Christmas Wishes To All

Wishing all my readers a very Merry Christmas from the great southern land.  I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with lots of laughter and merriment, great food and fond memories.

                                              ( created by Dennis Holmes )

I thought I'd add one of our silly Aussie Christmas Carols to my post today.  Sing along! 

Deck the sheds with bits of wattle, fa la la la la, la la la la,
Whack some gum leaves in a bottle, fa la la la la, la la la la,
All the shops are open Sundies, fa la la la la, la la la la,
Buy your Dad some socks and undies, fa la la la la, la la la la.

Deck the sheds with bits of gumtree, fa la la la la, la la, la la,
Hang the deco's off the plum tree, fa la la la la, la la la la,
Plant some kisses on the missus, fa la la la la, la la la la,
Have a ripper Aussie Christmas, fa la la la la, la la la la.

Say g'day to friends and rellies, fa la la la, la la la la,
Wave them off with bulging bellies, fa la la la, la la la la la,
Kids and babies, youngies, oldies, fa la la la, la la la la,
May your fridge be full of coldies, fa la la la, la la la la la.

Chop the wood and stoke the barbie, fa la la la la, la la la la,
Ring the folks in Abudabe, fa la la la la, la la la la,
Pop the stuffing in the turkey, fa la la la la, la la la la,
Little Mary's feeling ercky, fa la la la la, la la la la.

Rally rally round the table, fa la la la la, la la la la,
Fill your belly while you're able, fa la la la la, la la la la,
Joyce and Joaney, Dave and Darryl, fa la la la la, la la la la,
Sing an Aussie Christmas carol, fa la la la la, la la la la.

Spring Swansong ... My Dry Tropics Garden Journal ... Week 49, 2012

Date:  November 25, 2012


Season:  end of Spring and 'dry' season


It's been quite a while between posts now, but at last I've got the chance to catch up with my Garden Journal.  I'm going to take a look back over the Spring months to make sure I'm up to date with these journal entries.

Spring begins in September here in Australia, and we're now just a week away from the official beginning of our Summer.  Most of our Springtime this year was very, very pleasant I have to say.  Throughout September and October, we had very comfortable daytime temperatures.  The mercury stayed around 27-29 deg C (80 - 84 F).  But from the beginning of November, it has climbed.  During this last Spring month we've had daytime temps. of 30-32 C  (86 - 89 F).  That 30 deg C mark is a defining marker for us.  Lower, it's comfy ... but over it starts getting decidedly hot and steamy.  The humidity levels have been climbing during November as well, with the levels are up around 70-80% most days. 

Of course, Spring is also towards the end of our dry season.  There was no rain recorded from September to around mid-November.  Then there were about five days when we received little droplets from the cloudy overcast skies above, but the total was only 7.4 mm or 0.3 or an inch.  Hardly touched the ground!  So we haven't had any really decent rainfall since March, which makes this year's dry around eight months long so far.

Just over the last few weeks though, we have been experiencing what we call 'build-up' - that time of year just before the wet season arrives.

We see dark clouds hovering in the sky.  We may even hear thunder far off in the distance, and we occasionally see some lightning flash across the evening sky.  There might be a sprinkle or two of rain.  It's a promise of what's to come.

In the meantime though, the surrounding bushland and yard are rather dry and parched from the months of dry conditions.   Most of the plants at my place just have to tough it out, as I only water the 'front-of-the-house' garden beds about once a fortnight, and the 'away-from-the-house' garden beds about once a month.

The trees in the surrounding bushland look mostly bare and undressed as they have dropped most of their leaves in an effort to get through the dry season. There is some new Spring growth here and there, but full leaf cover will not happen until the rains arrive.

Now let's look back at what was blooming over the Spring.

 The courtyard garden was awash with colour throughout Spring ...

... and the shadehouse garden was filled with fabulous foliage and flowers as well.

Back in September ...

Osteospermums, Torenias and Impatiens were all blooming in their pots out in the courtyard.  The Spathoglottis plicata or Ground Orchids, and the Neomarica longifolia or Yellow Walking Iris had started another blooming cycle.

The Dietes bicolor and Dietes grandiflora had also started another blooming cycle for the year.  The Corymbia torellianas or Cadaghi Gums had started flowering, as had the white Bauhinia variegata.  The various Salvias and Angelonias were all in bloom around the garden.

