Mosaic Monday ... Home and Garden in Harmony.

While trying to reason with a fellow blogger about just why I don't have a lot more of the currently popular 'tropical' plants growing in my garden, I realised for the first time that planting things like Gingers, Strelitzias and Heliconias just would not suit the era of the house on the property.  It was a 'lightbulb' moment ... aha!  that's why Palms, Ferns, Acalyphas, Crotons, Begonias, Coleus and Cordylines seem so much more suitable!!!  They're more old-fashioned 'tropical' plants.

It's a Ying and Yang harmony thing!!!  The house provides a context for the garden and the choices I make about what to plant in it.  I have unconsciously tried to create a garden that is in keeping with the era of the house.  Our house is what's described here in Oz as 'a traditional Queenslander'.  It's a type of house that is unique to this state of Queensland and it has certain features which I love.

What's a 'traditional Queenslander'?

- it's a timber home, usually built in the period 1890-1915
- it has tongue and groove walls or VJ ... vertical join walls
- it has a steeply pitched tin roof ... usually a corrugated tin roof
- it's high set and built on stumps to cool the building through ventilation
- it has verandah space that wraps around three sides of the house to provide a cool place out of the sun
- it has polished timber floors
- it has french doors
- it has a central hallway to encourage cool breezes to flow through the house
- it has high ceilings indoors, usually around 10 feet high
- it has distinctive features such as breezeways above the doors, pressed metal or plaster ceilings, verandah    balustrades, window hoods
- and internal decorative features such as ornamental ceiling roses and picture rails.

Ooohhh, I feel so much better now ... there's a perfectly good reason why my garden doesn't look all that 'tropically trendy' even though I live in the tropics.  So .... is there harmony between your house and garden?  It's food for thought!

Now for more terrific Mosaic Monday posts, please visit Mary at Little Red House

Flower Flaunt on Friday - mid-Spring day in the garden.

It's the middle of our Spring Downunder and in my part of Oz it's starting to warm up considerably.  Most days the high is around 31 deg C (87F), there have been no more unexpected showers of rain and the humidity levels remain around the 70-80% during the day.  As I've said before, Spring here is really just an early Summer!

Out in the garden areas the Hemerocallis are showing their faces one by one.  Here's the latest Daylily to open ... this is Hemerocallis 'Maleny Tiger'.

Some of the annuals have come to an end.  The Pansies, Verbenas and Violas have all been pulled out ... as it warms up they start to look past their best, so I just take them out.  The Snapdragons are still going strong ...

as are the Bracteantha syn. Helichrysum.

The Pelargoniums are really starting to flourish now.

The plants that flower all year round are, of course, still showing lovely blooms.  Plants such as my Dragon Wing Red Begonia ...

the hybrid Begonia elatoir 'Glorious' ...

the Impatiens walleriana ...

the New Guinea Impatiens ...

and the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

Now make sure you visit Tootsie's Flaunt Your Flowers/Fertiliser Friday meme by clicking on this link:

Flaunt Your Flowers

It's been a fabulous clear Spring day ... but it's getting too hot to work in the garden during the day.  It's about this time of year that gardening time dwindles considerably and the only time I can get out there is first thing in the morning and as the evening closes in.  I mostly spend these times watering now ... this is the start of the 'horticultural hell' when it becomes hard work keeping the potted garden plants going.   I often raise my eyes to the firmament above and wish for a reasonable end-of-Spring and Summer!!

Pop over to the Skywatch Friday meme as well to see more fabulous sky shots!

Skywatch Friday

Mosaic Monday ... All Colours of the Rainbow

It's mid-Spring Downunder ... and I'm reminded of that age-old song I've often taught my young students "I Can Sing A Rainbow".  You might know it ... it goes something like: Red and Yellow and Pink and Green, Purple and Orange and Blue.  Well, at the moment, all these colours are appearing as the flowers open up.

At last I've sighted some blooms on my precious Jacaranda.  I've always, always wanted a Jacaranda tree in my garden and when we first came to see this property I almost jumped for joy upon sighting one at the end of the driveway.  The tree is still young ... and not in the most fertile spot on the property, so its' display is not all that breathtaking as I know they can be!!!  But I still love this tree with its' magnificent purple-blue blooms.

The Hemerocallis is also starting to bloom now.  Here's 'Archangel Eyes' ... the pale peach bloom with the pink centre and 'Velvet Eyes' ... the rich orangey-red bloom.

Another of the fabulous mid-Spring bloomers are the Asiatic Lilies ... such great colours.  My favourite is that deep maroon of 'Dimension', but the bright yellow of 'Dazzle' really does light up a dreary corner of the garden and I just can't resist the allure of the soft pastel pink of 'Vermeer'.

Right ... I think that's covered most of the colours in the song.  Oh ... hang on ... green!  Well there's always lots of green around here.  Green ... green ... green!  This is why I love my pots and pots of colours ... other than green!

Now for more terrific Mosaic Monday posts, please visit Mary at Little Red House

A Hot, Loud and Proud Flower Flaunt on Friday - mid-Spring Downunder.

It's first day of October and that's our middle month of Spring.   There's a clear bright blue sky today...

...  and the Lilies have started to appear in my garden.  So I'm joining Tootsie's Flaunt Your Flowers meme and Noels' Hot, Loud and Proud meme.

The first of the Asiatic lilies (Lillium x hybrida) - Matisse Collection has opened.  This is 'Dimension' with its stunning deep maroon flowers ... supposedly a Summer bloomer but it's getting a head start this year.  Maybe it's the atypical rain we've been having!!

This beauty really does offer such a brilliant contrast to all the green foliage in my Greenhouse/Shadehouse Garden.

Another lovely Asiatic Lily that has opened up just yesterday is the gorgeous 'Vermeer'.

'Dazzle' opened up a few days ago and it catches everyone's eye.

Another dazzling thing that has happened in my garden this week is the emergence of more blooms on my African Tulip Tree - Spathodea campanulata.  I have never seen it flower twice in the same year before ... I'm putting this one down to the strange weather we've had this year as well.

The Angelonias are in full bloom once more ... I just adore the white variety.

All of my New Guinea Impatiens are in full bloom right now as well ...

... and it's great to see Caladium flowers again.

There's some great foliage colour in my Greenhouse/Shadehouse Garden at the moment, so I thought I would end off with a little glimpse into the tropical jungle out there.

 For other great Flaunt Your Flowers/Fertiliser Friday posts, go over to visit Tootsie's meme:
Flaunt Your Flowers...

... and then have a look at lots of colourful posts on Noel's meme: Hot, Loud and Proud