Friday, April 20, 2012

It's Time To Flaunt Flowers ... On Yet Another Mid-Autumn Friday.

The dry sunny mid-Autumn weather continues here.  The days are still quite hot, but at least the humidity is far less and it's not as sticky out there in the middle of the day.  My place is still rather green, as our 'dry' season has only really just begun.


There's still not all that much colour around the place.  Out in the courtyard garden, I'm behind in getting my little annuals potted up.  They're still rather tiny seedlings sitting in the shadehouse garden.  I'm looking forward to having some great potted colour out in the courtyard garden this coming Winter and early Spring.


My pot of Zinnias is out in the courtyard, but not looking great.  They are dwarf Zinnias, but they're being munched on by something and they're still looking a little anorexic to me.


I'm seeing new plumes on my Justicia canrea 'Alba' and there are gorgeous little blooms appearing on the white Impatiens I added to the pot.  I do so love white in the garden!


After the long 'wet' season we had over our Summer and into early Autumn, I found lots of little volunteer Coleus and Torenias popping up in between the pavers out in the courtyard.  I managed to save some before the whipper-snipping weed control effort of hubbie, and potted them up.  They're looking very happy after the move.


The white Angelonias are still powering on, although the Gomphrena globosa 'Buddy Purple' have almost come to the end of their flowering time.  They usually self-seed in the pot though and come back again later in the year.

Now I know this in not the best shot I've ever taken, but the batteries died in my camera so there was no chance of taking another shot for this post.


Anyway, it seems that my Pilea cadierei, or Aluminium Plant, is blooming for the first time. It may be hard to spot, but that blue arrow points to the beginnings of the small cream flowers that appear at the stem tips. Maybe it's not the first time this plant has flowered, as I never really take much notice of this poor little no-fuss plant.  It's not really at the top of my plant care list, as it just sits out in the courtyard in the background never really demanding attention.


Another bloom I noticed this morning ... is the flower spike on my Cordyline 'Black Night'.  I can't wait for it to open up.

Elsewhere around my place ...


the fuzzy lemon caterpillar-like flowers of my Acacia are on show once more,


the first powder puff blooms of my Calliandra are here,


the Pseudomussaenda flava, syn Mussaenda lutea, also known as 'White Wings' continues to show its creamy white bracts and yellow flowers,


and the largest of the Duranta repens shrubs down the driveway is now back to its normal scheduled blooming cycle.


One of the disappointments recently was the battering my lovely Cosmos 'Purity' took during the couple of weeks of high winds we had at the end of March/beginning of April.  The Cosmos was only planted out in the tiered garden beds a few weeks ago, and the stems are now bent and broken and lying on the ground.  There are still flowers appearing on the broken stems however, and I haven't had the heart to cut the plant back just yet.  I'm enjoying the blooms even though the plant looks in bad shape.


I'm joining Tootsie for Fertilizer Friday / Flaunt Your Flowers

Nix for Floral Friday Fotos


and Weekend Flowers


33 comments:

  1. Oh i am glad to be your first visitor, you owe me a cup of coffee! We cannot see those luxurious greens in our garden anymore, mostly brown, just like when you are about to start your wildfires, haha! I also love your whites, i have been looking for whites to plant but can't seem to find any in nurseries. I love that Justicia and cosmos, maybe they haven't reached our shores yet. Our duranta like yours are still trying to produce small flowers even if they are already turning yellowish due to heat. June is still a long way to go!

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    1. Cup of coffee coming up, Andrea ... milk? sugar? I know all about brown! Our 'dry' has just begun, but in about another two months things around here will be very brown. It's a real shame you can't find some lovely white blooming plants in the nurseries there. Hopefully soon!

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  2. Love the white Justicia, I’ve had the red one which no doubt is the common one. Also the old Aluminium Plant was a favourite of mine too. The acacia you shared today is a wonderful one!

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    1. Hi Carole. Around here it's the pink Justicia carnea that's the most common. The other common Justicia is Justicia brandgeana or the Shrimp Plant. That may be the one you're speaking about as being a common plant in your corner of the world. The Aluminium Plant is old favourite of mine. I've had this particular plant for over ten years now.