The first of the Lilies had opened.  These included Asiatics, Orientals and the L.A. hybrid

My favourites, the Petunias really started putting on a great show in early September and have continued ever since, with the occasional trim back and lots of deadheading.

By October ...

... the flower and foliage show out in the pond corner of my courtyard garden was in full swing.  All these plants have continued their great performance since ... and I expect that to continue for a few more weeks yet.   I will have to move some of the potted plants into shadier positions soon though, especially things like the double white Impatiens walleriana and the Salvia glechomifolia.  They won't like being out in the full summer sun.

The other Salvias and the Angelonias seem to thrive in full sun positions and carry on with little attention, other than regular watering in the early morning.

All through October, the Lilies put on a fabulous display ...

... and the Orientals and Olde World Lilies, in particular, added a beautiful fragrance to the courtyard.

It was during October that the male flower cone of one of my Cycas revolutas appeared, and the other Cycas showed its male flower cone in early November.

The Petrea volubilis threw out its first flower sprays since being cut back drastically after cyclone Yasi at the beginning of last year.  The Lilies continued showing off, and my first ever double Asiatic Lily flowers appeared.

October also saw the Plumeria rubra throwing out more flower sprays, while the Euphorbia pulcherrima was coming to the end of its blooming cycle.  The Brunfelsia was in fine form with its three different coloured flowers all blooming at the same time.  The pink and white Jacobinia carneas were blooming again, and the Hibiscus schizopetalus shrubs were finally fully recovered from their ordeal last year and were now back into their all-year round flowering cycle.  It was absolutely wonderful seeing the unusual lantern-shaped Hibiscus flowers back for all to see every single day.

The Eucalyptus platyphyllas or Poplar Gums, both on the property and in the surrounding bushland, all took their turn to break into full bloom, and the sweet honey perfume wafting from those puffy flowers filled the air day and night.

It was also time for our native Planchonia careya or Cocky Apple trees to bloom.

The final Spring month of November saw ...

... most of the Hemerocallis on show in the far corner of the tiered garden beds.

The Mandevilla 'White Fantasy' broke into bloom again, as did the white Salvia, the purple Thunbergia erecta 'Tru Blu', the Adenium obesum and the beautiful Clerodendrum ugandense or Blue Butterfly Bush.

It was also time for the Delonix regias or Poincianas to start blooming.  The tree canopy will be covered in bright red flowers for many, many weeks  to come.

Springtime is really the beginning of downtime in respect to gardening jobs for me.  I don't plant during Spring, as that's when our dry season is in full swing.  I really don't do much at all aside from regular watering of the potted plants and some of the garden beds, general tidying up and fertilizing and deadheading of the annuals.  As the summery conditions carry on, it becomes almost impossible to spend any time out in the garden, so I'm enjoying every moment right now.

I thought I'd finish this latest Garden Journal post with a video clip.  I managed to capture a beautiful Forest Kingfisher sitting in a tree yesterday, but the soundtrack to the video is our daily summertime soundtrack here next to the bush.  You won't be able to miss the loud cicada song in the background.  That's what we hear all around us pretty much all day and into the night throughout the coming summer.

Taking A Break For A Little While ... Be Back Soon.

Just taking some time out for a while.  I'll be back in a couple of weeks.  I thought I'd just leave you all with a mosaic of our fantastic native Planchonia careya or Cocky Apple, which is blooming away beautifully everywhere around me at the moment.

Mid-Spring Snapshots ... October 2012

Continuing with my Snapshots series for this mid-Spring month of October.

Conditions during October?

October is our mid-Spring month here and, as usual, the summery conditions have begun.  Spring here in the north-east really feels like the beginning of our long, long Summer. There are only slight differences between the two.  Right now the mercury is hitting highs of 30 deg C and slightly above during the day, although the nights are still a little cooler, hovering around 20 deg C.

The days have been bright and sunny, with lots of blue skies and breezes.  The last teeny weeny little bit of Springtime rainfall we had was back in mid-August, but we only received 1.4 mm (less than 1 inch).

Spring here is always light on rain, as the Spring months occur during the latter part of our long dry season.  This is the time of year when the yard looks decidedly brown, dry and parched.  We don't spend a fortune in excess water fees trying to keep the place green and lush.  We'd need to win the Lotto for that!!!

