If you look closely into the photo below, there's a little face almost dead centre.
Onslow, Miss B, and yours truly got back from 4 lovely days over Christmas with my brother and his family. He lives near Ballina in northern New South Wales, about a 2 hour drive south from here in Brisbane, and his garden is paradise for pups and garden lovers alike. They have wonderful volcanic soil and get more rain than we do, so the area always looks lush and tropical.
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| Onslow exploring |
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| Miss Bella thought a clump of Dwarf Panda Grass Pogonatherum paniceum was just perfect for nestling into. |
Whenever I go down there, I think one day it will be like Sleeping Beauty's place: I'll need my machete to get to the front door! My brother is a tireless plant collector.
I took loads of photos of things that caught my eye in the garden, but I forgot to take my battery recharger, so the photography came to an abrupt end on Christmas Eve, although I still have plenty to share, starting with the boundary fence, covered in rose flowered bignonia or pink trumpet vine, bower of beauty, and jasmine.
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| Rose flowered Bignonia Podranea ricasoliana |
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| Bower of Beauty Pandorea jasminoides |
Cottage garden plants like buddleia are planted alongside tropical frangipani.
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| Jasminium (not sure of variety) |
It's not exactly a planned garden. It's one that grew...like Topsy. There are fruit trees: avocados, figs, tamarillo and banana (not photographed), and a somewhat overgrown pineapple.
There are traditional favourites, like Japanese maple and magnolias, and the odd curiosity.
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| The tree with pale foliage behind the heliconia is a variegated jacaranda. (We had waves of these wonderful fronts with heavy showers coming through a couple of times a day.) |
But Tony's current obsession is orchids. Palms, bromeliads, and bamboos have all had their turn too, and I will focus on them next post.
Of course, his greatest treasure is his beautiful family. This is my gorgeous niece Yassie who turned 13 on the 23rd. Happy Birthday, Beautiful Girl!
I had to look very closely at the first picture, then suddenly I saw the face! Cute! Your brother's garden is gorgeous! Maybe not a planned garden, but certainly lush and full and interesting - much like the Secret Garden in that famous book. Your niece is very cute.
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