Sturt's Desert Pea

As a South Australian by birth, I am familiar with the flower which is the floral emblem of that state - Sturt's Desert Pea.  

It is reported that the first specimen was actaally discovered by William Dampier in 1699.  There is more information about the flower and its history in Wikipedia.

Further you can read the story about the South Australian emblem here.

This specimen was in the gardens of Kings Park, Perth.

More from the Lotus pond

An Orchid Revives

I have always loved flowers - perhaps because my mother and grandmother also loved and grew flowers.  My mother took classes on floral art including Ikebana and entered Floral Art Competitions when I was in my early teens, and I learned from her, and also entered some competitions and won awards. All these years later I still have some of my certificates.

Then for a number of years flowers took a back step in my life, and around 1972 we rented a house in Sydney.  The lady of the house was reticent about leaving her wonderful orchid plants and  she instructed me on their care.  We were there for around 6 months, and when the family returned she called me and asked me to visit.  She presented me with 6 huge pots of cymbidium orchids as she was so thrilled that her orchids had flourished under my care. Some time later we returned to Queensland and the orchids came with us.

Over the years they continued to flourish and I repotted some eventually having quite a collection.  

However in the early 2000's I had trouble - I needed an "orchid house" as they needed to be protected from the raging Queensland sun in summer, and I lost a few.  When I worked overseas in 2008 - 2010, and then left home leaving them at my daughter's place, they suffered again.

Earlier this year when I moved to Beachmere I brought some of them with me, and later my "orchid house" came to be with me.  I am working to help them recover.

Some of the cattleya orchids were also damaged by the sun while I was away late last year.

There was also a "dead" orchid - still in a pot, with a hint of green it its stem that I refused to throw away.  I was thrilled to see new growth and indeed two buds on one of the orchids - I am not sure if it is a Cooktown orchid. Only time will tell, but it looks like it is flourishing.

  The two buds....

One of the cattleya is also showing great signs of life, with what looks like two buds protruding from a leaf.

I am hoping all is well.

Amazing Lake of Lotus

Lotus is not seen very much in Australia, but I recall seeing many beautiful lakes in China with gorgeous displays of these flowers.  During the dormant part of their life there is nothing to see - in the lake near the entrance to the university where I worked in Shaoxing, there were pots sitting on the base of the pond - lined with tiles I might add - and frogs and fish would often appear to be sleeping on the soil that was in the pot.  Nothing else - until suddenly leaves started to protrude from the pot.

The leaves would grow up to 4 feet or so, and eventually an amazing bud would appear, which soon opened up to reveal a perfect flower.

I remember that a few years ago I found some Lotus growing near Gumdale (Brisbane, Queensland)  in a dam and I visited occasionally to take photos.

Honestly, I can't recall seeing them anywhere else.

One day recently I found a huge display of Lotus - though sadly I had come across them towards the end of their flowering season - at seaside Sandstone Point, in Queensland.  The afternoon I saw them I was actually running late for a meeting, and as I hadn't been in the are before I had missed a turn off.  Despite being late, I stopped the car, grabbed my camera and took nearly 10 minutes to take some photos.

I have been back several times, but the flowering season is at an end, and the  buds and flowers that protrude from the huge leaves are few and far between.  I think the best time to see them at their best would be late December or early January.  I will make a note to myself to visit this spot in 2015 after Christmas.

The buds and flowers are so perfect that it is no wonder that the Lotus flower appears in religious texts e.g. Hindu.  There is much myth around the flower too.

Tibouchina

This is one of my favourites - a tree which in full bloom produces masses of purple flowers - and as purple is my favourite colour, I am a big fan of the tree.   We had a healthy tree in our garden at Wynnum West, but my new abode has nothing other than ground cover.  And my pot plants - those which have survived my moves and travels.

The Tibouchina is native of South America.

Sun Flower Appears!

I hadn't noticed it growing - in part because I usually park in another part of the car park where volunteers at the Caboolture Historical Village usually park their cars.  However, the other day I saw a plant - clearly the seed had arrived by the wind or a bird, and the plant had grown to nearly five feet tall.

It has grown on the edge of an area covered with chip bark - and  I am sure it has never received any TLC from the gardeners at the Village.  There are actually a couple of plants.

The lovely flower on the top is below.

 

Flowers at Caboolture Historical Village

I am a volunteer at the Caboolture Historical Village - which is just north of Brisbane, Queensland.  It is a wonderful place full of the most extra ordinary history - and, I am pleased to say, a lovely garden.

Last week, when visitors from Bundaberg were in the Village - they asked about some flowers.  I had no idea what they were called but took a photo and showed our head gardener, who identified them as Foxglove.

 

 



Another visitor had asked about purple foliage (funny, really as I love purple and wear a lot of it and it is odd that the plants I have been asked about are purple...),  under a sign near the railway station.

This plant is called a Purple Shield or Persian Shield.  It is quite a beautiful plant.