Spring has Sprung.

Has it been six months already since I have made a new post on this blog? My, how time flies when you are having fun.

Since I have been away, I have dealt with a couple of illness's in the family, got a new car, had the pool repainted yet again (as it cracked), a new concrete driveway put in and had two lovely visitors from the U.K.

Was great to see Tony and June (friends from way back when). She loves her flower arranging and is very good at it. They have left for Brisbane now and intend going down to Adelaide as well before going back home. Safe trip to the both of you and thank you for the MARMITE.

Anyway, back to Spring.

Everything in the garden is beautiful. Just love this time of year.

A close up of the Wisteria that is on the fence near the pool, also the same colour as the pool.

A close up of the Eremophila nivea (Emu Bush) that I also have planted in the pool area in a large tub. Similar colouring to the Wisteria and looks very good with the other things planted.

Back down to earth

We have seen Granny's garden from the air http://salsgardensanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/11/ireland.html
Now it's time to have a look around at ground level. This selection of photographs were taken in different seasons and over a couple of years.
As I adore pale pink in the garden, I have put those first. Clematis I think.

A selection of mixed shrubs including Rhodies and trees for colour all year round.

Clever planting here.

Back patio with a fish pond. A naughty bird keeps coming and pinching the fish! Naughty bird.

A well manicured lawn surrounded by shrubs.

Beautiful Rhodies feature well in this garden.

Autumn in the front garden.

Thank you Granny, for showing us around your much loved ( it shows) garden.

Passionfruit (Panama Red)

I planted this passionfruit vine just over six months ago. Mainly to cover an ugly fence, but then there was the added bonus of having the fruit too. While living in the Blue Mountains many years ago, we did try the yellow banana shaped passionfruit, but that one only gave us lots of vine and flowers, but never fruit. So you imagine my surprise when only a few months goes by, and we have this already. The very first fruit ripened and fell to the ground, unbruised and ready to eat. As you can see above, there are many more to come, and that picture only shows about 1/8 of the vine. The neighbours on the other side of the fence are thrilled too.

Cut in half to reveal it's fleshy, sweet and tarty pulp.

I Googled passionfruit to find some history of the plant and it is THANKS to New Zealand Passionfruit Growers Association for providing it.

The purple passionfruit (Passiflora edulis) is a native of the rainforest margins in the Amazon region of Brazil and perhaps also of Paraguay and northern Argentina. It has adapted to the cooler sub-tropics and the high altitude tropics.
There are many other passiflora species spread widely around the globe and about 50 species are native to New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific and South East Asia.

The flower...

Passionfruit acquired its name from Spanish missionaries who thought parts of the plant's flower resembled different religious symbols. The Jesuit missionaries who accompanied the Conquistadors to South America saw in its striking flower a means of illustrating the Crucifixion; the 10 petals and sepals represented the apostles, the crown of thorns was seen in the filaments, the five anthers represent the five wounds, the three stigmas were allied with the nails used to pierce the hands and feet of Jesus and the vine's tendrils were equated with the whips.

Flower image courtesy of Google images.

A New Zealand Garden.

This garden belongs to a cyber friend of mine in New Zealand, Kerry.

It has been used for her sons wedding a wee while back and is again being used for her daughters wedding in late March.

I love her clever use of both annuals and perennials, giving colour all the year round.

And what a lovely peaceful spot to have a rest. Mind you, knowing what I know of Kerry, I am sure she doesn't do that too often. Like most gardens, there is always something else to do, and can be seen as soon as you sit down.

A very well thought out garden. Thank you for sharing Kerry. Good luck with the upcoming wedding.

Burnt

This summer is really taking it's toll on my garden. With severe water restrictions still and the tank water being kept for the vegetables, roses and ferns, the poor grass is really suffering. And a few plants have been lost in my mini rain forest too. Picture above is of the centre of the lawn area, where it gets no shade at all.
Have you ever walked on potato crisps? Did you notice the sound? Well, that's what we have here. A noisy lawn.
Can some one please do a rain dance as our praying for rain is not working.
I hung 10 items of washing on the line today, when I had finished, I checked the first item, and it was dry. So I got it all back in again.

The Humble House Plant.

