The idle comments of a passionate Australian gardener, whose 'Growing Delight' is sharing the everyday bits'n'pieces with other lovers of gardening, and through photography, the beauty of the Australian landscape.
THANKS ALICE! Garden pictures again! It looks like your garden has survived the heat of summer so far. Beautiful colors, especially bottle brush and hebe and the daisies! I am glad you have your garden to fill your day with color. Thanks for sharing.
Acanthus - so that's the official name of oyster plants. They can look weird, but do provide abundant dark glossy greenery in deep shade. We've kept ours for that reason.
Hebe - love the delicate "golden dust" sprinkled over the flowers.
I am so very envious!!! If only my garden looked so beautiful.
Your pictures show your many talents -- not only for growing beautiful plants and maintaining your garden, but also for taking such great photos. Thanks for sharing.
Jude - there are no annuals in these photos, unless you count alyssum. They self-seed so readily that you always have them so they don't seem like an annual. The acanthus, gaura, penstemons, cineraria, daisies, phormium are all perennials, and the callistemon, cotinus, hebe and banksia are all shrubs.
SHOWOFF; hehe.... it gives me hope that before long these ugly dry leaves that are still in my yard will be gone and some beautiful flowers will bloom....it is warm here in the 50's and it seems like spring, but nothing beautiful to look at...unless I look in the mirror.....ha...now i'm getting corny....sorry....love the pictures
Kathy - the cineraria is totally different to the cinerarias with big showy flowers and large green leaves that are very frost tender. This one is perennial, drought and frost hardy. In fact, it's as tough as old boots and almost unkillable.
Absolutely beautiful pictures Alice. Thank you! They produce so many thoughts...too many to put into words. My mother used to grow such pretty marguerite (spelling?) daisies. White kind are yours? The pink, silver and burgundy colors compliment each other beautifully. Love the NZ flax pic...thanks :) I'm not familiar with that cineraria either. It's lovely. I couldn't find gaura in my plant encyclopia. It's pretty. I have a perennial veronica (a lavender shade)...related to Hebe. The Arcanthus adds lovely height. It's another new one to me. I want to try penstemon. The bansksia and bottlebrush make me very nolstalgic. You are clever with the camera Alice. What a lovely idea for grape leaves!
Kerri - I don't know the name of the pink margeurite (many plants from the markets don't have the variety on the labels). I have a lovely white one called 'Mt Fuji' and another single white, and a double pink. I need to get a yellow one, although I have a number of yellow daisy bushes of various kinds. The grape leaves are interesting in that they wilt for a few hours after being picked but then they perk up and last for a week or more in a vase. Years ago we seemed to call all Hebes, Veronica. Not sure when or why it changed. You say the photos make you feel nostalgic; I find flower perfumes such as pansy, stock, petunia, wallflower, sweet pea and carnation all conjure up nostalgic memories for me.
I just came across Banksia somewhere and I was wondering if you had it! I've never seen or heard of it before. I love seeing pictures of your garden. You have very nice plant combinations!!!
Your garden and plants are to die for ~ and your photography great! We visited a garden centre specialising in natives today, and came back with a nice lot...planning on spending some more time and money there next week too :)
Alice, Alice, Alice. Frost hardy? As in 0 degrees C hardy? That's merely autumn here. When folks in my neck of the woods say hardy, they mean -34C won't kill it. Is your cineraria that kind of hardy? If so, do you know its genus and species? Does it need good drainage, cause I have clay.
Wow, Alice, your garden is really blooming now! Have you ever "guestimated" how many different flowers you have in your garden? You could practically charge admission as a private botanical garden -- it looks beautiful! Does your camera permit any macro (close-up, e.g. 9" away) shots? They can be quite dramatic.
Alice, your garden and flowers are just marvelous! Your photos are amazing, too! I like so much that you named these flowers, it's very useful to me. I have a "problem", I don't know the name of the plants! LOL! I have been learning so much with you. Thanks for sharing!
Your garden is quite beautiful Alice. Lucky lady to be enjoying all the sunshine and flowers right now. Our time will come tho' - can't wait! I love architectual plants, so phormiums and acanthus are particular favourites of mine. My garden is a mixture of styles, I adore cottage garden flowers but also the more exotics, which live happily side by side in our moderate climate on the coast. Marion
Nice - but i have to ask - what is the Grevillea that looks like a Banksia, below the pink Daisy. Don't know that one.
ReplyDeleteSprung !!! Just testing?.. No. Just muddelheaded.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chloe.
