Wordless Wednesday ... Peek-A-Boo!

(Agile Wallaby playing hide-and-seek)


I'm joining Tina's Wordless Wednesday today with this wildlife shot.  Pop over and join the fun!

Mosaic Monday ... The Sound Of Music ... Ah, I Mean The Sound Of Rain!

Raindrops on rooftop and raindrops on flowers,



Birds and the dry bush are covered by showers,

Grey skies and grey clouds at the end of our Spring,

These are a few of my favourite things!

Yes, it looks as if the dry season is coming to an end for this year.  It was relatively short ... only seven months without rain this time around ... but it's always a harsh time.  Now it seems that the wet season is not too far off.  The garden could certainly do with some decent rainfall, so roll in those rain clouds!!

Enjoy lots of fabulous Mosaic Monday posts at Mary's Little Red House

Flower Flaunt Friday ... First Decent Fall Of Rain.

It's raining ... amen, hallelujah!  Yes we've finally had a decent amount of rainfall.  Yesterday afternoon the dark grey clouds rolled in and the rain fell .... and kept on falling for over an hour!  Then the drizzle started up again very, very early this morning and fell for several hours.  Those raindrops actually soaked into the ground and I'm sure I heard the bush give a huge sigh of relief.

I'm pretty sure I hear all my plants giving thanks for this precious gift from the heavens.

It's always a bit of a relief when the dry season finally breaks, although of course the wet season can hold some horrors of its own.  We're all just hoping and praying that we get lots of lovely rain and not too much of the other stuff ... monsoonal downpours that turn into flooding rains or nasty cyclones.

For now though, it's just delightful to see raindrop splashed blooms out in the garden,

like the Mussaenda philippica 'Bangkok Rose', also known as 'Queen Sirikit',

and the Pseudomussaenda flava or Mussaenda lutea.

The tiny little flower buds are appearing on the Ardisias once more  ...

... and the Gardenia augusta is still blooming away happily.

Ixora 'Twilight Glow' is covered in its vibrant orange and yellow flowers ...

... and the Angelonias are flowering as well.

Gomphrena globosa is back on show ...

... and the Gazanias are showing their fabulous faces.

There are still some Hemerocallis to be found ...

... and Mussaenda philippica 'Calcutta Sunset' has shown its bracts and tiny flowers once more.

Of course, it's not just myself or my plants that are enjoying the rain, the birds are having great fun splashing about in the liquid sunshine as well.

Go on over and visit Tootsie to join in her Fertilizer Friday / Flaunt Your Flowers meme

and be sure to visit Tina for her Weekend Flowers on Friday as well.

 

I'm also joining Today's Flowers as well.

Mosaic Monday ... It's Cocky Apple Time!

Yes our native Planchonia careya or Cocky Apple trees are flowering at the moment.  This means these trees seem to be back to their usual timeline.  Last year, after a rather damp and unusual 'dry' season, they bloomed in October.  This year we had our normal dry 'dry' ... no rain at all for seven months ... and the Cocky Apples are blooming once again in late November into early December.

Unless you are familiar with this particular native species, you would probably miss seeing the tree itself flowering.  In the mornings you would notice lots of flowers lying scattered on the ground underneath these trees, but you would only see the tightly packed green buds in the light of day.

This little tree flowers only in the evenings and any bloom that opens during the night will fall when the sun rises.  So if you ever visit, I'll take you out into the bushland around dusk or very very early in the mornings to see these stunning flowers.

Some may have noticed that this is the flower that I use as my avatar.  It's a tree endemic to northern and north-eastern Australia and I'm lucky enough to live in an area where this species is prevalent in the surrounding bushland.






For loads of wonderful Mosaic Monday posts, go and visit Mary at Little Red House

Flower Flaunt Friday ... As The End Of Springtime Draws Closer.

Only  12 more days until the start of Summer.  Springtime here is almost over and the 'dry' season is drawing to a close as well.  There's still quite a bit of colour in various corners of my place despite the parched conditions, especially in my tiny Daylily Corner of the tiered garden beds.  The dark varieties have been strutting their stuff lately.

