Friday, January 13, 2012

Flower Flaunt ... On This Mid-Summer Friday.

Well here it's mid-Summer and 'wet' season, although it's been a dry ole 'wet' season so far.  We've had no rain for weeks now, so the garden has been sizzling and frying in the fierce sunshine and drying out in the high humidity.  Apart from the trusty common year-round bloomers, there are only a few other flowers around at the moment.


The Fiddlewood Tree at the end of the hill driveway is almost covered in sprays of white flowers ....


... and the perfume from these brilliant blooms is absolutely heavenly.

The Courtyard Garden is not its usual colourful self at the moment, but


the pots of Torenia 'Violet Magic' are still blooming nicely.



There's some colour from the potted Pentas,


and the potted Cleome spinosa 'Senorita Rosalita' is still showing off wonderfully well.


It helps that there's quite a bit of great foliage out there at the back of the courtyard.  At least that's one spot that's a little more cheery.

The Shadehouse Garden is looking rather overgrown and untidy once again, and there are only a few blooms to be found out there in amongst the chaos.


There are still a few Spathiphyllum spathes to be seen,



and a few flowers on the Impatiens hawkeri and Impatiens balsamina, if you look very closely.


Then there are the dying blooms of the Curcuma australasica 'Anita',


and the newly opened pendulous flowers of the Globba winitti or Mauve Dancing Ladies.

Out in the tiered front garden beds, the young Lagerstroemia indica or Crepe Myrtles have been blooming for the first time,


and a few of the Hemerocallis are still blooming, including ...


Hemerocallis 'Sabine Baur',


Hemerocallis 'Blackberry Jack',


and Hemerocallis 'Jamaican Midnight'.


The Mussaenda 'Calcutta Sunset' is still showing its brilliant bracts and tiny yellow flowers,


and there remains a few blooms on the Justicia brandegeeana.

Elsewhere around my place,



there are a couple of Lagerstroemia indicas or Queen's Myrtles that have just started their blooming.



There are so many buds on these trees, but they seem to be taking their own sweet time in opening.  They've been sitting atop one of the trees in particular for a couple of weeks now.  Hopefully soon they will all open up and put on a pretty display.

I'm joining  Fertilizer Friday / Flaunt Your Flowers



Floral Friday Fotos,

49 comments:

  1. Jak miło patrzeć jak gdzieś w ogrodzie kwitną kwiaty, a u nas szaro i smutno :-).Jeden z pokazanych przez Ciebie kwiatów - skrzydłokwiat- kwitnie mi w doniczce w domu . Pozdrawiam.

    How nice to look like somewhere in the garden of blooming flowers, while we gray and sad :-). One of the flowers shown by you, skrzydłokwiat (white leaf-shaped) flowers in a pot in my house. Yours.

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    1. G'day Giga, gosh you were fast with your comment! Yes we are rather lucky to have something blooming all year round here. That's one of the features of living in the tropics. The plant you speak of, the Spathiphyllum or Peace Lily grows outdoors at my place. It is one of my hardiest plants as long as they never have to sit out in full sun all day.

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  2. Dear Bernie. Yet another awesome sight ... Just beautiful.
    My Spathiphyllum is also very busy at the moment. It´s a gorgeous plant with its dark shiny green leaves.
    Thanks for your response to my comments. They do come from my heart ...
    Have a lovely weekend.Best regards, Iris.

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    1. Hi Iris. I'm glad you liked the splash of colour this week. I'm afraid I don't look after my Spathiphyllum the way I should, but they seem to thrive on just a little neglect. I really should re-pot two of mine, as they are looking a little less than perfect at the moment.

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  3. Bernie,

    The summer garden looks delightful! It is hard to say that word summer in the midst of a winter snowstorm. I grew Seniorita Rosilita last year and it was very pretty.

    I just received some seed packets today so it won't be long until I start growing under lights.

    Eileen

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    1. Send a little of the winter snowstorm chill over this way. It will be delightful by the time it gets here, lol! I bet you're looking forward to starting your seeds.