THANKS ALICE! Garden pictures again! It looks like your garden has survived the heat of summer so far. Beautiful colors, especially bottle brush and hebe and the daisies! I am glad you have your garden to fill your day with color. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAcanthus - so that's the official name of oyster plants. They can look weird, but do provide abundant dark glossy greenery in deep shade. We've kept ours for that reason.
ReplyDeleteHebe - love the delicate "golden dust" sprinkled over the flowers.
You know, I love your garden photos - every time I look at them it lifts my spirits!
ReplyDeleteThat bottlebrush is DIVINE.
I am so very envious!!! If only my garden looked so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures show your many talents -- not only for growing beautiful plants and maintaining your garden, but also for taking such great photos. Thanks for sharing.
Jude - there are no annuals in these photos, unless you count alyssum. They self-seed so readily that you always have them so they don't seem like an annual. The acanthus, gaura, penstemons, cineraria, daisies, phormium are all perennials, and the callistemon, cotinus, hebe and banksia are all shrubs.
ReplyDeleteSHOWOFF; hehe.... it gives me hope that before long these ugly dry leaves that are still in my yard will be gone and some beautiful flowers will bloom....it is warm here in the 50's and it seems like spring, but nothing beautiful to look at...unless I look in the mirror.....ha...now i'm getting corny....sorry....love the pictures
ReplyDeleteI really love the cotinus, daisy and cineraria combo. Hmmm, I have a cotinus myself. But I'm not sure the cineraria is hardy here.
ReplyDeleteKathy - the cineraria is totally different to the cinerarias with big showy flowers and large green leaves that are very frost tender. This one is perennial, drought and frost hardy. In fact, it's as tough as old boots and almost unkillable.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful pictures Alice. Thank you! They produce so many thoughts...too many to put into words. My mother used to grow such pretty marguerite (spelling?) daisies. White kind are yours? The pink, silver and burgundy colors compliment each other beautifully. Love the NZ flax pic...thanks :) I'm not familiar with that cineraria either. It's lovely. I couldn't find gaura in my plant encyclopia. It's pretty. I have a perennial veronica (a lavender shade)...related to Hebe. The Arcanthus adds lovely height. It's another new one to me. I want to try penstemon. The bansksia and bottlebrush make me very nolstalgic. You are clever with the camera Alice. What a lovely idea for grape leaves!
ReplyDeleteOf course, I meant "what kind" are your?
ReplyDeleteKerri - I don't know the name of the pink margeurite (many plants from the markets don't have the variety on the labels). I have a lovely white one called 'Mt Fuji' and another single white, and a double pink. I need to get a yellow one, although I have a number of yellow daisy bushes of various kinds. The grape leaves are interesting in that they wilt for a few hours after being picked but then they perk up and last for a week or more in a vase. Years ago we seemed to call all Hebes, Veronica. Not sure when or why it changed. You say the photos make you feel nostalgic; I find flower perfumes such as pansy, stock, petunia, wallflower, sweet pea and carnation all conjure up nostalgic memories for me.
ReplyDeleteI just came across Banksia somewhere and I was wondering if you had it! I've never seen or heard of it before. I love seeing pictures of your garden. You have very nice plant combinations!!!
ReplyDeleteYour garden and plants are to die for ~ and your photography great!
ReplyDeleteWe visited a garden centre specialising in natives today, and came back with a nice lot...planning on spending some more time and money there next week too :)
Alice, Alice, Alice. Frost hardy? As in 0 degrees C hardy? That's merely autumn here. When folks in my neck of the woods say hardy, they mean -34C won't kill it. Is your cineraria that kind of hardy? If so, do you know its genus and species? Does it need good drainage, cause I have clay.
ReplyDeleteWow, Alice, your garden is really blooming now! Have you ever "guestimated" how many different flowers you have in your garden? You could practically charge admission as a private botanical garden -- it looks beautiful! Does your camera permit any macro (close-up, e.g. 9" away) shots? They can be quite dramatic.
ReplyDeleteAlice, your garden and flowers are just marvelous! Your photos are amazing, too! I like so much that you named these flowers, it's very useful to me. I have a "problem", I don't know the name of the plants! LOL! I have been learning so much with you. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour garden is quite beautiful Alice. Lucky lady to be enjoying all the sunshine and flowers right now. Our time will come tho' - can't wait!
ReplyDeleteI love architectual plants, so phormiums and acanthus are particular favourites of mine. My garden is a mixture of styles, I adore cottage garden flowers but also the more exotics, which live happily side by side in our moderate climate on the coast. Marion