it grow?

Photo of the week - celebrating Spring!

 

My favourite sign of Spring - the generously fragrant Jasmine. 

 

And from the native garden:

 

Hardenbergia violacea

 

Lechenaultia biloba 'Big Blue'

 

Homoranthus decumbens -  first flowers!

 

Rhodanthe anthemoides

August is for - taking new ground

It's the first day of Spring, and I'm SO excited. We all know that winter is not my thing, which might be part of the reason I haven't been motivated enough to write the August post until September... oops. But that doesn't mean nothing is going on!

We've been up to our eyeballs in snow peas and sugar snap peas, with plenty of kale to go round as well. Cabbages and broccoli haven't matured in the strange winter weather, so I'll give them a bit more time to see if they do anything, and probably throw them in the compost to make room for summer tomatoes.

The veggie beds have benefited from the compost, with a scattering over followed by a good layer of Lucerne mulch to keep in the moisture and hold back the sneaky spring weeds. The last few weeks have brought some great rain and everything has grown beautifully.



Earlier in the year we added the new native garden, and I loved the effect but felt it just didn't sit quite right in the yard. The square edge jutted against the lawn and it seemed like there were so many different areas that didn't connect. Our solution was to extend the garden to meet the pool area, with a large curve that swept around the clothesline. Here are the before and after shots:

Pool corner

 

 
Garden corner

 

 

I can't believe how much it's grown!

 

 

 We sprayed the grass and built up a layer of garden soil from the landscape yard after it started to yellow off. The plants are similar to those in the native garden, with a few new favourites and some from the pool area to tie the two together. Think more Poa, Westringia, Brachycomes and kangaroo paws. Hopefully they come up as fast as the others, and it'll be a complete garden in no time!

 

December is for...seeking out the mistletoe

It's New Year's Eve, and I've been lurking around at the local pigeon club. Not because I'm into pigeons, they're not really my thing. More because they have the biggest Silky Oak in the street, and it's host to a number of big, healthy mistletoes. And I've struck gold...

But I've already missed Christmas, you say. No, I'm not collecting mistletoe in order to get extra kisses, although it might be a tradition worth encouraging in Australia. From what I can tell, the Europeans are winning in the mistletoe respect stakes, but I've become quite intrigued by it in the last few years. My inner ecologist is delighted, my inner horticulturist is horrified. Horticulture training recommends the removal of mistletoe from trees and shrubs as quickly as possible, as they can cause water loss and death in some cases. These clever plants are considered parasites, but I prefer to think of them as piggy-backers. When a seed germinates on a branch, the root grows into the host plant and proceeds to live off its water and nutrient supplies instead of growing its own root system and getting these from the ground the old fashioned way. The downside for the generous host is that in general, mistletoe is greedy and wasteful, allowing water to escape from the leaves that is normally trapped carefully by waxy cuticles and closed pores.

But it's not all bad news... mistletoe berries are an important food source for Mistletoe Birds and  the nectar is a nutritious food for Painted Honeyeaters, among others. I wouldn't mind having some of these sweet birds visit my backyard, and so I decided to try and infect (or introduce) some mistletoe into my plants. Until today, that wasn't as easy as it seemed. You can't simply transplant it, as it's anchored into another plant... so the only option is to plant a seed. Again, not so easy, as the berries are eaten by well-meaning birds and spread all over the place. I've been watching the whole process, as the flowers opened a few weeks ago, and the berries have now followed. Imagine my excitement in finding some berries on the ground under a bottlebrush tree in my street! But if I'm realistic, I know the seeds will germinate much better if they have been pre-digested by a helpful feathered friend.

Hence the visit to the large Silky Oak tree. There are so many mistletoes here that the birds hang around for ages, depositing their packages of seedy goodness as they feed and play.

I graduated from my horticulture degree this month, and 6 years ago I'm sure I wasn't imagining collecting bird poo from the ground when I enrolled. But what I also didn't anticipate was how exciting I would find it. I've waited patiently for months for these sticky little deposits, and I'm rapt to be attaching them to my own bottlebrush tree so that I can have the wonderful mistletoe birds to watch on a regular basis. I can't wait to see if they grow! 

I'm even planning to try some seeds on my lovely big gardenia, as it's right next to our birdbath and might be extra encouragement for shy birds. Some mistletoe were growing on the Crepe Myrtles in the street, so I know they're not too strict about who they piggyback onto.

If anyone is interested in Australian mistletoe and its importance to the environment, this short radio interview is worth listening to. It was extra inspiration for me to get out there and find some seeds!


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-20/native-mistletoe-good-for-the-environment/5170040

 

Photo of the week - banksia men

Ok I'll admit it, I've had to sneak more than one photo in, but that's because I just couldn't choose a favourite! And also I haven't posted a photo EVERY week, so I'm making up for lost time really! Here is a celebration of Banksia flowers and cones, they are looking so stunning at the moment and the textures are just divine. There is a mixture here of Banksia blechnifolia, ericifolia, integrifolia, serrata and spinulosa, as well as a few hybrids/cultivars I wasn't sure of. Go on, choose a favourite, I challenge you!