I am sure we have all had this Rubber plant as a house plant, and some of us might have put it in to the garden!
Hubby and I went for a drive today and ended up at a pub in Budgewoi N.S.W. Only a few kilometers from our own suburb. We got talking to the now owner, and he said that this *plant* was put into a garden bed only 20 years ago. The garden bed has long gone, and the tree now provides a good shaded area for drinkers and those having food from the restaurant. I am no good with doing measurements by eye, but hubby reckons it would be around 20 metres high and about 30 metres across.
Here is some info about this Rubber Plant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_elastica
Thank you Wiki, and thank you Google images for the picture below.

Are you going to put yours outside now?

Okay, I am sure , if you live in cooler climates than we do here.

Please, do Google Budgewoi N.S.W. And

see this wonderful area I live in.

The Central Coast has old and new suburbs,

Budgewoi being on the lake and the sea.

We have been here now some 21 years and not once had a frost. YAY.

Breakkie Time.

King parrot tucking in to apples and mango.

Bourke parrot keeping a look out for danger, while the others eat.

Blue Princess parrot (male, left), Green Princess parrot (male, bottom right) and pair of Indian Ringnecks (female is green) tucking in to the seeds.

Pohutakawa

An Internet friend from a forum I belong to, lives in New Zealand. Kerry had a bunch of this fabulously bright and Christmasy flower in her sitting room over Christmas. When she showed us the photograph of her vase, I just had to investigate more. Such a wonderful colour, so festive. Thank you Kerry. In New Zealand people look forward to the flowering of the pohutakawa, Metrosideros excelsa, which is popularly known as the New Zealand Christmas Tree. Pohutukawa [pronounced po-hootah-kahwah] is a coastal tree often growing with its roots clinging on to the rocky sides of cliffs or where the land begins and the beach sand ends. The flowers are often featured on New Zealand-produced Christmas cards.

Lillium Longiflorum.

Also known as the November Lily and Christmas Lily. I have them growing next to our entertainment area, amongst a self sown Night Scented Jasmine. During the day, we have the wonderful perfume of the Lillies and at night time, the Jasmine. So perfect, with Christmas only a week away. As we are having the Christmas meal and opening of gifts from Santa, in the garden this year.
Wish I had a scratchy gadget on here so you could smell the flowers.

Hydrangea.

How can this be?


I have one Hydrangea shrub in the front garden, yet there are three different colours of flowers on it.



The shrub gets no attention what so ever (Only from visitors who admire it) It gets the odd rain shower on it, has never been fed and has a prune when I get tired of looking at the brownish coloured flowers during winter.
It gets very little sun, as it faces South-east.



I marvel at it's beauty. The colours are
just fabulous.




The little picture at the bottom is of another
Hydrangea I have in the back garden.
This one gets fed with Rose food 3-4 times
a year. And always keeps the same colour,
faces north-east and gets the morning sun only.

Cannas and Glads.

It is such a busy time of the year right now, getting ready for Christmas, shopping for gifts, and all the preparation in the kitchen too. It is also very busy in the garden. So many plants and flowers need tending to, to look their best. Here's two plants that have done so very well this year. The Gladioli and the Canna Lillies. I found time today to have a play with the camera out in the garden and these are the results. Gladioli. One of a bag of twelve I managed to get from a nursery some 8 years ago. Nearly every year, somehow my dear other half manages to pull these out, thinking they are weeds. He had strict instructions to stay away from them this year. This is a close up of the flowers with a black cardboard sheet behind. Aren't they magnificent?

Below, is a photo I borrowed from Google images of Canna indica Tropicanna black, as my leaves have been eaten a little by caterpillars.

And here is the close up of my Canna indica (Tropicanna black) with the same black cardboard background. Notice how the sun shinning on them has brought out the gold colour. This is not visible to the naked eye and I got quite a shock when I saw the photograph. But still very striking.

That is enough of my playing for now, back to the kitchen, shopping etc etc etc.

The Extraordinary Gold Star Special Award.

Well, I said in the previous post, that I should start giving out awards from this blog. (I have given some from my other blog, http://pinkbytes.blogspot.com ) This one seems to sit well with me. Pink background, gold, and a star.
I adore the colour pink, gold is my favorite precious metal. The people who I am giving it to, are all stars.

In no special order, I would like to start with...

Julie in the U.S.A @ http://asucculentlife.blogspot.com/
Julie has a very informative gardening blog and her passion shows.

Maria in the U.K. @ http://thegoddesskitchen.blogspot.com/
Maria loves pink too, and loves to bake and make cakes. Her pink spotted
chocolate cake is a *must see*. Yum yum Maria.

