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Thursday, November 11, 2010

Snapshots of mid-Spring ... which is October ... in my garden.

I began a 'Snapshots' post back in mid-Autumn and at the time I was planning to make it a regular part of my blog ... and then completely forgot all about it!!!  Rather typical of me ... but I like the idea I had back then so from now on I'm going to stick with it.  I will definitely be making regular mid-season posts about what's going on in my dry tropics garden Downunder.  But first I need to catch-up ... so I'm going to take a quick trip back in time to mid-Spring.

Conditions during October?
This past October was very different to many we've had in recent years.  It was wetter, slightly cooler and we had many, many overcast days.  There were quite a few days when we received very light showers, but the rain barely touched the ground.  We did, however, have around a week of heavier rainfall and the total for the month got up to around 50mm (almost 2 inches)!  Now that may not sound like much, but in the dry tropics that's way out of the ordinary for mid-Spring.

The weather patterns were almost identical to those I wrote about in  Snapshots of mid-Autumn - the unusual lack of bright sunshine and the missing-in-action clear blue-sky days continued to affect the patterns in my garden.

(Note:  My garden differs from many as it does not contain lots of flower beds or borders.  I feel I need to make this point almost every time I post ... to explain the lack of colourful garden bed shots).

Starting with the trees on our property ... what was flowering?

The Bauhinia variegata 'Alba' was still showing a few blooms during September, our beginning of Spring month and then quite a few more appeared during October.  This was definitely not the usual pattern for this winter bloomer.


The Corymbia torelliana or Cadaghi Gum was in bloom ... it was blooming on schedule but there were more flowers this year.

The Cocky Apple trees were blooming up a storm during October.  There are dozens of them in the bushland surrounding our home and there's a couple on the property itself ... and this October there were abundant blooms, more than I've ever seen before.  This is a tree native to our corner of Oz and it's not a tree that's well-known because it has never been cultivated for general nursery sales.

This was the month that my Jacaranda mimosifolia started blooming.  Mine seems to start later than all the others in my neighbourhood ... and it seems to be that way every year for whatever reason!  It's also a very sparse bloomer ... more to do with its location than anything else, I suspect ... but I still appreciate every little cluster of these gorgeous lavender flowers.

Next ... out in the Courtyard Garden, what was flowering?
Lots of my potted plants out in the Courtyard Garden were in full bloom.  I had quite a bit of trouble with some of the annuals this year ... like the Petunias ... as well as the Pansies and Violas.   I think that was a direct consequence of all the overcast dreary days we had ... just not enough sunshine this year.

The star performer of all the annuals though, was the Snapdragon.


Other potted plants that did very, very well -
Crossandras, Pelargoniums, Bracteantha bracteatas and Gazanias ...

... Angelonias, Azaleas, Salvia spelendens, Calibrachoa and miniature Zinnias.

... New Guinea Impatiens, the 'Caliente' hybird Pelargonium peltatums and Plectranthus.

This year I also had a couple of pots of Oriental lilies ... first time ever for me and I was very, very pleased with them.

Now ... which shrubs around the property were flowering?

The shrubs that were back in bloom included the Calliandras ... a very strange turn of events.  This year these shrubs bloomed for almost two months longer than they normally do ... there were even a few flowers still hanging on just a week or so ago.  These are usually Winter bloomers for me.

The Durantas started to flower again ... they take turns throughout the year, but the old reliable Big Mama always starts first and she was true to form again this year.  She is the tallest of all the Durantas and always has the darkest flowers.

Last of all ... what was blooming out in the Greenhouse or Shadehouse garden?

Anthurium, Bromeliad, Neomarica, Caladiums, Impatiens balsamina, Spiral Ginger ....

.... Coleus, Evolvulus, Barleria and Begonias.

I had a pot of Asiatic lilies out in the Shadehouse Garden ... and these were a first for me as well this year.
That was the state of play in the garden during mid-Spring this year. 

24 comments:

  1. I love, love, love your colorful bloomers all around your property. My favorite this posting is the Cocky Apple tree blooms. Wow. I'm always impressed and inspired by your lovely gardens.

    Thank you for sharing ~ FlowerLady

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  2. Bernie, I'm blown away by all the color you have, especially the flowering trees - like the Flower Lady I love the Cocky Apple. Just lovely!

