Saturday, December 14, 2013

Flower Flaunt ... As Our Summertime Sets In

December is our first Summer month and the heat and humidity have arrived.  The arrival of our wet season has stalled for a few weeks now it seems.  My last Flower Flaunt post was posted at the end of November, and I excitedly told about what appeared to be the early arrival of our wet season.  Well I think Mother Nature was teasing just a little as it's been dry since then.


Even though we get a glimpse of dark grey off in the distance, it disappears from view as quick as a wink, blown away somewhere else.  It's so disappointing watching the grey sky turn to bright blue and puffy white within a matter of minutes.


Here's a classic example from this morning.  The first photo was taken at around 11.30 and the second was taken just before 12.00.  Damn those blue, puffy-white-cloud-filled skies!  I do get tired of seeing them after a long dry season.


Ah well, the photo brings me back to the original topic, blooms for the week.  My Cassia fistula, commonly known as Golden Showers, has finally bloomed.

It is always the last one to bloom in my neighbourhood, it seems.  Every year I watch with envious eyes as all the other trees around here break into bloom and show their fabulous golden racemes.  Then I wait patiently for mine to catch up.  It seems to wait until the first or second week of December before joining in the Golden Shower bloom party.

Another thing that has been particularly late in blooming this year are my Hemerocallis that are planted in the tiered garden beds.  Usually the collection begins blooming in mid-Spring, which is October here, and the last of blooms are on show into late December.  This year has been completely different.


Hemerocallis 'Jamaican Midnight' threw out a couple of flowers just last week, but only a couple.


Then this morning my little Hemerocallis 'Velvet Eyes' has one beautiful bloom on show, with a couple more waiting in the wings.  But that's been the extent of the Hemerocallis show so far this year.  I haven't quite figured out why yet, and I'm watching eagerly to see just how many bloom given that our horrid summer is already upon us.


One very unexpected sight in the tiered garden bed this morning, was this Gloriosa rothschildiana or Gloriosa Lily.  I can't tell you how blown away I was when I spotted it.

I had been given a little baby plant a couple of years ago, and had popped it in the top tier of the tiered garden bed.  I really thought I had lost it during Cyclone Yasi.  That part of the garden was flooded in biblical proportions, blown to shreds by fierce cyclonic winds, and an enormous Duranta was blown over and demolished quite a few plants during its downfall.  But then to add insult to injury, during the clean-up, there was also a lot of unavoidable trampling and crushing of lots of plants in that section of the garden.


Having had no sight of the plant at all afterwards, I had written it off as another of the losses of the great cyclone of 2011.  Well, apparently the Gloriosa Lily turned out to be a survivor after all.  I'm constantly amazed at just how resilient some plants are.  Gardening is always a world of surprises, because here it is climbing its way up the branches of an Aralia and the neighbouring Mussaenda.  How wonderful is that!


The colour of the Gloriosa Lily certainly matches the gorgeous oranges and yellows of the Mussaenda 'Calcutta Sunset' bracts and blooms.   They go well together.


Elsewhere, in the shadehouse garden, the Spathiphyllum is blooming.


There's something quite refreshing about the sight of bright pristine white spathes on a blazing hot and sticky summer's day.  Maybe that's why I do so love splashes of white in the garden.


I also have a beautiful little Orchid that's blooming out in the shadehouse garden at the moment.  The white flowers on this are quite tiny, but absolutely lovely.


This is Dendrobium crumenatum, commonly known as the Pigeon Orchid.


At the moment, I can also see the fabulous white flowers of the Tabernaemontana corymbosa 'Sweet Love',


and the white Impatiens walleriana, out in the courtyard garden.


One of the lovely sights on a balmy summer's evening is the display of the night-blooming native Planchonia careya, or Cocky Apple tree, out in the bushland as well.


The flowers start to open as the sun sets, and they have dropped just after the sun rises.   It's those lovely splashes of white in the twilight that I just adore so much.

I've just realised this is my 400th post.  Well time flies!

With this post, I'm joining Today's Flowers




27 comments:

  1. As always it's a delight to visit your blog and see what's growing there where you are. I love your Golden Showers tree. Your tree seems to want to stretch everyone's delight of these blooms a little longer since it's the last tree in your neighborhood to come into bloom.

    Have a wonderful warm and beautiful Christmas holiday season ~ FlowerLady

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    1. Yes Lorraine, my Cassia is the last on the block to show off, but not many of my neighbours can actually see it. I guess I get to enjoy everyone else's trees in bloom first and then the beauty continues with my own tree.

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  2. Gorgeous images, Bernie! i just love your Gloriosa Lily. Happy weekend!

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    1. Thanks Eileen. The Gloriosa was a glorious surprise after all this time.