Vicky in the U.K. @ http://ahealthyappetite.blogspot.com/
Vicky has a very tasty blog indeed. Her simple chocolate cake is a must. I did it for my eldest son's birthday recently.

Brenda in Ireland @ http://teandwheatenbread.blogspot.com/
Brenda never seems to leave her kitchen, there is always something baking in that oven of hers. But we know she does leave it 'cos of the wonderful garden picture she sent me for the post IRELAND, in Guests Gardens.

The GIRLS of http://vipantrywedonthaveablogblog.blogspot.com/
Gail, Coby and Nikki, you are all excellent writers, cooks, cake decorators and photographers of food. This is one heck of a good blog. Keep it up girls.


Now, what I would like you all to do is....
Think long and hard to whom you would like to pass this on to. Select FIVE blogs, and pass this award on to them. Stating these rules. If we all pass it on to five, it should soon reach the whole of the blogging world.

A thoughtful Gift.

Thank you so very much Brenda. This means a lot to me. Can I put it under *Awards*? Well that's where it is going. (LOL)
Brenda is the owner of that lovely house and garden, IRELAND, in my quest's gardens. Please see labels.
She is also the writer of http://teandwheatenbread.blogspot.com Please go and see the sterling work she is doing in the kitchen and on many foodie sites too.
Brenda is not feeling too well at the moment, so you visiting her and leaving her a message, will no doubt cheer her up no end.
I think it's time that I started giving a few awards out from this blog, so stay tuned, am off to have a look for some.

Penrith. N.S.W. Australia.

This is another *Guests spot* from around the world. This time, my parents house and gardens in Penrith. N.S.W. Above, is the front of the house, notice the Spirea (May bush) in the centre of the bed to the left. Not in flower here, but later in this post, it is mentioned again, in flower and with a wild visitor.
Below, is a photo of the back garden. Small, but well used and planted out with over 70 rose bushes, ferns, lilies, small trees and fuchsias. The swing has now travelled up the coast to my back garden, giving them a lot more room for plants.

This is/was Mum's pride of joy. Pride of Madeira. Sadly, with high winds and too much water (as it was a bit of a boggy site) It is no more. So yes, you have guessed it, drainage redone, and new roses are in.

The Tree Dalia. Grown from a cutting, and reached over ten foot in a year.

The perfume is outstanding, the bees love it, and the noise coming from them, is almost deafening. Busy bees.

Below, is the May bush mentioned earlier, but now in full bloom. And with a visitor. This lorikeet landed on my mum's head. Now let me explain. Mum doesn't like birds doing that (LOL), she is a little scarred of them. Fine, if they are in the air, trees or on the ground even, but not on her head! There is a photo somewhere, deep in my computer, with it on her head, but I wouldn't do it to her. (The look on her face is priceless)

So, one Rainbow Lorikeet sitting in May bush!

My Wild Friends.

Rainbow Lorikeets are a regular visitor to my garden and what a delightful visitor they are too. Their constant chattering to each other and their playful fighting over food gives me such joy. The picture above was taken a few months ago after a heavy downfall of rain, I threw the bread (dipped in honey) out for them and down they came. I have had as many as 50 on my driveway and more in the trees above it.
Below is a close up of the Rainbow Lorikeet so you can see how colourful they are. This is a male. The colour between the sexes is very similar, but the male has a larger head. (Same as in humans really. LOL)

This picture was taken from Google Images. (No copyright involved)

The Birds in my Aviary.

I have had an assortment of birds over the years, but have now settled down to just breeding these.

Left, female King Parrot (5 years old)

To the right is the male, just got him and he is 2 years old. They don't get their full colour until they are 3. Notice his beck turning red and a few feathers on his head and chest. Already, these two are making eyes at each other.

One of a pair of Blue Princess Parrots, below.

One of a pair of Green Princess Parrots. Such a pretty bird and very comical to watch.

Indian Ringnecks, a pair. Had these a month now and already they have laid 5 eggs in their breeding box, and hopefully soon, she will go in and sit a while! It will be interesting to see the colours of the babies.

And last is the Quail, bit of a nuisance really, as we have had to put on smaller wire at the bottom of the aviary, as their young are very small and very active from day one. However, they do do a good job in keeping the bottom of the aviary clean. Just don't step on a baby. Dad is on the right, mum in the middle and a 3 week old baby on left. Currently, I have one female sitting on eleven eggs. It will be interesting if they all hatch!!!!