What a Difference a Day Makes

After a couple of days of pretty warm weather (around 30C), having finished my "school week", I ventured out into the garden to find lots of beautiful surprises. That was a week or so ago and from then on new surprises have been waiting to greet me each day.

Before we look at the nice surprises, there are also the nasty surprises. Yes, my friends the bronze orange bug are back on the citrus trees either side of the entrance to my cubbyhouse garden. These nasty little insects move around so their rear-ends are pointed towards the entrance and squirt their malodorous and stenching perfume at me as I walk in or out! I can see I need to meet with these guys quite soon. I'll come armed with my safety glasses, gloves and tongs and arrange for them all to have a party (inside a ziploc plastic bag).

  

Atomic Blonde

Barron Edmond de Rothschild

Barron Edmond de Rothschild

Burgandy Iceberg

Portmeirion

Charmwell Fairyfloss

Rosette Delizy

Rosette Delizy

Love Potion

Love Potion

Nepitos as a bud

Nepitos fully blown

Nepitos starts as an exquisite, classically formed bud that opens to a slightly messy, loosely formed bloom

David Austin Leander

Leander

Long Tall Sally (ready to wow me)

Long Tall Sally's leaves

I was stunned at the humongous leaves Sally has produced.

Perennial Dianthus Candy Floss 

Lilac blooms

Governor Macquarie

Rock Rose Gum

Rock Rose Gum

After waiting three years, Rock Rose Gum has finally graced me with some stunning blooms. These fragile, paper-thin flowers are unexpected on such a tough and hardy bush. Water tolerant, almost neglect proof and only growing to about one metre high x one metre wide, this is a must for every garden. The vibrant pink accents look as though they have been daubed by a watercolour brushstroke. 

Pelargonium  Reticulatum

Pelargonium

Pelargonium

The last two pelargoniums haven't had it easy. Sheltered beneath the eves they get massive amounts of sunshine and no rain and so are fairly dependent on handwatering. I've not done a great job with them this year and from the foliage they look like they are halfway between life and death, but they've still produced some flowers. I am planning to either move them or plant them, hopefully they'll do better next year.

Vibrant pink pigrface, spills down the retaining wall in a mass of colour

Pigfaces are really tough, their succulent-like leaves are designed to retain moisture. The flowers close each evening once the warmth of the sun has passed and reopen again the next morning.

Freesias

Despite being planted almost as an afterthought, the freesias have produced some beautiful blooms. When you think about it, it is amazing that such a tiny little bulb can produce all this foliage and such beautiful, fragrant flowers.

Iceberg/Bonica twin grafted patio rose 

Once again, the Iceberg part of this patio rose has taken the dominant role. Even though I pruned the Iceberg section heavily, it has still taken over. Oh well......

Ivy Gernaium

Dendrobium kingianum

Dendrobium kingianum

White "Hardy" waterlily

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted a water feature in my garden, filled with delightful waterlilies, a few goldfish to keep the mosquito larvae at bey and a few other water plants. It seems that this is the year it will happen. I have three waterlily plants that are still managing to do their thing whilst immersed  only in a bucketful of water and a large, lightweight fibreglass pot that will form the pond once a technical problem has been resolved.

From my brief research, there are two main types of waterlilies, "tropical" and "hardy". Authorities on such matters suggest that it is best to have both kinds, not because one is easier to grow, only that they have slightly different flowering times.Tthe "hardy" flowers earlier than the "tropical" and by having both you can enjoy flowers for a longer period of time.

So far I am yet to find a negative to these delightful plants. They have the most amazing, if subtle, fragrance, and seem to keep on sending up new flowers every couple of days to replace the spent ones; I only need to pushed one small fertiliser tablet into each pot to keep them happy for the season; I don't have to water them, and haven't found one single weed!  Did I mention they don't need to be watered and don't have weeds???!!! Now, what's not to like about that?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Springtime.......

It seems like forever since my last post.OK, just a little over a month and a half. In that time, we've had so much rain that Noah is reviewing his design specs and conducting feasibility studies to establish what upgrades might be needed to revamp his original ark. Now again, no rain, and we're back to handwatering!

All assessments have been submitted and spring holidays are almost done, and all is green in the garden.

With each new springtime, I usually wonder which will be the first of my roses to bloom. This year the winner was Angel Face, which ironically was the last one I bought and planted, but buying her as a potted rose obviously gave her a head start on the others as she produced not one, but four flowers, before any of the others.

Rosa Angel Face

Meanwhile, in the boundary garden the Veldt Daisies are looking amazing. I have a few different varieties planted around my new May Bush, which is still a very young shrub but still flowering for all it is worth.

When I was revamping my rose garden, I found a couple of  dormant Chinese Ground Orchids, which I divided into 5 or 6 different plants. I thought my disturbing them might set back their flowering, but obviously not! I don't think the flowers have ever been this good.

Pink Chinese Ground Orchid

My Daphne continues to do well. Having experienced a high attrition rate with Daphnes previously I spent quite a long time observing the sun exposure in various parts of my garden before planting the Daphne odora where she is now, receiving some winter and spring sun but more protected in summer when the deciduous trees nearby have acquired their summer foliage.

Daphne odora

Daphne odora - smells so sweet!

Meanwhile I also have a Daphne Eternal Fragrance, still residing in a pot. I believe these are much tougher plants, able to tolerate full sun and better suited to adapting to Australian conditions. I am a little disappointed in how this plant has performed. Granted I have neglected it a little, but I had expected more given the claims made. I haven't had the perpetual flowers that are supposed to characterise this cultivar. I'm not sure this one small clump of flowers, the first since last spring, counts as "eternal". Maybe this will be its year!

Daphne Eternal Fragrance

In my front garden, the obelisk supporting my Banksia Rose (Alba) is groaning under the weight and listing dangerously to one side. The two Banksia Roses are about to burst into a mass of blooms and I managed to snap the first little bunch.

Banksia Roses on the obelisk

Banksia Rose Buds

The first bloom, mmmmm.....

Forming a backdrop to the Banksia Roses is my Azalea Magnifica and Azalea Magnifica Alba. Intriguingly there is one rogue branch sporting brilliant pink blooms.

Azalea Magnifica and Azalea Magnifica Alba

The rogue brilliant pink branch

My magnolia, The Fairy has quietly emerged from her winter torpor, unfurling her graceful petals.

The first of the Lilacs has begun to bloom. This year they have done better than many years following a colder winter and possibly also assisted by a good pruning.

 My poor neglected azaleas have also done better this year.

The verbenas are lovely, peeking out amongst the multitude of weeds, the onion weed has certainly produced a bumper crop this year and I'm wondering how effective a blow torch might be... just kidding!

I have one corner that I hope eventually to develop with Australian Natives. So far there are only a couple of small shrubs and ground covers.

Grevillea Rosy Baby

 Kangaroo Paws, so many colours!