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


Friday, April 6, 2012

Flower Flaunt Friday ... Our Mid-Autumn Month Has Begun.

There's no stunning Autumn colours or noticeable change of seasons here though, despite this being the beginning of mid-Autumn for us.  There are still quite a few blooms around the place though, even after the punishing 'wet' season, which has just finished.


In the Shadehouse Garden, there are the beautiful perfumed blooms of the white Ginger, Hedychium coronarium ...


 ... along with the blooming cones of another Ginger,   Costus productus,


... and the Ginger known as Globba winitii.


There was a surprise bloomer out in the tiered garden beds in front of the shadehouse.  Completely out-of-season, the Hemerocallis 'Picotee Bubbles' has suddenly bloomed.  I'm not sure why this is so.  It's never happened before.  Imagine my surprise when I spotted this yesterday!


In the same garden bed the last of the Lagerstroemia indica flowers are on show ...


... and there are still flowerheads appearing on the Callistemon 'Pink Champagne'.

Elsewhere on the property ...


I've been taken aback by the length of the flowering period for this patch of Cosmos sulphureus.  They just keep on keeping on.


The Ixora 'Golden Ball', out in the driveway rock garden, is finally blooming and I just love the creamy yellow.


Mussaenda philippica 'Bangkok Rose' is coming to the end of another blooming cycle.


The various Pentas lanceolatas continue on, as they are all-year round bloomers.


Scutellaria suffretescens blooms in cycles all year round too.  It's coming into another full bloom period.


The Golden Rain Tree has both yellow flowers and the peachy coloured bracts on it at the moment ... blooming and seeding all at the same time.


Out under the pergola next to the Courtyard Garden, I've spotted a couple of Jasminum officinale flowers.  It's fantastic to see the climber coming back after its ordeal last year.


There's still have one remaining Marigold planted in late Autumn last year still growing and flowering.  It just has a whole life of its own.  I'm keeping the seeds of this one!


The delicate sweet perfume of the Fiddlewood blooms stills wafts around the courtyard ...


... and our native Sterculia quadrifida or Peanut Tree growing the middle of the courtyard is now flowering and dropping its leaves.



Out in the surrounding bushland the magnificent Melaleucas are blooming, and these stands on the hillside across from our place are quite noticeable with their brilliant creamy white flowers.


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


I'm also joining  Weekend Flowers










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