What's On Show This Weekend ... August 29-30, 2015 ... end of Winter.

Our wintertime is well and truly ended.  It's been one of the warmest winters I can recall for quite some time, and given that tropical winters are usually very, very mild anyway, you could be forgiven for thinking we hadn't had a winter at all.  Officially the last day of winter is tomorrow, August 31st, but the high-20C temps. over the last few weeks has meant it was over ages ago.

The long period of very warm winter temps., added to the failure of the wet season at the beginning of the year, has meant a seemingly intensified dry season.  My place is quite simply bone dry!  I've been working hard at keeping the new garden beds going and I've had to resort to using the sprinkler at least every second day.  Right now there are watering restrictions in place across our city council zone, so I will only be able to use the sprinkler twice a week from now on. 

There are little bursts of colour here and there around our place that provide a break from the dryness as you wander around.   Thankfully, many of the potted plants sitting out in the courtyard are in bloom right now.

Crossandra, Plectranthus and Spathoglottis.

Spathiphyllum, Azalea and Impatiens.


Gazanias.

Salvia splendens.

Begonia semperflorens.

Double Petunias.

 Eucharis

Down the driveway, my Tabebuia impetignosa has been covered in blooms and the cheery purple flowers greet me as I arrive home after work every day.  It's a delight to spot them as I get closer to home.

Tabebuia impetiginosa.

There's also white and purple Bauhinia flowers to be spotted as I travel down the long driveway in the afternoons.

The few blooms, seeds and berries around the place have been attracting quite a bit of birdlife as they seize upon any available source of food.

Male sunbird feasting on Hibiscus nectar.

Female Sunbird drinking the nectar from the Duranta flowers.

Male Sunbird enjoying the nectar of Russelia.

Spring officially begins tomorrow

What's On Show This Weekend ... July 18-19, 2015 ... mid-Winter.

Well, old man Winter arrived in the tropics this past week.  He bought some seriously cold nights and early mornings, and some gorgeous sunrises.

Mid-week it was down to between 7 and 9 deg C  (44 - 48 F).  That is COLD for the tropics.  With very low humidity levels and dewpoints below 0, it was really, really, really cold.  Usually, our overnight winter temps don't get below 10 C.  The electric blanket had a workout, and the winter PJs and dressing gown and woolly socks all came out of the closet.  I even wore a jumper to work three mornings last week!!!!  Of course, it was off by mid-morning as the mercury rose to a more comfortable 22 - 24 C  (71 - 75 C).

Aside for the change in temps., the conditions have remained the same.  It's dry season and the skies are usually bright blue and fairly clear.  I spend quite a bit of time watering garden beds and potted plants these days.

This weekend as I strolled around moving sprinklers or watering with the hose, I spotted ...

Streptocarpus

Dragonwing Begonia

Impatiens walleriana

and this Anthurium in bloom out in my shadehouse garden.

Out on the courtyard garden there was

Eucharis

Azalea

Schlumbergera

and Torenia on show.

In my new garden beds near the carshed,

Pelargoniums in pots are finally blooming.

Justicia brandegeana in the tiered garden beds is covered in bracts and blooms at the moment.  For some reason, the wallabies have not feasted on this shrub in ages and ages.  Hence all the blooms.  It's wonderful to see!

Elsewhere, there are flowerheads on  ...

the Bougainvillea,

the white Penta,

and the Polygala.

You definitely know winter has arrived in my tropical garden when you see flowers appearing on my white Bauhinia.  There are now quite a few buds all over the tree, so there will be lots of stark white blooms popping open for weeks to come.

I usually spot quite a few birds as I wander around the garden and this weekend has been no different.

This male Sunbird was enjoying the nectar of the newly opened Bauhinia blooms.

The Forest Kingfisher is always a delightful sight.

I spotted another Spangled Drongo with its fierce looking red eye.

This pair of  Pied Currawongs were just lazily flitting around from tree to tree, looking for something to eat I suspect.

I spent quite a while watching this little Willy Wagtail doing a jig around the yard this morning.  Such a mesmorizing performance! 

What's On Show This Weekend ... July 11-12, 2015 ... mid-Winter.

The last week of the school holidays is over now, and work starts once more tomorrow.  It's amazing how quickly the time flies when you don't have to set the alarm for an early morning!

The weather has been simply glorious.  Whilst we call this time of the year 'winter', our northern tropical winters are very mild.  Our daytime temps. have mostly been around 25-26 deg C (77-79 F) and we've had day after day of bright blue sky days.

Some of the blooms out this weekend include:

'Bonanza' Petunias ... my favourites.

A rather unusual looking Begonia semperflorens flower.  It looks more like a daisy!

Eucharis amazonica.  I love the delicate sweet perfume of these flowers.

Clerodendrum ugandense or Blue Butterfly Bush.

Impatiens walleriana.

My favourite Impatiens walleriana - the double white.

Kalanchoe.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

Pelargoniums.

Gerberas.

Just as an aside:  when we rose this morning we spotted two rather unusual garden visitors.

A Wedge-tailed Eagle and a Whistling Kite were enjoying a breakfast feast in the side yard.