Here's Hemerocallis 'Bela Lugosi' with its deep purple ruffled petals.

To the left in the shot above is Hemerocallis 'Jamaican Midnight' with its dark purple/black bloom,

and this is Hemerocallis 'Velvet Eyes' with its vibrant red petals and velvety black red eye.

Of course, there have been some brighter Daylily blooms as well.

Here's Hemerocallis 'Continental Holiday'.

Hemerocallis 'Blackberry Jack' has been flowering the longest out of all the varieties, and it's still putting on a show.

Hemerocallis 'Jamaican Me Crazy' certainly lights up this spot in the tiered garden bed, and makes a great partner for Hemerocallis 'Bela Lugosi' in the background.

It's been fabulous seeing Hemerocallis 'Sabine Baur' in all her beauty too.

The first unusual bracts and blooms are appearing on my Mussaenda philippica x erythrophylla 'Calcutta Sunset'.  Both the yellow mottled red and orange bracts and the greenish white flowers are rather tiny compared to the other Mussaendas that grow in my garden.  I'm looking forward to seeing the display as summer rolls in.

Elsewhere in the tiered garden beds, the Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue' is flowering once more,

as is the Salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue'.

All the Poinciana trees, Delonix regia, are covered in their bright red flowers now.

The last of the Oriental Lilies is on show out in the shadehouse, and it's just beautiful.

While out in the courtyard,

the Gardenia augusta continues to bloom,

and I just love the way those brilliant pure white flowers fade into a golden buttery yellow as they age.

Elsewhere in the courtyard garden,

the Torenia 'Violet Magic' just keeps on flashing its gorgeous purple flowers,

as does Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender'.

I love the way this white Angelonia serena just appeared in a dish of Gomphrenas.  It has such lovely delicate flowers.

The Bumblebee Petunias and Bracteanthas keep on blooming,

and so do the Nasturtiums.

For more fabulous Fertilizer Friday / Flaunt Your Flowers posts, go and visit Tootsie at Tootsie Time

I'm joining Today's Flowers

Flowers On Saturday

and Weekend Flowers on Friday.

Mosaic Monday ... Magnificent Million Dollar Views!

My beloved other half and I have just returned from a fabulous birthday celebration weekend at our favourite getaway location.  Just four hours drive along the highway north is Mission Beach where we've often spent weekends away in the last decade or so.  Well, this past weekend we didn't stay at our usual resort hotel, right on the beachfront, which I've written about before in an earlier post titled - On A Mission.

No, this time we stayed at a resort hotel that's atop a high cliffside with million dollar views out over the ocean.  When you arrive at the reception area you get a sense of the magnificent scenic views that await you as you walk through the foyer and bar area.

The pool area has million dollar views out over the Coral Sea.

If you walk over to the railing at the back of the pool area you realise very quickly just how high up you really are.

The resort is nestled in amongst a rainforest area that's been filled with loads of fabulous tropical plants.  The whole resort is interlinked with boardwalks that connect the rooms located at different positions on the cliffside.  Here's the palm tree lined boardwalk that led to our room.

The ocean views, of course, didn't stop at the poolside area.  There were magnificent views from our room,

and even when we went walking along various other boardwalks, the glorious blue ocean was always in sight.

Yes we did venture down to 'Lover's Bay', but unfortunately I forgot to take my camera with me!

The food was divine and even after a simple lunch, eaten while relaxing in the bar area, we felt obliged to go off wandering again.  At least we made a few token efforts at getting some gentle exercise and therefore didn't feel entirely guilty about the amount of time we spent just relaxing and chilling out in this beautiful spot!

I'm ever so grateful that my darling husband went along to a Business Luncheon and Auction organised to raise money for breast cancer research.  Luckily, his was the winning bid on a weekend for two package to the Elandra Resort and this even coincided beautifully with the fact that I celebrated a birthday in this last week.  Sometimes we really do feel rather blessed!

Please pop over and visit Mary at Little Red House for more fantastic Mosaic Monday posts.