Not much has changed since my GBBD post last month. Our dry season is now well underway and there's been absolutely no rain at all for quite some time now. Thankfully it seems as if our long, long, hot Summer is over.
We had a rather pleasant cool day today. I woke up to around 18 deg C early this morning and it was only 19 deg C around morning tea time. Such a beautiful morning. Perhaps our winter weather has arrived at last.
I wandered around taking some shots of the few blooms that are on show here and there. The garden is in down time right now, feeling very thirsty. I've been doing a fair bit of watering for the last month or so, as the soil is so dry and parched after the wet season no-show. We've also started having some very windy days which doesn't help with moisture retention.
.JPG)
So here's some of the colour that caught my eye as I wandered around this morning.
Out in the shadehouse garden ...
Out in the courtyard garden ...
In the new garden beds ...
In the tiered garden beds ...
Salvia madrensis
Elsewhere ...
I'm joining Carol's monthly Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day meme.
So beautiful! I noted your impatiens with interest. We have a blight here in the United States. It is in my soil and I can no longer grow the walleriana varieties - since I have a lot of shade it's a major loss. It's going to be an interesting next few years. This year I am trying "sunpatiens" (a walleriana/New Guinea cross) in a pot, but they are more finicky. We will see. I enjoy visiting Southern Hemisphere gardens as our seasons are reversed - we have come out of winter and, in fact, we had our last snow less than a month ago. Happy GBBD!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting Alana. I had read about the blight in the northern hemisphere over a year ago now, and I certainly count my blessings it hasn't happened here yet. I've been growing Impatiens walleriana every since I first began gardening and I would miss them terribly if I wasn't able to grow any! I feel your loss. I do so hope the Sunpatiens prove to be an asset in your garden. I have also grown the New Guinea Impatiens for many years, but haven't as yet tried the Sunpatiens.
DeleteOh Bernie, i love your red begonia but most of all i love most your temperature. Our coldest temp the whole year doesn't even go that low as 19C, and that is in Dec-Jan as courtesy of the Siberian winds. We are now points above 36C and it is very humid, and it sometimes gets to our tempers! You are so blessed.
ReplyDeleteMy Dragonwing Begonias are now coming into their seventh year. They are such a brilliant plant. So tough and so lovely. Even though I don't pay them much attention, they always reward me with fabulous flowers almost all year round. Yes we do have fabulous winter weather here. I love this time of the year, just before the winter months begin. Our overnight temps can drop below 15 deg C here, so it's almost time to get out the blankets and winter pyjamas! The summer are pretty horrid though, very similar to yours with high humidity levels. I think I can say without reservation, that summer is not my favourite time of the year.
DeleteSome very familiar flowers as well as some unfamiliar beauties. I have seen that hibiscus only in a greenhouse. Such a beautiful form. Enjoy your coming cool-down.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rock Rose, I am looking forward to our coming winter so very much. Hopefully it's not too far off now. The Hibiscus you mention is my absolute favourite. I too adore its form.
DeleteI've grown Clerodendrum ugandense, as a houseplant! It seemed to do quite well for a while but was not long lived. Enjoy winter, seems such an odd thing for me to say!
ReplyDeleteYes, I will definitely enjoy the winter. It's the best time of the year. So much cooler and the humidity drops substantially. Of course there is a downside, the dry conditions, but I shall be out there in the garden often doing the watering. I'm still trying to tame my Clerodendrum into some sort of shrub, but it's a wild and woolly one and throws out branches all over the place.
DeleteThe impatiens blight hasn't stopped some stores from selling them -- probably those stores that do not guarantee what they sell. Never saw celosia like that one before. I will have to track it down.
ReplyDeleteRay
What a shame some stores still try and sell what can not flourish. It's a real shame they lead customers astray like that. The Celosia is my favourite form of Celosia. It's Celosia argentea, commonly known as the Plumed Cockscomb.
DeleteHi, I live in Darwin, with a very similar climate. My garden isn't as good as yours, but I do have some lovely Mussaendas, especially Mussaenda Dona Aurora - have you tried these? I also have some lovely orchids - Dendrobiums, Vandas, Catteleyas, Phalenopsis and less common types. The need daily watering especially in the Dry season, but a well worth it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for popping by, Peter. Believe me my garden isn't all that fabulous. I rarely take long wide shots of my garden as it's not all that appealing when viewed that way. I do indeed have a few Mussaendas here. They're brilliant plants for this hot, humid, dry climate and they cope with the monsoonal wets as well. At the moment none of them have any bracts or flowers on display though. As for Orchids, I'm the proud owner of just one. That's the Dendrobium I included in my post. I've had it for many years now, but it survives on neglect I'm afraid. I've never tried any of the others.
DeleteYour garden looks beautiful, Bernie and your dendrobium growing so well. Looking forward seeing more pictures of your garden in cooler weather
ReplyDeleteIt's terrific to see you dropping by, K. Thanks. That poor Dendrobium, honestly I don't how it's still going! It is one of the most neglected plants at my place. I've never really had a green finger when it comes to Orchids as you know. It would have to be one of the hardiest things ever! As for the garden, I'm watering most beds now every week, which means I'll be in for one dandy water bill later this year!
DeleteBeautiful blooms, so different from what I see around here!
ReplyDeleteYour winter is my spring although I can't imagine no rain for so long....lovely flowers
ReplyDeleteI seem to have missed this post of yours, better late than never :-)
ReplyDeleteI hope you have had some rain by now, or does it rain at all during your winter? You know, it’s all a bit strange to me your climate, upside down and very different from over here! I always love seeing the different plants you grow, some I know as houseplants, some I have never seen before. I have just moved house and have discovered I have probably got a hibiscus in my new garden, a hardy one, Hibiscus syriacus. It flowers in August/September and has lovely flowers, I can’t wait to see which colour it is. Take care, Helene.
As always you've got lovely blooms.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I've not been getting notification about your blog posts and I've missed you.
Thank you for your kind comment on my latest post. I was thrilled that the blue jay sat there so long, but I think it's because as a fledgling he didn't know any better. :-)
Enjoy your cooler weather. Our summer is just heating up and smothering us with humidity too.
Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady
P.S. I didn't see a way to email you either and I can't find your email addy in my files.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteHiya Bernie, it's been a while...just wondering how you are doing.
ReplyDelete