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  3. What a profusion of blooms! I don't recognize the names or pictures of most of them, but what a treat to see what you have all around you.

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  4. A fabulous array of colour it lifts the sprits looking at these stunning shots on a cold windy rainy night here in the UK …. Keep them coming!

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  5. Spring! It's a dream to us whose gardens are going to sleep now. Your blooms are profuse and fabulous. I love seeing what's growing on the other side of the world!

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  6. Flowerlady ... yes I have to agree that the Cocky Apple is definitely one to notice! Glad you enjoyed the blooms today.

    Cyndy ... those Cocky Apple trees have really flourished this year and the carpet of flowers left in the bush is something to see!

    Laurrie ... posting on this blog has helped me realise just how much lovely colour there is all around me here. My eyes have been opened.

    Sue ... well today is rainy here too. It's a dreary dreary day ... but gives me a good excuse to finally catch up with the blog comments.

    Deb ... it's a joy to share the colour that's around me here right now and it helps me appreciate my surroundings more too.

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  7. OMG! These are gorgeous! Each more then the previous!
    *hugs*deb

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  8. Oh Bernie, you have a lot of blooming flowers there, sooooo beautiful. I miss the sight of Jacaranda. But i didn't know there is Bauhinia 'alba', haven't seen that. We only have the common purple. happy gardening.

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  9. Sooo nice to know that somewhere in this world it is Spring. I've enjoyed my walk through your gardens this morning. Love the Jacaranda mimosifolia... unique!

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  10. The Jacaranda mimosifolia is amazing. Wow !!!!
    So many flowers and I love all those colors.

    And I am back on Blotanical, with my new blog.

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  11. Hello Bernie - completely overawed just by your flowering trees, not least the Bauhinia. Magnificent montages of your garden of eden. Too gorgeous for words

    Laura x

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  12. Deb ... good to see you popping in! It's my pleasure to share some of the colour out in my garden right now.

    Andrea ... my poor old Jacaranda is a sparse bloomer so the display is not all that impressive. The white Bauhinia is my favourite!

    Meredehuit ... I'm glad you enjoyed the Spring snapshot.

    Ellada ... I just wish my Jacaranda was in a better spot so it could really flourish.

    Laura ... thank you once more for your kind words. This 'garden of eden' will be suffering through our Summer very soon.

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  13. Bernie, you have a wonderful garden. Thanks for sharing your mosaics and images.

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  14. Your garden is SO beautiful and I love the way you put the pictures together. Perhaps I should move in with you. :)

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  15. Oh my goodness, I want to move to Australia right now. Your garden is just gorgeous and listening to the music as I posted just gave me chills. Thanks for leading me to your garden.

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  16. Bom ... nice to see you again and thank you for your lovely comment.

    Missy ... thanks! I'm pleased you enjoyed the presentation. As for moving in ... hubbie complains there's not enough room for him in amongst all the plants!!!

    Lancashire Rose ... thanks for visiting. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit to my downunder garden and you're most welcome to drop by anytime.

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  17. Just stunning - the work you put in ... amazing - I do hope being surround by this beauty brings you as much joy as it does to the people you share it with on your blogs ... Cate (GoY)

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  18. Thank you Cate ... yes my garden certainly does bring me a lot of joy. It's a sight that I look forward to seeing at the end of every long working day!

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  19. Hi, so beautiful flowers have you there.. i really liked.. many of the plants you have there, here are also :).. you have nice pictures here.. I will keep coming by here to see this wonderful place ..
    Saludos..

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  20. Ahhhhhhhh ........ deep sigh of envy!

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  21. Dear Bernie, Who needs lots of flower beds or borders when they have flowering trees and shrubs like yours. I loved this walk through your spring garden. It is just gorgeous! Pam x

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  22. Lovely comments thank you Dejemonos, Shyrlene and Pam. It's always lovely to know that others appreciate what's going on in my garden here. I thank you for visiting and leaving such kind words.

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  23. G'Day Bernie, Your flowers are so beautiful. I especially loved the cocky apples and the chocolate lillium.Thank you for visiting me and my cheats pics of other people's gardens, hahaha.

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  24. Thanks Linda May ... I was so glad to finally get a chance to catch up and visit your blog. Cheat pics are great ... it's a joy to see what goes on in gardens elsewhere.

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