Brisbane, QLD


Thursday, September 1, 2011

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

It is the first day of Spring. At last my sad garden is trying to shake off the winter blues and an unusually wet winter and show a bit of colour.

 Most of our trees stay green all winter and in spring they sometimes show off colourful leaves.

 Some flower all year round. Note our beautiful Spring sky today.

These flowers attract.....

 These colourful critters.

Rainbow Lorikeet

 The Camellias are nearly finished flowering. I  picked up buckets of dead flowers off the ground when we returned from USA.
  


 One of my first Bromeliads to flower.

 Half my lavender died with the winter wet. I will have to replace it when I'm home long enough to look after it.

I have three of these shrubs. Two look very sad after the winter but this one took off and was bigger than ever this year. I can't understand that. Neither can I remember its name. I'm hopeless with names of plants. I treat my garden as an artist's canvas. I try to make it look pleasing to the eye. I don't regard it as a place for Botany Lessons. (That's just my excuse for being an ignorant gardener.)

30 comments:

  1. Happy spring! You are lucky, I could take a little more warm weather before winter.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You lucky girl ! and here it starts smelling "autumn" ! I hate that, but I booked 2 weeks in Egypt again with my friend in November (the worst months of the whole year in Belgium)!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lucky you... spring arriving. Your winter in Brisbane is usually the dry season, isn't it?
    Your wild birds are quite spectacular!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lucky you! Pretty birds still abound in your area. Here in my north of the river suburb, the Indian Mynas have killed them all off.
    My Bromeliads have been most unsucessful this year - not sure if I can blame those damn Indian Mynas for that????
    Worse still it is the nesting time for these birds and they have already started their "dive bombing" antics on people.
    Colin

    ReplyDelete
  5. i love the photos esp. the one with tbe bee included. the birds are gorgeous aren't they? beautiful colours.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The very thought of just going into summer to me is awful. But then I've just gone through one of the hottest summers in Arizona recorded history. Sheesh!! 116 and around there for the whole month of August?! So I'm happy to see September 1st. Although I know we still have about a month of HOT to go, the end of the tunnel is lookin' good.

    Love your photos, though. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sping wonderful spring. The Bromeliad is amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looking forward to warmer weather and I see you have J. Margaret Davis Camellia :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for showing me that. I haven't actually noticed the garden lately. I suppose I better go out there tomorrow and have a look for myself,

    Love,

    Hoplong from downstairs.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Happy Spring day Diane! Your shrubs and blooms AND the colourful birds are a pleasure to see. We are on the first day of autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere, but unlike poor Gattina with horrid weather looming, ours stays much the same, lovely weather all the time, being on the Equator. The rain will stop though. BTW I've corrected the problem on my post today. Sorry you couldnt post! Have a great weekend. Jo

    ReplyDelete
  11. Such a pretty garden - full of colour!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Just read Colin's comment above... we get packs of those dratted Indian Mynas down our way too (East Gippsland) - grrrr!

    ReplyDelete
  13. You need to take a stick to your cheeky Gardener Boy Diane!

    Looks lovely, esp all your gorgeous camellias. Since moving to the coast I have had no camellias, and very little luck with azaleas (pure limestone here). When I was by the river I was spoilt with a camellia walk, and the house was filled with water bowls overflowing with floating camellias. *Sigh*

    Looking spectacular Diane!

    ReplyDelete
  14. have a great Spring!


    these photos are absolutely stunning!
    it's really hard to pick a favourite.

    your garden looks amazing indeed.

    betty xx

    ReplyDelete
  15. No one who has this much beauty in her garden is an ignorant gardener. Your Spring garden is beautiful. I like your pictures of the colorful bird -- we have nothing like it.

    ReplyDelete
  16. that second shot gets a big DOUBLE WOW from me. gorgeous. i love all hibiscus and these are beautiful. also LOVE that painted bird, what colors he has.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Gorgeous photos, Diane. Your garden is beautiful. And the rainbow lorikeets bring back memories of my only visit to Australia, in 1982.
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wauw this Bromeliad is special. Have never such a thing before.

    Greetings,
    Filip

    ReplyDelete
  19. No problem about the name of the orange flowers plant. The name is Streptosolen jasmesonii.
    I followed your trip to USA, I liked it, years ago I nearly did the same trip.
    Your grandson Fox is a handsome boy.
    Have a nice day, Diane!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh you are so lucky.... We are still in the HOT summer here, but since we are so dry now, it looks like Fall outside (since everything is turning BROWN). We have had no rain since the end of June --so we're kinda desperate here now...

    Our Roses are still blooming and some Irises.. But --that's about it.. Fall is on the way. I for one am ready for some COOL weather.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a wonderful post...having you share your beautiful garden with us on the first day of Spring 2011 :) I really enjoyed this visit to your home, after all those energetic sightseeing excursions in the USA. I've had a chance to slow down, take a gentle stroll around the flowering trees and shrubs and observe your gorgeous (although noisy!) birds! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Nice pics. Your garden must be beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Our Aussie wildflowers are unbeatable!!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. These are amazing photos in their own right, but they are so wonderful for us to get a glimpse at your part of the world! Certainly so different, beautiful...just a wonderful opportunity to see what's just around the corner many of us will never get to turn! :0)

    ReplyDelete
  25. It does my heart good to know that while the summer slips away here, you are coming into the bloom season! Your garden must be so lovely at this time of year (at any time of year!). I do so love your photographs.

    ReplyDelete
  26. OMG those birds are sooo gorgeous...all your photos are fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Beautiful bird and photos!

    Greetings, Beertje Zonn

    ReplyDelete
  28. Wow...what awesome pictures! Enjoyed them thoroughly...

    ReplyDelete
  29. Those birds are so beautiful! Wish I could see them flying around here one day. I have seen a flock of bright green parrots now and then...somebody's pets gone wild I suppose, and proliferating. They are very noisy!
    Your spring is very lovely...as we slip into fall here. Both seasons that produce lots and lots of brilliant color.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Your yard is just a little bit of Paradise! Happy Spring! First day of Fall here is not until the 20th of the month.

    ReplyDelete