It's An Early Summers' Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day ... December 15, 2011.

Well here we are, it's the last month of the year ... and our first month of Summer Downunder!  Here in the north-east we've finally had a few showers of rain so it looks like the wet season is just sticking it's foot in the door and the dry season has left the building.

Our average daytime temps have soared in the last week, hitting around the 36 deg C (96 F) mark in the shade, and as if to match the temperatures, there are a few 'hot' colours out in the garden at the moment.

There's the brilliant fiery red of the Poinciana blooms ...

... the Russelia,

... the Callistemon

... the Justicia brandegeana, or red Shrimp Plant,

... and the Caladium bi-colour.

There's also some sizzling yellows and oranges around, such as

... Hemerocallis 'Shocking',

... Mussaenda 'Calcutta Sunset',

... Iris domestica,

... and the dwarf Allamanda, Allamanda cathartica 'Sunee'.

Elsewhere around the property, some plants that have been enjoying their first drink of precious summer rainwater actually have a real Christmassy feel about them, and look a little like Christmas decorations.

The first golden yellow racemes of flowers are appearing on my Cassia fistula or Golden Shower Tree ... special Christmas tinsel perhaps!

The Phyllanthus myrtiflorus or Waterfall Plant has beautiful fern-like foliage, and at the moment the pendulous branches are covered in what look like gorgeous tiny Christmas baubles. 

Perfect decorations for Christmas time.

There are wonderful colourful jewels to be spotted in one of the garden beds.  Portulaca to be precise, but our common name for this plants in Sun Jewels.  Thankfully the wallabies that seem to adore Portulaca, have now found grass to eat instead and have left these little plants alone.


In the same garden bed you will spot bright shining stars ...

...  the star-shaped flowers of the Galphimia glauca or Gold Shower Shrub, sometimes known as Golden Thryallis.

The Gazanias in the same bed seem to be recovering nicely after being nibbled down to the ground by hungry wallabies.

But there are also some wonderfully 'cool' colours to be found out and about the property as well.  Of course, there are some fabulous splashes of white ...

... such as Mussaenda philippica 'Aurore',

... Mandevilla 'White Fantasy',

... Murraya paniculata,

... and Planchonia careya or the Cocky Apple Tree.

Then there are my pretty pinks and purples ...

... such asThunbergia erecta 'Tru Blu',

... Salvia leucantha 'Santa Barbara',

... Scaevola,

and Duranta repens 'Geisha Girl'.

To enjoy a whole lot of other posts about mid-December gardens from around the world, make sure you visit Carol for her Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

and Gesine for her Blogger Bloom Day.