December 2023
December 2023
Summer is here!
Frangipani (Plumeria) is native to South America but very common around Sydney.
Beautiful pinky frangipani.
and another one.
Hydrangea, also known as hortensia.
30 November 2023
30 November 2023
It has been a busy month so just creating one post for all plants that caught my eye this November 😊
I can’t believe I haven’t posted a photo of bougainvillea yet! They have been around for a while now and I really enjoyed them. I think while waiting to capture a perfect one, I almost missed the season when they are in their best bloom.
Bougainvillea always reminds me of summer holidays in Southern Europe.
Interestingly, the brightly coloured flowers are actually modified leaves called bracts.
Amazing flowering eucalypt tree. Possibly Agrophora costata, or Smooth-barked apple, but not 100% sure. Super cute anyway.
Magnolia grandiflora, or Southern Magnolia.
Beautiful white Agapanthus. It is commonly known as Lily of the Nile or African lily in the UK and Star of Bethlehem in Australia as it blooms just before Christmas.
Illawarra flame tree – an Australian native!
20 October 2023 – Jacaranda
20 October 2023
Jacaranda holds a very special place in my heart.
When I moved to Australia, it was the end of October. One of many things that amazed me was an unbelievable tree in our neighbour’s front yard.
It was covered in bright purple flowers and had a purple carpet of fallen flowers underneath it. It was truly like no other!
I had no idea what it was and, silly me, didn’t even think to simply google it to find out. I messaged my friend overseas telling her about this mysterious tree and she replied that it was called Jacaranda! When I asked how on earth she knew about it, my friend said she googled ‘purple tree Australia’ and got the answer! Not my brightest moment but felt very grateful to have a smart friend!
Although Jacaranda is native to South America, it seems to be doing very well in Australia.
I used to love October for its colourful autumn leaves in the Northern Hemisphere. Now I love it for Jacarandas in bloom. Every time I drive past one along the road, it brings a smile to my face. I am not joking. Every single time. It’s such an amazing purple cloud of joy.
12 October 2023 – Bottlebrush
12 October 2023
Bottlebrush (callistemon) is another gorgeous Australian native plant. I have taken these photos over a few weeks looking out if I could spot it in different colours. So far I have seen spectacular bright red and shiny lemony yellow.
Their flowers resemble a traditional bottle brush, hence the name.
Their scientific name Callistemon comes from the Greek words ‘callis’ meaning beauty and ‘stemon’ meaning stamen, together referring to the beautiful stamen, which is so true.
Bottlebrushes are very hardy and can live for 20 to 40 years in the right conditions.
Apparently the flowers will be followed by small woody fruit with hundreds of tiny seeds inside it. The seeds are usually not released for several years and their release can also be stimulated by fire.
I think this is a dwarf variety called Little John, with its deep red coloured flowers.
Absolutely stunning bright red against the blue sky!
3 October 2023 – Rhododendron gardens in Blackheath
3 October 2023
Today we had a day trip to the Blue Mountains, to the beautiful village of Blackheath, home of Campbell Rhododendron Gardens.
Rhododendrons and azaleas in bloom are truly magnificent. They come in all sorts of colours and sizes.
I asked one of the lovely volunteers in the gardens how to tell rhododendrons from azaleas and she explained that one of the differences is that azaleas have 5 stamens while rhododendrons have 10!
Beautifully coloured heath is also in bloom at the moment.
Pieris japonica (Japanese pieris).
Snowflakes – looking so gentle and fragile.
The gardens even have waratahs that are also in bloom now.
25 September 2023 – NZ Christmas Bush
25 September 2023
It is amazing to see several life stages of a plant all at once. This spectacular New Zealand Christmas Bush displays its flower buds that are just about to open, the stunning bright red flower spikes that have already opened and also the following stage where the flowers have fallen off.