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  3. Great pictures you show of some beautiful flowers.
    Wishing you a good weekend.
    Hanne Bente / hbt.finus.dk

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    1. Thanks for visiting once again, Hanne. I am looking forward to this weekend, thanks. It's time to pot up some of my favourite little annual seedlings.

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  4. Your garden must be very lovely with so many beautiful blooms around1

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    1. Jama, my garden itself is not all that lovely. I do have some lovely plants though, and I regard myself as more of a plant collector than the owner of a lovely garden.

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  5. Flowers galore...
    A feast for my eyes!!
    Love the cordyline picture.
    - Cheers Gisela.

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    1. Great to see you dropping by again, Gisela. The Cordyline is rather nice, but I'm excited to see the first bloom appearing. I think it's going to be either pink or purple. I'll see soon.

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  6. So many beautiful flowers. Your garden must be stunning!

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    1. No, Herding Cats, my garden is not at all stunning. I just have some lovely plants. The property here offers quiet a few challenges and the garden itself is very much a work in progress. There's a very long way to go before I would call my garden stunning!! But I do so love getting out there and having a go at creating something nice.

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  7. Hi Bernie! I always love visiting Australia with you! I am listening to your background music right now :) I did not know that Aluminum Plants bloomed! We have those here... then, I saw the blue arrow pointing at the little blooms, and I figured I had just never noticed the little flowers! The duranta is cool - the way the petals are bordered...

    Thanks! And, thanks for always Plus 1'ing my photos :)

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    1. Hi Libby. Yes I have to say I've never noticed the flowers on my Aluminium plant before either. I'll have to take more notice in future!

      Your photos are great and I'm only too pleased to be plus1...ing them. I'm sure that will become a proper word soon, lol!

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  8. First of all, I am always amazed by how we are in different seasons. No matter the season you seem to have something beautiful to share. Love the volunteer coleus and torenias!

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    1. Thanks Darla. It is a corner of the world where there's always something in bloom all year round. That's a definite plus.

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  9. I nominated your blog for The Versatile Blogger award. Here's some information: http://versatilebloggeraward.wordpress.com/vba-rules/

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  10. Replies
    1. I appreciate your comment Modern Mom, and your Hibiscus are just wonderful.

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  11. wonderful flowers! thanks for sharing with us :)

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  12. Hi Bernie. I am glad you were able to save some of he coleus and torenia. LOL!
    I love white in the garden too so I adore your Justicia canrea Alba. Beautiful! I always love seeing those duranta blooms. Such lovely purple blooms it has.

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    1. Yes, thank heavens I was quick enough to save just a few of the Coleus and Torenias, Lona. Hubbie was 'in the zone' and hard to distract!!!

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  13. Bernie you have such a selection of flowers. You must have really collected over the years! I envy you being able to have flowers even during the winter season there. Gorgeous!

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    1. Jean, the winters here are just so very mild and are definitely the best growing time for things like annuals. It's a joy to have them around for so long during the year.

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  14. Wpnderful shots of your amazing garden and its wide selection of plants, Bernie.

    Thank you for participating in Floral Friday Fotos!

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    1. You're welcome, Nix, and thanks for always popping in to leave a comment. I always love checking out the bloom you choose to share for your Friday meme.

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  15. Very beautiful, Bernie. I really love Angelonia and get the pink and purple each year for my containers. Do they grow natively or just reseed in the pots because the weather suits them? Beas like them here.

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    1. GardenWalk, I do have some pink and purple Angelonias too, but the whites are my favourite. Our bees love them all.

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  16. Very beautiful, Bernie. I really love Angelonia and get the pink and purple each year for my containers. Do they grow natively or just reseed in the pots because the weather suits them? Beas like them here.

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    1. Woops, lucky you commented twice, Donna, as I forgot to answer your question. Angelonias are perennials here. They just need to be cut back after each blooming cycle, and they will come back. I now find them self-seeding as well, but I only started planting them a year and a half ago, so they haven't spread all that far yet. I'm encouraging them as much as possible though.

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  17. Your 'woodland' plants are quite stunning.

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