Archive for the ‘Horticulture’ Category

• I love My Hips, Thankyou Very Much!

  Date: 2009.04.25 | Category: home, Horticulture | Response: 3

  The beautiful, shapely crimson hips of my glorious Climbing Rose Masquerade.

  

  With raindrops still upon them and their glory by my gate, I marvel at their simple wonder and by chance I hesitate. They really are sublime, their colour just divine, and I so LOVE Masquerade because it reminds me of a simpler time.

  I had this rose growing in the very first home I rented when I moved out of my parents home at the age of 19. I moved into a fabulous little fibro beach shack right on the sand and a stones throw from the water.

  The garden was full of so many amazing, textural succulents and this one rampaging Masquerade Climbing Rose just rampant over the back fence. I fell in love with it and then after seeing it available in a nursery, I planted it by my front gate on our country property 20 years later.

  Oh and aren’t her hips just luscious?

• Welcoming Kangaroo Grass

  Date: 2009.04.04 | Category: family, Horticulture | Response: 1

  I have not written a post for so long….argh! I am sorry, but fishing has been a high priority for me lately and I have been trying to ‘wet a line’ when ever I can! It seems like the old bug has bitten me again…fiercely!

  Along with my brother we have caught lots of lovely fish lately…and just tonight had a great time catching some Slimy Mackerel.

  

  They are lots of fun and very easy to catch. A great little fish to catch if you are looking at introducing your kids to fishing. Actually we use them for bait when trying to catch bigger fish, but some people tell me that they are yummy smoked or cooked on the bbq.

  Anyway….what I was getting to with this whole post that has gone completely off the topic is that I have this just lurvely grass by my front gate. It ain’t no ordinary grass either. It is beautiful, bronze in colour and bows and sways in the wind. It welcomes me when ever I come home, from where ever it may be…such as my recent difficult days out fishing! OMG how I have loved those days!!

  My sublime and my absolutely number 1 favourite native Australian grass is Themeda australis or Kangaroo Grass. Apparently the seed heads look a little like a kangaroo…..hrmmmm, I honestly cannot see that.

  

  Readers of my blog probably know I LOVE native grasses and oh there are so many new hybrids and cultivars out now! Just you wait till I show you them all. I’m in heaven

• Naked Ladies In the Garden

  Date: 2009.03.17 | Category: Horticulture | Response: 3

  The other day as I was driving down one of our local streets on the way to an appointment, a bright splash of pink entered my peripheral vision. Now this appears to happen to me quite often…I can be just driving along, minding my own business when the plant kingdom seems to shout out at me to stop. I am often quickly glancing into my rear-view mirror, indicating and screeching to a halt on the side of the road somewhere!

  On this particular day the beautiful tall and shapely flowers of the Naked Ladies or Belladonna Lily’s (Amaryllis belladonna) had caught my eye.

  

  This particular one was such an intense bright pink when most of the time I have seen very pale pink ones. The plant grows from a bulb and the thick, purple stems appear first above the ground. They are about 50cm high or so and then the stunning, trumpet shaped, fragrant flowers appear. It is because of the stalk appearing with no leaves that the plant gets its name ‘Naked Ladies.’

  

  Another great thing about this plant is how drought hardy they are. They seem to require very little attention and I have seen their beauty bursting forth from the most hostile places and conditions.

  I really don’t mind my day being interrupted by all these gorgeous flowering plants that I stop top visit. Even my kids don’t mind anymore… except when we do the eight hour journey to Melbourne during wildflower season!

• Superb Tropical Grevilleas

  Date: 2009.03.04 | Category: home, Horticulture | Response: 2

  One of the most spectacular flowering plants in my garden would have to be the native Grevillea ‘Superb’.

  

  It is a fairly common Grevillea and many people have it in their gardens because of it’s wonderful hardiness. It can tolerate light frosts and very open exposed conditions on tough, gravelly soil.

  It also flowers just about all year round and the nectar feeding birds just love it! Sometimes the flowers really do droop down quite heavily as they are so laden with nectar.

  The bush grows to around 1.5 metres in height and also about the same in width. It is classified as a ‘tropical’ Grevillea, although I am not really sure why. It may be because it looks like a tropical kind of plant or because it actually originates from the more tropical regions of our country.

  

  There are now just heaps of these fantastic tropical type Grevilleas being bred. All with amazing flowers and colours ranging from brilliant red, pink, intense yellow, lemon all the way to white. Some of them have amazing names like ‘Gypsy Moon’,'Majestic’, and ‘Honey Gem’.