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  4. I love looking at your photos because your garden is exactly about half a world away from mine, here on Long Island, NY. Right now we are experiencing a mild winter so far. The grass is still green and we have been having rain and temperatures in the 40s and 50s. Last year at this time we have several feet of snow! I hope it rains for you soon, Cheers from the Jarvis House.

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    1. That's what makes garden blogging so fascinating, Lori. We get to look through the window a half a world away, and the view is always so very interesting. Will your mild winter mean some of your plants might do so well when Spring comes? Are you hoping for some snowfall?

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  5. A wonderful parade of blooms in all different colours & textures - your crepe myrtle is so pretty.

    "Adelaide and Beyond"

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    1. Thanks Dianne. I love seeing all the Queen's Crepe Myrtles in bloom across the city. They really are such lovely sights.

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  6. What a beautiful collection of flowers you have here for us, Bernie, and so well captured too! I look forward to more of your posts.
    Many thanks for participating in Floral Friday Fotos!
    http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the selection this week, Nix. I'll happily continue joining in with your meme now that I've found it. It's always great fun seeing what's blooming in other gardens.

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  7. Bernie, I am visiting from the northern hemisphere, Michigan US, where tonight it is 32F* and snowing. It is predicted to be our first snow storm of the season.

    Your gardens are absolutely beautiful and provided a smile.

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    1. Ooh that is chilly, Debra! We never get temps that low here and we never see snow. I do hope that predicted snow storm is not too fierce. Stay safe and warm.

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  8. beautiful, each and every one Bernie.

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    1. Thanks you Carole. I'm glad you enjoyed the selection today.

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  9. Your garden might be a bit frazzled at the moment, Bernie, but it looks stunning to me --- all that brilliant white and those shades of pink and mauve.

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    1. You're kind, thanks Snail. I do so love white in the garden. I'm trying ever so slowly to add more and more of it. Purples have always been a favourite of mine, and of course the pinks just go so well with them. I'll get more adventurous one day!

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  10. The Lagerstroemia indicas are pretty special. I could quite happily have them in my garden. it's a real treat to see your lovely flowers this morning as we have had our first real hard frost and it was down to -2 last night.

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    1. G'day Sue. Yes I think they're pretty special too. They certainly add some lovely colour at this time of year. -2 ... I have no idea what that must be like! I suppose you're wrapped up warm and snug, and inside your cosy warm home. There can't be too many reasons to go out in such weather.

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  11. You must be watering...
    Cleome is a self-seeding annual here, and the challenge is in keeping the populations in check, like shizo (Perilla frutescens).
    I think you should try tithonia. It should thrive for you in the hot dry garden.

    I like the looks of your fiddlewood tree, we have a similar blooming plant here, virginia sweetspire. Our bush tends to run with those stolons, so not the best garden plant.
    The daylilies did very poorly here last year... Your plants seem to be happy enough...
    Flower flaunt Friday, hmm... I'll put up something this evening... no time this am.

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    1. Oh yes, Stone, watering is the one gardening chore I do every day and sometimes twice a day. I've never tried Tithonia. I'll have to look into it to see whether it would grow here.

      Thanks for popping by. You should join the Friday Flaunt meme. It's a great way to see what's blooming around the world, and to show off the blooms in your own garden.

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    2. If I had to water that much, I'd find better suited plants...
      The tithonia didn't come up until mid summer in the dry sand garden last year, but it did fine in clay gardens.
      In a watered garden, tithonia gets huge, and falls over and covers all the other flowers and requires cutting back. In an unwatered garden, it stays manageable. Tithonia in my sand garden during the drought last year.
      I grow it as a self-seeding annual in zone 8. You could probably have a better experience... the butterflies really like it... Drought tolerant, attracts butterflies...
      I'd suggest lantana, but it is apparently a problem for yall... I'd suggest viper's bugloss, but that's supposed to be a problem for yall also... Figuring out what will grow, without taking over the countryside... There's a challenge!

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  12. thanks for sharing your lovely summer flowers with us ♥

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  13. Thanks Jim. What happened to JBar?

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  14. I'm only too pleased to share, Tina. It's fun joining in with your meme.