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  3. Hi Bernie...your flowers are a sight for all ready winter weary eyes! Love that golden showers tree! I always think that white gardens brighten shady spots and make the garden cooler looking as well. The little orchid is gorgeous. I bet it would make some nice corsages! There is a cold rain falling this morning here but no freezing anything.

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    1. Thanks Jean. The Golden Showers tree certainly brightens up the place and makes a great backdrop to the courtyard garden at the moment. Would you believe we actually got a light shower of rain that lasted around about an hour this evening. It barely touched the ground, but it was very pleasant.

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  4. You have a lot of whites, they are always beautiful wherever we find them, rain or shine. It's good you have the Spathiphyllum, it can't grow in our hot area in the province though we have it in the house where i studied college, there it is not as dry.

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    1. I am so lucky to be able to grow the Spath in my shadehouse garden. It likes its spot out there and just seems to thrive. I'm going to plant some in one corner of my new garden bed to see how it goes outside all year round.

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  5. Gorgeous flowers Bernie, but it did make me smile to hear you so disappointed at yet another blue sky . Here in the uk, at this time of year, we all yearn for a ray of sun, however weak.

    I loved your dark red Hemerocallis 'Jamaican Midnight'. Wonder if I can get it here ... if so it's on my list.

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    1. Yes I have to admit I do get a bit sick and tired of the blue skies. That's all we see for months and months and months during our long dry season, so we look forward to seeing some grey for a change. We're hanging out for the wet season now.

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  6. Gorgeous summer flowers, especially the Golden Showers. It's wonderful to see how your Gloriosa is such a survivor.

    I can relate to your disappointment at no rain since we've been through that and it's so essential to get rain when needed. There are plenty of sunny days in your part of the world so it's not like a gray, rainy day wouldn't be welcomed now and then.


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    1. Grey, rainy days are like diamonds at the end of a dry season here. We do indeed welcome them.

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  7. Bernie,
    congratulations to your 400. blog post, cant's wait to see, read and learn more of your wonderful flowers and trees from your country. We got a foot of snow ...looks like a winter wonderland:)

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    1. Yes thank you Guild-rez, the 400th post snuck up on me and came as a surprise. I've seen you lovely winter wonderland photos on FB and it looks wonderful.

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  8. Beautiful photos as always, loved your hemerocallis I have recently increased my collection and I can’t wait to see them all in flower next summer, all 13 of them! Your Gloriosa Lily is truly glorious, I have never seen that one before and neither the Mussaenda, equally glorious. Congratulations on posting your 400th pots, truly a milestone!

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    1. Helene, you have more Hemerocallis than me at the moment, but I am planning on adding some more next year now that I have the extra room with the construction of new garden beds. I can't wait until the catalogue arrives and I get to pick some more lovely ones.

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  9. Congrats on 400 posts...when I lived in Arizona I was longing for rain...now we long for sun as the snow piles up. I have a Spathiphyllum blooming in the house as here they are houseplants.

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    1. Thanks Donna, I had no idea I'd posted that many. I've been getting terrible with posting over the last few months. There are times in the year though when I don't seem able to have enough spare time for it.

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  10. Hi Bernie, it is absolutely fascinating to see what is blooming in your garden in December. Love these tropical and to me completely unusual plants. One that I find especially fascinating is Gloriosa rothschildiana, Gloriosa Lily. So glad it survived the cyclone. We seem to have in common a love for white flowering plants. I love, love, love the Dendrobium crumenatum 'Pigeon Orchid'. I have to look that one up, it might flower for me too here in San Diego, California. Wishing you a nice week!
    Christina

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    1. Thanks for dropping by Christina and I'm glad you enjoyed seeing some of what's blooming here at the moment. I do love white in the garden, and I'm always trying to add just a little more every year. I do so hope you find the Dendrobium there. It's such a lovely little thing.

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  11. Uuups, forgot to say congratulations to your 400th post. That is quite an accomplishment!
    Christina

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    1. Thank you, Christina. I had no idea I was even close.

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  12. Congrats on your 400th post! I always love seeing your beautiful flowers. Have a great start to the new week.

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    1. Thanks very much, Gunilla. I never thought I'd make that many when I first started blogging. I thought it might be something I'd try for a year or two, and then I expected I'd lose interest.

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  13. It's wonderful to sit here on a cold,wet gloomy day and see the wonderful things you have in bloom. What amazing plants you grow and lovely photos.
    Chloris

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  14. 4oo posts! - you are a prolific blogger, and a good one too. I enjoy looking at your flowers. I was never really into Mussaenda, but this 'Calcutta Sunset' has made me look at them differently. The other unique native plant that I admire is Cocky Apple tree. There is such a vast array of plants in Australia!

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  15. Merry Christmas. May you and your family have a great time during this festive period.

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