Flower Flaunt on this Good Friday.

Happy Easter everyone!  It's a long weekend for us here in Australia, and it's the start of our semester break from school as well.  I'm heading off for a little while to enjoy the short mid-semester holiday, but before I go I thought I'd just show a couple of the rather simple but elegant Orchids that are blooming today.

Dendrobium bigibbum

Dendrobium crumenatum


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

and Nix for Floral Friday Fotos

Munch, Munch, Munch ... The Year In Photographs ... March 27, 2013.

I've spotted yet another Common Crow caterpillar munching its way through several leaves on the potted Oleander out in the courtyard garden.  Obviously these caterpillars have no problem feeding on plants with milky sap.

I wonder if I'll be lucky enough to see the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis of this fabulous creature this time.  I missed the sight of the emerging butterfly from the chrysalis hanging from one of the leaves of this plant just a couple of weeks ago.

This morning I also spotted this caterpillar munching on some Gardenia leaves.  I'm not really sure which caterpillar this one is, so any helps with an I.D. would be much appreciated.

Is this a moth or a butterfly?  It's a subject I really need to learn more about.

Wattle It Be ... The Year In Photographs ... March 24, 2013

It's time for Wattle blooms once again here in the north-east.

The Acacia simsii is blooming out in the surrounding bushland.  They usually bloom in early Autumn, which is March here in Oz.

It's a rather scraggly looking bush, but those fabulous little golden puffs make up for the general untidiness of its growth.

Flower Flaunt Friday ... nearing the end of our first month of Autumn.

Our first Autumn month is nearly over, and not much has changed in my garden.

There was the chance of some decent rain coming our way with Cyclone Tim heading towards our coastline.  Unfortunately  the chance went begging, as 'Tiny Tim' (as we've dubbed the weather system) deteriorated into an ex-cylcone with very little oomph!   It crossed the coast further north and has only bought us a few showers of rain, with absolutely no heavy rain whatsoever.   So 'Tiny Tim' has tiptoed through here with little effect.  Still, I've enjoyed the sprinkling of rain we've had over the last two days.

I've noticed the Acacia simsii out in the bushland has started blooming.  

It has the most spectacular little golden puffs for flowers.

Out in the shadehouse garden I discovered this weed has sprung up while I was clearing out last weekend.  It's unfortunate that this Passiflora, Passiflora foetida or Stinking Passionfruit,  is such an environmental thug, because it does have a beautiful flower.

My Dendrobium bigibbum  (such an unfortunate name!!!) has begun blooming again right on schedule.

My purple Anthurium is always blooming and is one of my favourite sights in the shadehouse garden.

My Aeschynanthus lobbianus or Lipstick Plant continues to show off its remarkable blooms in the shadehouse as well.

Down beside the driveway I have two of these fabulous Turnera subulata shrubs putting on a show during the day.  The lovely creamy white flowers close up when the sun sets and only open once the sun has risen a fair way the next morning.

My Mussaenda 'Calcutta Sunset' looks fabulous against the backdrop of the Duranta repens berries.

Thunbergia erecta 'Tru Blu' has lots of gorgeous bluey-purple flowers at the moment.

My favourite Mussaenda, Mussaenda philippica 'Aurore' is covered in its white bracts and tiny orangey-yellow star-shaped flowers.

My wonderful Jasminum officinale is still blooming and filling the courtyard with its sweet fragrance.

Out in the courtyard garden, the Salvia splendens hybrids have started blooming again after their drastic cut back.

 

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

 

I'm also joining Nix for Floral Friday Fotos 

and Today's Flowers

Foliage Follow-Up ... Caladiums on show.

I don't grow many Caladiums, but at this time of year I'm very appreciative of the few I have.  After a long hot, humid summertime, the garden looks rather drab and parched.  The Caladiums have risen from their slumber and are providing some wonderful splashes of colour in the shadier parts of my garden.

I'm joining Pam for her Foliage Follow Up meme. 

Friday Flower Flaunt ... Our first Autumn Month.

It definitely seems as if our wet season has gone MIA this year.  Here we are, with only a few more weeks left before the wet officially ends, and the totals have been very dismal.  I've been MIA from the garden too, because of the summer heat and humidity, but the days have started to become cooler and not as steamy so I'm looking forward to spending some time outdoors this coming weekend.

Before that though, I'm going to catch up with the few blooms that are on show today.

Coleus

Angelonia angustifolia

Cordyline

Aeschynanthus radicans or Lipstick Plant

Jasminum officinale or Poet's Jasmine

Costus productus

Duranta repens

Lagerstroemia speciosa or Queen's Myrtle

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

I'm also joining Nix for Floral Friday Fotos

and Today's Flowers

Missed It ... The Year In Photographs ... March 14, 2013

Well I missed it!  That's one of the downside to having to go off to work!  I miss some of the exciting stuff that happens at home.

It's not a great shot I'm afraid, as the camera batteries died as soon as I took this photo, but this is what greeted me very early this morning.

I woke just as the sun was rising and found that the chrysalis I've been watching eagerly for days and days had turned black.  I had a feeling that perhaps the butterfly would emerge sooner rather than later.






I waited as long as I could before I headed off to work, and I spent all day hoping that nothing happened while I was away.  That was wishful thinking.

I arrived home this afternoon to find an empty chrysalis.  So that means somewhere in my garden there's a brand new butterfly flitting around enjoying its new life.

Awesome ... The Year In Photographs ... March 13, 2013

So I was up extra early this morning to check on the chrysalis ... it was still intact ... and I was fortunate to see this lovely sunrise.