  One of my personal favourites that is also one of the foremost cultivars is ‘Ned Kelly’. Named after Australia’s notorious bush ranger.

  

• Pink Ivy Leaf Geranium

  Date: 2009.02.21 | Category: Horticulture | Response: 2

  

  A beautiful splash of PINK on a warm sunny day to make you smile

• The Heavenly Perfume of Madagascar Jasmine

  Date: 2009.02.03 | Category: Horticulture | Response: 2

  The divine Madagascar Jasmine (Stephanotis floribunda) has one of the sweetest perfumes of any plant I know. The flowers are tubular, waxy and are pure white.

  

  This is a climbing plant and can grow beautifully over a trellis or up against a brick wall where it can absorb radiant heat from the sun.

  It can be difficult to grow in the southern states of Australia. Try to provide it with a warm, sheltered frost free position and the plant should do quite well.

  

  The sweetly scented flowers of this plant are often used in bridal bouquets. I also remember it being used often in India where I would see flower sellers thread the blooms onto long garlands with vibrant orange marigolds.

• Hot Summer Love

  Date: 2009.01.29 | Category: Horticulture | Response: 5

  I am besotted by my Summer Love ( Acalypha reptans ).

  

  You may know Summer Love as Pussy Cat Tails because she goes by that name too.

  She often looks depressed and withdrawn over the Winter months but then in Summer, she flourishes.

  

  Just divine in a hanging basket or any container where the plant can sprawl and spread out. Absolutely gorgeous flowers and oh..they’re very ticklish too

• Giant Bird Of Paradise

  Date: 2009.01.26 | Category: home, Horticulture | Response: 0

  I have this absolutely huge Giant Bird Of Paradise ( Strelitzia nicolai) growing at my work. It is stunning and reaches a height of around 5 metres. It is also very wide and spreading.

  People are always mistaking it for a Banana tree. In fact, this is what I also thought it was at first, until I saw the incredible flowers it produces.

  

  At the moment it has many flowers all over it, nestled amongst it’s big sheltering leaves. I am sorry I did not take a photo so you could get an idea of the size of these flowers. They are quite large actually and are very dramatic. The plant gets it’s name by the fact that the flower does indeed look like a bird.

  

  The plant is native to South Africa and there is an orange flowering species too ( Strelitzia reginae) although it is a lot smaller in it’s growth habit.

  This is a fantastic, hardy plant to use if you are trying to create a tropical style of garden but suffer with drought and tough conditions.

  I would also like to take this opportunity to wish my beautiful friend Kerri a very happy 40th birthday! She has spent 2 sun soaked weeks camping on the beach near where we live. We celebrated the day with pink champagne, fresh oysters and delicious prawns. Oh and Chocolate Mud Cake.

  

• Mmmm….Quinces…Quince Jelly? Possibly….next year.

  Date: 2009.01.24 | Category: home, Horticulture | Response: 1

  I adore Quince Trees. They are just so beautiful in so many ways. They have gorgeous, grey velvety foliage that is soft to the touch and very tactile. The flowers are just spectacular too. Quinces are in fact one of the earliest trees to blossom in Spring and their flowers are quite large and a lovely hue of dusky, antique pink.

  

  Ours are currently in fruit and each year I think I really should make some quince jelly. I love it with cheese and crackers But each year I never seem to have the time. So I just enjoy the spectacular fruit hanging on the tree and appreciate the beauty that is my quince.

  

  I love Botanical illustrations like this. This one is taken from Wikipedia.

• I love Common Tussock Grass

  Date: 2009.01.20 | Category: Horticulture | Response: 4

  At our beautiful camping site we visited recently there was a plethora of coastal native plants. Some of the most beautiful and enchanting species are the native grasses. I just love they sway in the wind and the sunshine reflects through them.

  Have you ever stopped by a field of tall grass and just watched the most amazing, swirling patterns that are made when the grass bends and moves in the wind? Just one of life’s simple pleasures.

  

  Common Tussock Grass (Poa labillardieri).

  This particular species is very widespread throughout NSW. It can grow to around 1 metre high and is often used by landscapers and gardeners in their designs because of it’s drought hardiness and very attractive habit. It has very pretty seed heads throughout early Summer that are often tinged purple. The whole grass itself tends to go this copper colour in Summer but in the other months it remains green and lush.