This time of year is also usually our bushfire season, and while there have been a few fires raging in the ranges over the last month, thankfully they haven't been burning too close to our suburb. 

Now onto what's been blooming so far during this mid-Spring month of October.

Starting with the trees on the property ...  what has been blooming?

The Plumeria rubras starting sprouting new growth back in September, after dropping all their foliage for the Winter.  New leaves and flower stems kept on appearing at the beginning of this month, and there are now quite a few sprays of flowers opening up almost every week.  These trees seem to run to the same schedule every year.

There were still a few blooms on my Bauhinia variegata, which suffered so dreadfully early last year.  It's only grown slightly taller than this time last year, but at least I got to enjoy more of its beautiful stark white flowers.

The lovely Lagerstroemia speciosa or Queen's Myrtle, which were covered in russet-toned leaves early last month, slowly dropped their leaves and the branches are now covered in tiny new leaf growth.

The Eucalyptus platyphylla trees, out in the bushland and on our property, were still dripping with fluffy creamy-white blossoms.  These beautiful flowers attracted large groups of Rainbow Lorikeets and Scaly-breasted Lorikeets for a feeding frenzy.

The evidence of their feasting was littered all along our driveway.

The pair of Corymbia torellianas or Cadaghi Gums showed the last of their blooms this month as well.  Now, there are only a few flower sprays left right at the top of one of the trees.

The amazing blooms of our native Planchonia careya or Cocky Apple have been on show throughout the bushland and on the few trees we have growing on our property as well.  These stunning flowers appear late in the afternoon, around dusk, and will fall off the tree by the next morning.

I find many of the blooms laying on the ground as I head up to the car shed to go off to work.

The Tabebuia heterophylla started another of its' flowering cycles for the year ...

... and the first of the Delonix regia or Poinciana blooms have appeared on the trees growing at the front gates.


Now, onto the shrubs  ....  what's been blooming?

Finally, there have been a few blooms appearing on both the Hibiscus schizopetalus shrubs, at either end of the pergola, that were cut back so severely last year.  It's always a treat to watch the flower bud open and the petals start unfurling and curling upwards.

Out in the Shadehouse Garden ... what's been blooming?

The predominant blooms out in the Shadehouse Garden have most definitely been the Impatiens walleriana,

and the Neomarica longifolia or Yellow Walking Iris.

There were still some blooms on the Begonia 'Tiger Paws'.  The Streptocarpus caluescens or Nodding Violet is covered in its purple flowers.  The double pink Impatiens walleriana had just a couple of flowers.  The Peace Lily has begun another blooming cycle.  The purple Anthurium is an all-year-round bloomer, and the first bloom on the pots of Asiatic Lilies have opened.

Now, out in the Courtyard Garden ... what's been flowering?

There has been lots of terrific colour out in the courtyard over this past month.

Pelargonium peltatum

Petunias

Antirrhinum, Pansies, Violas, Zinnias, Osteospermum

Cycas revoluta male flower cone

Torenia 'Violet Magic', Crossandra infundibuliformis, Angelonia angustifolia, Pelaroniums

Salvias

Asiatic Matisse Liliums

More Asiatic Matisse Liliums

Oriental Liliums

Asiatic Matisse Lilium 'Kentucky'

L.A. Hybrid Lilium 'Eyeliner'

Olde World Liliums ... a cross between Orientals and a Christmas Lily.  These Lilies have enormous, beautifully perfumed flowers.

The courtyard always seems to look its best at this time of the year.

Under the pergola ... what's been flowering?

There have been blooms on the Ipomea batatas, the hot pink Salvia and the Spathoglottis plicata or Ground Orchid.  My pass-along Water Lily has been blooming.  The climber Petrea volubilis or Sandpaper Vine threw out quite a few flower sprays, and one of the potted Neoregelias showed off its wonderful little flowers.

In the tiered garden beds ... what's blooming?

There are blooms on the pink Justicia carnea, the Duranta, the Dietes bicolor, the Justicia brandegeena, the Callistemon 'Pink Champagne', the Salvia 'Velour White', and the last bracts and tiny yellow flowers on the Euphorbia pulcherrima are showing.

The first of the Hemerocallis blooms have started appearing as well.

It's been quite an enjoyable month out in the garden.  In about another month though, it will be almost impossible to get outside during most of the day, so I'm really taking advantage of every possible moment I can to get out and about to enjoy the blooms.