I took the first photo a couple of days ago. Then walking past these bushes today I noticed something new. They had new leaves coming through. Fresh light green leaves were unfurling in front of my eyes. Renewal in action!
Spectacular NZ Christmas Bush at its best.
Here they are – new leaves are growing so fast.
Fresh greenery!
23 September 2023 – Banksia
23 September 2023
These gorgeous banksia candles look like three generations of the same family in one house 🙂 Dry grey candles are next to the brown ones and very fresh looking golden reddish ones are all together on the same bush.
What a big happy family!
21 September 2023 – Life is fleeting
21 September 2023
I am feeling rather contemplative today and have been thinking about the fleeting nature of time and life.
Walking past Christison Park, I noticed that the gorgeous blooms of Indian Hawthorn that I photographed just a couple of weeks ago were nearly all gone.
I felt it was a reminder to enjoy things in life while we have them. Nothing is guaranteed to be around tomorrow, not us, not our family or health. Thanks Indian Hawthorn for this timely reminder.
16 September 2023 – Double Bay
16 September 2023
Just a couple of plants from today’s walk but quite interesting ones. I spotted those in Double Bay in Sydney, walking my dog along some quiet residential streets behind Woollahra Library.
The first plant looked absolutely fascinating due to displaying flowers in purple, light lavender and white on the same bush at the same time. It turns out that the flowers first open bright purple, then fade to lilac or lavender and finally become white as they mature. That gives the bush its multi-coloured appearance. So all flowers start the same colour that then changes as they age. How amazing is that!
The official name is Brunfelsia and it is also known as yesterday-today-tomorrow (or Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow) because of its changing colour flowers.
Something to keep in mind is that all parts of the plant are toxic especially the berries.
It is native to Brazil and belongs to the Solanaceae (or nightshade) family, together with tomatoes, eggplants, capsicums and chilli peppers.
Another today’s plant is called Duranta erecta and is nicknamed Golden dewdrop, Brazillian sky flower, Forget-me-not bush, Golden tears and Pigeon berry.
I saw it covered in gorgeous orange berries, hence the nickname ‘Golden dewdrop’. The berries are unfortunately toxic.
I haven’t seen any flowers but apparently they look a lot like ‘forget-me-not’ flowers which is where Duranta’s other nickname ‘Forget-me-not bush’ comes from. Will keep an eye out for the flowers next time.
13 September 2023 – Vaucluse House
13 September 2023
Today was a beautiful spring day and I also had a day off. I decided to go for a walk to Vaucluse House which is a gorgeous 19th century estate surrounded by well looked after gardens.
The park behind Vaucluse House reminds me of European parks, due to a number of large trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. It is so quiet and peaceful, with only birds and wind breaking the silence.
Further down at the Tea Rooms and the Pleasure Garden there was a bit more hustle and bustle, with a few people around and a school group excursion.
My dog and I walked around a bit and I took some photos that I am sharing below.
It was such a pleasant walk, we will be back soon to explore inside the Vaucluse House and the rest of the park that we didn’t get around to see today.
Spiderwort (Tradescantia fluminensis). It is apparently a weed that can outcompete native vegetation and smother the ground.
Here it is smothering the ground.
Echium candicans, the ‘Pride of Madeira’. Native of the island of Madeira 🙂
And here is the entire Pride of Madeira plant.
Spiraea cantoniensis, also known as bridalwreath spirea and May Bush. It flowers in May in its native China, hence the May Bush name.
And the full May Bush.
Pink Indian Hawthorn. I mostly see it in white and had a separate post on it a few days ago. This one is spectacular pink.
Forget-me-not!
Show-stopping Wisteria, magnificently fragrant.
More Wisteria.
I had no idea that oranges can flower and bear fruit at the same time!
London Plane tree.
Bananas.
Beautiful Waratah (Telopea) in someone’s garden on the way back home. Waratah is the floral emblem of New South Wales.
Waratah.
Bush lily in soft yellow colour.
Earleaf acacia.