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  15. Your garden is still lovely. In the back courtyard photo there are spiky colorful plants.Are they some form of croton? Good you can remember what names the day lilies are that you have planted. I planted several this last fall and was given several from a friend. I have not a clue what any of them are and will be continually surprised when they bloom. Surprise is good sometimes right?

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    1. Hi Jean. Yes those two spiky plants are Crotons, Croton 'Zanzibar' to be exact. That's their new growth at the moment. It's bright yellow which is something to see.

      I always keep the tags for my plants or I write down their names, otherwise I'd never remember half of what I grow. I do have some however that remain unknown.

      Surprise is definitely good. We can enjoy the flowers without ever knowing the names of the Daylilies anyway.

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  16. Replies
    1. Thanks Modern Mom. Loved your Bougainvillea photos.

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  17. Hi Bernie,

    I'm so glad to find you here since the other site closed. Your garden is beautiful! Such a treat since we are about to head into the coldest part of the year.

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    1. Thank you so much for dropping in to visit. I wouldn't have found your site otherwise. It was so strange the way that site closed so unexpectedly. I do hope she's OK!

      We're in our hottest part of the year right now and the summer temps have forced me inside in the middle of the day where I can enjoy the air-con.

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  18. Hi, Bernie
    Thanks for stopping by my blog. I enjoyed my stroll through your garden photos. It's been snowing for a few hours here and is quite pretty, actually; we've had a shortage of winter weather.
    I like your white peace lily and have one as a house plant which will bloom a little later in the year. Enjoy your summer!

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    1. Yes I've been reading a lot of comments from bloggers that the winter over there has been remarkably mild. Maybe not such a great thing for some plants. Well here the summer's not quite what we expect either, as there's been a distinct lack of rain so far and this is supposed to be our wet season. We'll see what February and March have in store for us.

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  19. Oh my gush I so love my flower garden will look like this. Awesome flowers. thanks for sharing.

    Orchid

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  20. Glad you enjoyed the visit, Kim. That Orchid is truly stunning. Great photo.

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  21. Love the queen myrtles! Have a great weekend!

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  22. I like your Fiddlewood tree spires...lovely! They remind me of snow on branches...wish we would get more snow. There has not been much this season.

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  23. All the flowers are so pretty!

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  24. What a display! That is quite a flower flaunt! It's so great to see some flowers when everything up here is winter brown.

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  25. Oh boy LILIES!! I have to come here to get my lily fix. LOL! So pretty Bernie. Your pink Crape Myrtle is lovely in bloom too. What an unusual (well for me that is) plant your Mussaenda 'Calcutta Sunset' is. I really like the look of it. You just have so many wonderful plants and trees to look at that we never get to see here. Have a nice weekend and enjoy your summer days.

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  26. what wonderful flowers!! SO beautiful!!!

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  27. Great shots of all the beautiful flowers, love them!
    It's so nice to see all your flowers, here it's winter.
    Have a great weekend.

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  28. Beautiful! It always amazes me to see how many of the same plants we grow.

    Betty

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  29. Hi Bernie, I love Daylilies, I have Frans Hals which I bought as a tiny plant and have divided and divided and divided, think I have 8 now, and the neighbour got 4!

    Lovely photos, and your garden is amazing; you got plants I haven't even heard of :-)

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  30. Hi, thanks for the lovely comment on by blog! You have a beautiful garden! I was born and spent much of my childhood in Cairns. I almost feel like I am back in far north QLD looking at your beautiful blog!

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  31. The Fiddlewood Tree is new to me and the flowers
    look like they smell wonderful. Such beautiful
    shots of your garden floral.
    I have many Daylilies and have been searching for
    more to incorporate into my garden,, but, our stores
    do not sell them this time of year... soon!
    Very nice indeed.
    Sandy

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  32. Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my mailbox! Your bloomers and your photos are amazing! I hope you'll come back and show us your flowers when Bloomin' Tuesday starts again. I will definitely be back again! Jean

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  33. This is a marvelous display of beautiful flowers. Thank you for sharing so many with us at Today's Flowers. I am especially grateful as we are in the middle of our winter.

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