Christmas Bells

It is a bit late to be posting about Christmas Bells, but these bells haven’t finished yet.

Blandifordia grandiflora is an Australian native plant which flowers appropriately around Christmas time. The plant looks grass-like with the magnificent flowers at the end of a tall straight stem, around 70cms. I was lucky enough to receive some potted plants at the end of last year.

Even the buds are beautiful.

This plant obliged and opened its flowers for Christmas. The flowers feel like velvety latex. The colours are so brilliant. Isn’t nature clever?

Another plant turned out to be a different colour.

As a child I remember seeing them growing in the bush. Their striking colours made them easily visible to those who fancied them in vases or to sell by the roadside. Unfortunately now it is very rare to see them ‘in the wild’ so we have been thrilled to be able to grow these in our garden.

We have one more plant with buds  forming. It will be interesting to see which colour it is.

What a scorcher!

Today has been a very hot day. It was so hot, 46c, that it has set a new record for Sydney. Everyone certainly felt it. You could see the expression on peoples faces as they left the air conditioned shops only to be blasted by a wall of hot air.

Leaving the comfort of the shopping centre wasn’t the greatest idea (no air conditioning at home). There isn’t much that you can do on such a hot day other than to stay hydrated and comfortable and find the coolest spot in the house.

When I arrived home I found some magpies quite distressed with the heat. One was a young one and the parent ushered it away when I approached. I turned on the hose, positioning it so that it sent up a soft spray. It wasn’t long before the two had returned to enjoy the cool water.

Not long after, two lorikeets had joined in, forgetting their squabbling in the heat.

This one was panting and with its wings lowered, looked very distressed. The group was eventually joined by two noisy miners with not a peep out of them.

There were also two lorikeets under the pergola, both panting and looking uncomfortable. No amount of coaxing would get them to go under the hose. They eventually moved on as the southerly change arrived.

Ah! Relief!

Won’t you come into my parlour?

I couldn’t resist posting this photo of a tiny green garden spider being very industrious waiting for its prey on these native orchid flowers. Sorry the spider is not quite in focus but I love the spider’s stance with the legs ready to pounce on some unexpectant bug.

The spider changed its position hoping its new position would be less noticeable.

This caterpillar caught my eye with its striking colours. I haven’t been able to identify it yet, I hope it  grows into a beautiful butterfly.

Spring is such a great time in the garden!

At the bottom of my garden . . .

Garden Marvels

Here are a couple of marvels that appeared in our garden this Autumn.

Firstly, this brilliantly coloured ‘blue ginger’.

This plant is actually not a ginger but Dichorisandra thyrsiflora, a native from Brazil.  This is the second year it has flowered. It obviously enjoyed the rain we have had. It is growing in a pot but I would love a big clump of them in the garden.

I love the intense colour of the flowers.

The second marvel is a true ginger, a beehive ginger(Zingiber ottensii), native to Borneo.

What looks a bit like a drumstick actually holds the small flowers. The stem appears from the ground, not from the leaf stalk.

This is the first time a flower stem has appeared so we are very excited! We hope the tiny flowers will open up before the weather is too cold. During Winter both of these plants die off to reappear hopefully next year.

In My Kitchen – April 2012

In my kitchen are some . .  .

Orange apples brought home from a recent trip.

In my kitchen is  ….

an apple pie made with the Orange apples. The apples melted away, just the way I like them.

In my kitchen is . . .

a jar of breakfast prunes and a bottle of plum finishing vinegar. I am looking forward to having the prunes with some bircher museli and of course I love anything made from blood plums.

In my kitchen is . . .

a bowl of limes from our garden. It is not the ideal environment here but these lime trees have managed to survive in pots. We have a Tahitian lime (smooth green), a Kaffir lime (krinkly green), finger limes (long ones) and a hybrid Australian bush lime (yellow).

In my kitchen is  . . .

a Busted Bunny from Koko Black. He didn’t survive the security scanner at Melbourne airport!

I hope you have all had a HAPPY EASTER DAY!

If you would like to see some more “In My Kitchen” posts, go to Celia’s blog and you will find the links. Have fun.

Coconut Delight

No, it is not a recipe for a dessert, Coconut Delight is the name I give this glamorous orchid. Its botanical name is Maxillaria tenuifolia and is native to Mexico. I call it Coconut Delight because the flowers smell of coconut.

it is also known as a rope orchid because of the papery covering on its pseudobulbs. It doesn’t grow in soil but in the BW’s special mix.

The flowers usually appear in time for Christmas but this year, because of the non existent summer, they are much later.

Yesterday actually reached 30c, the first time in 60 days.

Where is Summer?

Already it is the end of December with only a few warm, sunny days this Summer. Today was beautiful (hooray)! It was wonderful to feel the warmth of the sun on your back. There is still some hope that the hot days will soon be here.

The plants seem to think that it is Summer. They have been enjoying the extra rain  and are flushed with growth.

The bark is shedding on the blue gums. Somedays it ‘rains’ bark. The tree trunks eventually change from pink to a cool green.

The spotted gums have gone all spotty!

  The black bean trees are in flower. Although not native to this area, these are a magnificent rainforest tree. The flowers are red and yellow growing out of the branches of the tree. It produces large seed pods, the seeds of which are fun to grow and often sold at Chinese New Year as ‘lucky plants’.

The rainbow lorikeets invade the trees making themselves ‘drunk’ from the nectar. Their racket is deafening!

The flowers of the hoya plant hang secretively along a fence.They look like upturned umbrellas.

They don’t look real at all, more like plastic flowers.

Whenever the sun does show itself, the seeds on the Hoveas start to pop. These plants have mauve pea shaped flowers in the early Spring. If the seed pods are placed in a paper bag, for collecting for propogation, and left in the sun, it will sound like popcorn popping as they explode.

 The many rainy days have caused some confusion with the fungi. These don’t usually appear until Autumn.

If these puff balls continue to grow, they eventually explode to release their spore. I don’t think this will happen if we get any hot days.

Meanwhile we can be like Bailey, on guard for any white cabbage moths around the tomatoes, and enjoy any warm days we are lucky enough to have.

Happy New Year everyone!

In my Garage

Recently when moving boxes in the garage I came across one of residents. It was well camouflaged on the bricks.

It was …..

a leaf tailed gecko.

We see them often when we clear out the garage. They like the cool, dark areas. They are nocturnal and feed on insects. Unlike other geckos they have long toes but no toe pads. About 12cm in length, it is difficult at first glance to tell its head from its tail. The tail disguised to look like a leaf!  Although covered in spines the gecko is harmless. It does make a sharp hissing noise if threatened.

We are pleased to know they are still around.

In My Kitchen – October 2011

Here is another entry in the monthy post idea of Celia.

Check out her blog to view others who are sharing their kitchens.

In my kitchen is…

a beetroot tarte tatin. I used slices of roasted beetroot and caramelised onions, topped with soft sheep’s milk feta at the end. I baked it using Celia’s idea of transferring to a pie dish to go in the oven. It worked a treat, the presentation was much better.In my kitchen is …

poached egg on fresh asparagus. The egg and the asparagus are both from my friend’s own backyard.

In my kitchen are …

homemade sausages. My husband recently attended a course. This is his first attempt (more later).

In my kitchen are …

some chocolates bought on a recent trip to Melbourne. My all time favourite is the walnut praline from Koko Black.

I also treated myself to a selection from Cacao (just to try!)