Across the garden from spring to summer....

Please click the pictures;

This is the entrance of the garden facing south and shaded by big trees.

Here I grow sky blue and pink, tall tropical Salvias and a dark pink Bougainvillea;

In the middle of spring the climber Baumontia grandiflora shows off spectacular bell flowers.

The pond attracts daily visitors, feathered friends come to drink and have a bath. I also have seen a whipsnake, not to be missed with its iridescent colours, to come and have a drink.

Gardenia grandiflora is in full flower now. In front the big leaves of a young tree fern. They seed freely when it is rainy and the soil is moist. A beautiful triangle palm is growing in between the plants and providing some shade.

Daylilies, Agapanthus and many other treasured plants are growing in this terraced area which faces North, and is hot in summer.

The chooks are an inquisitive lot...

Wild, simple china roses are my favourites. This one is growing in my court yard garden near the entrance.

Part of the terraced garden;

I like to grow many different grasses. This one is a very tall one in a deep red colour. The leaves are much broader then the blood grass. The flowers are pink with long soft hair swaying to and fro.

Different blue Salvias are still in full flower;

Two very big Gardenia shrubs are scenting the whole garden.

Believe it or not:

The seed is hope; the flower is joy.

Photos TS

SkyWatch Friday; "IL CIELO E MOBILE"

The sky is in perpetual change mode, here in Rotorua NewZealand.

Smoke and vapors curl up to the sky, lakes and mud are bubbling.

please click the pictures;

Photos TS

Click here and visit the skies of the world.

Tipuana tipu; Fabaceae-Faboideae

This semi-evergreen tree is native to the tropical forest of South America. Grown primarily for it's panicles of pea-like spring flowers, the foliage is not bad either: bright green leaves that are oblong with notched tips and downy undersides. Grow where soil is moist but well-drained and soil is fertile.

Galahs love to come and eat the seed which sits in winged pods.

For a while we are privileged to walk on petals;

The roots of certain trees can be very aggressive in their search for moisture. Paved areas that have been lifted by the force of roots are a good example.

A cool environment in the soil underneath pavers, with the addition of moisture seeping through the cracks of bricks creates a perfect growing environment for the roots of these types of trees.

Service pipes, particularly concrete or terracotta ones, have a history of damage and disturbance from tree roots. Tree roots are persistent and surprisingly strong, and will take advantage of any opportunity to get inside sewer pipes. This will happen through a small crack or fracture, or through ill-fitting pipe joints. Whether living in a home with an established garden or whether moving into a new house with a new garden, it is wise to check where the service pipes are located.

Believe it or not:

Weeds know, they just know where to grow, how to dupe you, and how to camouflage themselves among the perfectly respectable plants, they just know, and therefore, I've concluded weeds must have brains. ~Dianne Benson, Dirt, 1994

Photos Garden TS

SkyWatch Friday; Ghost story;

A wide sweep of blue animated with frivolous little ghosts having fun...

...when all of a sudden mamma ghost swept by and collected her wayward children...

" Kids" said the moon, smiling...

click here and enjoy SWF;

Photos TS

Daylily Furore;

CHARLIE PIERCE MEMORIAL

ED BROWN

DAPHNE TREMMEL

LADY NEVA

JORDAN VERHAERT

EGYPTIAN IBIS

PEACHES AND CREAM

SHORT CIRCUIT

APRICOT JADE

BELOVED DECEIVER

This yellow daylily has been for ever in my garden.

HEMEROCALLIS; from Greek hemera = day and kalos = beautiful;

Commonly known as daylilies because each flower lasts for just a single day.

This small genus of 15 species of rhizome-rooted perennials from temperate East Asia is the type genus for its own family, the Hemerocallidaceae. The genus name, derived from Greek, also reflects the fleeting nature of the blooms, as it means day-beauty.

Though the individual flowers are short-lived, they are produced in succession from late spring through to autumn, guaranteeing a blaze of color in the garden. There are many thousands of modern hybrid cultivars. All parts of the plant are edible and the buds and flowers make an interesting and colorful addition to salads, or can be used as a garnish.

Flowering Season: Summer, Autum, Spring

Appearance

Daylilies form clumps of grassy to strap-like leaves from which the flower stems emerge. Like the not so closely related true lilies (Lilium), they bear racemes of lily-like flowers that are produced in succession over a long blooming period.

Cultivation

Hemerocallis plants are hardy and are easily grown in a sunny or partly shaded position with fertile, moist, well-drained soil. The flowers turn to face the sun, which is an important consideration when positioning the plants in the garden.

Excerpts from Gardening Australia

Believe it or not: The word "miracle" aptly describes a seed. - Jack Kramer

SkyWatch Friday; reaching out and up;

It is Jacaranda time, pretty mauve bells and a silky blue sky, a match made by nature;

A sky as soft as down;

New South Wales Christmas tree is flowering and the grapevine is reaching for the sky;

May you have a happy SWF; click here

Photos TS

Tree song;

Tibouchina Noelle, the most glorious flowering tree.

Please click the pictures

Tibouchina Noelle can be grown as tree or shrub. I have left it to grow into a tree probably around 5m high. The trunk is a wonderful host for orchids. Many different lichen have also taken this tree as host to display there wonderful patterns.

Believe it or not:

"Carefree" refers more to the plant's attitude than to your workload.