It's Friday Flower Flaunt Time ... On This Rainy Almost-Summertime Friday.

It certainly seems like the wet season has arrived early this year.  Just this morning we've had it all ... heavy rain, lightning and thunder.  How fabulous!  We get very excited when the long dry season ends.

Here's a little clip ... you do have to wait a while for the lightning and thunder crash.

It's still raining at the moment, so I can't get outside to take shots of the blooms out today.  I'm restricted to sharing a few photos of the rain-splashed flowers I can see from my verandah.

Gardenia

double Gerberas

Salvia madrensis and Russelia

Mussaenda philippica 'Bangkok Rose'

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Snowflake'

Pseudomussaenda flava

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

First Ever Blood Lily Bloom ... The Year In Photographs ... November 11, 2013

It seems rather appropriate that my one and only Scadoxus multiflorus or Blood Lily, given to me as a pass-along plant earlier this year, should show off its first ever fully open bloom on Remembrance Day. 

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month has special significance around the world, including here in Australia.  We observe one minute's silence at 11.00 am every Remembrance Day, to remember all those in the armed services who have died or suffered whilst serving for their country.

This spectacular fiery red flowerhead is a fitting reminder about the sacrifices made by so many in the past.

Lest we forget!

It's Time For A Friday Flower Flaunt

Well today is my birthday, and it finally coincides with my day off work.  Fabulous! It's a great excuse to just have the day to myself, and not do the housework that usually gets done on my day off.  I bought home a tiny bouquet of Roses from the school rose garden yesterday afternoon as a special treat for myself.

This is one of my favourites from the garden.  I have no idea of the varietal name of this beautiful Rose, but I do so love the colour change as it slowly fades.  The perfume is exquisite as well.

Out in the garden here at my place,

I have noticed a little Rain Lily, Zephyranthes primulina, opening this morning.  I've grown these from seeds sent from a very kind and gracious fellow north Queensland gardener (thanks Pitta!).  I absolutely adore the gorgeous pale soft yellow flowers.

It seems I missed a couple of other blooms that had already opened up.  We've had some showers of rain recently.  The inner city area received quite a heavy downpour last week, but we seem to have missed that here in the foothills.  Still, it was lovely to have some rain finally.  Our wet season is still a long way off though.

 I also spotted the very first buds on my Scadoxus or Blood Lily.   This plant will be going into a corner of one of my new garden beds and will add a splash of terrific colour in Spring and Summer after it rises from dormancy.

There are still just a couple of Lilies blooming in the big pot out in the courtyard.  There's a rather pretty Asiatic Matisse Lilium and a huge Oriental Lilium on show this morning.

 

The stark white flowers of my Tabernaemontana corymbosa 'Sweet Love' are brightening up the courtyard space. 

 The pinwheel shaped blooms certainly draw attention.

The potted Salvia farinacea 'Strata' is blooming in the courtyard,

alongside a couple of Pelargoniums,

 

and the potted Duranta 'Geisha Girl'.

The first of the blooming season's flowers have started opening on my Gardenia shrub out in the courtyard as well.

Under the very tall Corymbia torellianas, the Plumeria rubra and Plumeria obtusa have both started their end of Spring/Summertime display.  You know summer is not far off when the Frangipanis start blooming at my place,

and you see the Delonix regia or Poincianas blooming at our front gates, with our neighbour's Jacaranda on show in the background.

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

It's Time For Another Friday Flower Flaunt.

Today is the first day of our last Spring month, and it's also the first day of our Tropical Cyclone Season.  Gosh, that seems to come around quickly!  We now spend six months waiting to see if anything develops and waiting to see where a tropical cyclone might possibly strike near us!  But that's part of our tropical lifestyle here in the north.  Fingers crossed it flies by without too much destruction.

Anyhoo ... I finally did get a shot of our recent visitors face.  As some might know, I had an interesting visitor drop by this week to spend time sitting in my water plant container. 

Yes, that's the face of that lovable Scrub Python that made itself at home for four days out in my courtyard.  It's gone now, probably had to go off searching for something tasty to eat.  Thank goodness, because I wasn't too keen on getting close in order to grab the hand held hose that I needed to water all my potted courtyard plants.  The poor things looked a little parched by the end of the week, but I've managed to give them a good long drink this morning.

There's actually not much blooming around here at the moment.  I've had a huge battle with mealy bugs in most of my potted plants in the courtyard over the last month or so, and I've now resorted to cutting everything back to bare bones. Elsewhere, the long dry season has taken its toll, and most plants are looking less than their best.

Thank goodness for the Hibiscus blooms that are always present around my place.  I appreciate them more when there's not much else to see.

Out in courtyard, the Petrea volubilis that drapes over the pergola is throwing out the last of its wonderful purple blooms.

Down the driveway, the Delonix regia has started blooming,

and in the tiered garden beds my Adenium obesum is showing off its gorgeous flowers as well.

There are also a few Planchonie careya or Cocky Apple blooms to be spotted either on the couple of small trees on my property, or on the trees growing in the surrounding bushland and neighbourhood.


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