It's A Downunder Mid-Winter Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

The delightful winter days continue here in my corner of Downunder.  Winter here is warm and mild compared to many other corners of Australia.  We did have what we refer to as 'cold days' a few weeks back, when the mercury got down around 20 deg C during the day and dipped below 10 deg C overnight.






But that all seems a distant memory right now, as our daytime temperatures hover once again around the 25 deg C mark, and nightimes are a pleasant 14 - 17 deg C.


The only downside is of course, that our dry season began just on six weeks ago now.  In that time it's rained sporadically on six of those days, totalling just 35 mm or 2 inches.

There has been an unexpected surprise out in my garden this month.  My lovely Tabebuia impetiginosa tree is usually covered in blooms at this point in our winter months, but after the damage and distress inflicted on the tree by the cyclone that swept through here earlier this year, I was not expecting any blooms at all this year.  Mother Nature has decided that was not to be the case.

Despite the fact that there is only a smattering of flowers on the tree, I'm overjoyed to see any at all.

Another fantastic surprise comes from my neighbour's white Bauhina tree which is hanging over the fence into our yard.  There are blooms of this tree for the very first time and I get to enjoy them as well.  It's just wonderful to see the brilliant white flowers as I drive down the driveway after work.  I'm missing the usual display on my own white Bauhinia which is in recovery mode, so it's a real treat to spot these shared treasures.

Isn't Mother Nature kind sometimes?

Meanwhile, out in the tiered garden beds,

I'm seeing the first ever blooms appearing on my Dietes bicolor ...

... and my tiny little surviving red Kalanchoe blossfeldiana has started its lovely display.

The dwarf Euphorbia pulcherrima is in bloom ...

... and the pink is my favourite!

This time last year I had far more annuals on display out in the courtyard garden, but things are slightly behind this mid-Winter after the rocky start to the year.  Still, there are the beginnings of an annual show for this year.

Osteospermum 'Ecklonis', Elatoir Begonia, Antirrhinum 'Velveteen' and 'Strawberry Crush', Torenia, Verbena, Petunia, Violas and Pansy.

It's terrific to see the first little blooms on some of my Salvia splendens 'Dusky Hues'.  I adore the shades in this mix.

I'm also loving the vibrant flowers of these Viola 'Petite Citrus'.

Here's another lovely surprise out in my courtyard.

It's wonderful to see the first blooms on my Strobilanthes dyerianus, which I had cut down to almost nothing in a desperate attempt to re-vitalise and re-invigorate a very lanky, lack-lustre plant.

There's splashes of purple and pink from ...

... Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender' and

my candy pink Azaleas.

Just as well I like having lots of purple in my garden.

Elsewhere there are blooms on the Aechmea, the Fittonia 'Red Vein', the Caliente Pelargonium, the Gomphrena globosa, the Anegelonia angustifolia and the Begonia semperflorens.

For some fabulous posts for this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, go and visit Carol at  May Dreams Gardens