Saturday 16 February 2013

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day February 2013


One of the joys that follows decent rain here is Brisbane is the flush of flowers on the Murraya or Mock Orange and the glorious perfume that accompanies it.






I have a murraya hedge near the front door, but because it is regularly clipped the blooms are sparse. Not so the bush near my driveway! I only occasionally trim it back when it obscures too much of my vision as I reverse out of the driveway and it rewards me with a mass of blooms.



As you can see above, the poinciana is still flowering.


There are two kinds of plumeria flowering at the moment. The unscented Hammerhead frangipani Plumeria pudica


and the Evergreen frangipani Plumeria obtusa


It's quite a sensory overload of a evening with the murraya, frangipani and night-scented jessamine, which I haven't photographed, all in competion for the most heavenly scent.



The bromeliad above is Achmea 'Burning Bush' is just coming into flower, as is the ixora 'Pink Malay'



This beautiful flower is a Globba 'Red Back', a member of the ginger family, and I have another small golden globba that should be in bloom in time for next bloom day.



Firespike Odontonemea strictum

The daylilies are slowly coming to an end but have put on a fine show.

'Spacecoast Whiteout'

'Ash Rosie'

'Mr Lucky'


'Just A Tease'

I was thrilled to see my waterlily has made a recovery after a major decline last year. Unfortunately, I often miss the flowers because they haven't come out when I duck down early to feed the goldfish and have closed up again by the time I'm home from work.



I hadn't realised these two bromeliads were related until I noticed the similarity in the flowers.





This lovely canna is a very welcome refugee from my neighbour's yard.



Finally, along the driveway all the spider lilies Hymenocallis littoralis are out and looking spectacular.





That's the last garden blogger's bloom day for our summer here  in Australia. I'm hoping to order a few spring bulbs later today and am eagerly anticipating the arrival of blooms on dahlias.  To see more of what is blooming in gardens around the world, visit Carole at May Dreams Gardens.


23 comments:

  1. It's such a nice time of year to be a gardener, enjoying the fruits of our labor.

    I have to admit I never liked the Murraya; it is so common here that I got tired of it. But lately the explosion of perfumed flowers has got me wondering what I am missing out on.

    Those globba gingers are gorgeous! And the plumeria is to die for~!

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  2. I know what you mean about the murrayas, Adam, but with that perfume I could forgive them anything.

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  3. Our murrayas are flowering now and the scent is heavenly. I just planted a franjipani, hopefully it will do well and we may have some flowers next year.

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    1. I love a perfumed garden, Karen. I just noticed that the Angels Trumpet is coming into bloom again, so that will be another fragrance in the mix soon. Good luck with your frangipani.

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  4. You have such intersting and lovely flowers! I planted a plant that is known as "Mock Orange" in my garden last autumn. It is still only a twig. I will be so happy if it grows up to be half as beautiful as your plant!

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    1. Thanks Dorothy. I think there are a few different plants called Mock Orange. The other one that I see occasionally round here is Philadelphus. They're just lovely too.

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  5. I have two Mock Orange shrubs, and they are positioned along my back wall. I can smell their fragrance from all the way inside the house....heavenly.
    I wonder who comes up with some of the names for the Day lily cultivars? Spacecoast Whiteout??
    Loved the look of the spider lily in front of those huge ferns.

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    1. There are some great daylily names aren't there. I've got a Spacecoast Seashells too, but the ones that make me laugh are those with names like a Mills and Boon romance. I've had my eye on 'Lies and Lipstick' for a while!

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  6. Sensory overload indeed!!! I love the Mock Orange. Haven't seen that one in a while. It is so fragrant- love it. Your blooms are wonderful!!!!!

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    Replies
    1. All the rain we had at the end of January seems to have given the garden a new lease of life.

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  7. That Murraya out on the footpath looks spectacular covered in blooms. Even though Murrayas are classed as environmental weeds up here in the north, I just can't bring myself to remove them. The perfume is just too wonderful.

    I'm so envious that you still have so many Hemerocallis blooming this late in the summer. That's just marvellous. You have some beauties.

    The Hymenocallis are in flower everywhere up here. I don't grow them at my place, but we do at my school and they're creating a fantastic display right now.

    Love your Water Lily too. That's a great colour.

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    1. I'm a bit the same, Bernie. I was going to remove that one because it blocked my view of oncoming cars and was looking a bit straggly, but once I gave it a bit of a haircut, it was as good as new.

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  8. I have wanted a Mock Orange for a long time, but I have only seen them with double blooms, and only seen them online, not for real. What's stopping me is the fact that they grow to 3 m tall and wide in just 2 -3 years, I don't have room for such a monster in my tiny garden! Shame, as I love scented flowers.

    Your daylilies are lovely, would have liked to have them all :-)

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    1. There is a dwarf murraya that retails as 'Min-A-Min'here in Australia, Helene. It only grows to a metre. But I know what you mean about the regular size. I have been bracing myself to tackle my hedge this month. It is way out of control.

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  9. Beautiful! And so very exotic to my eyes. Here the earth is still frozen. You're right, that Hymenocallis is spectacular.

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    1. It is still warm and very wet here at the moment. These are the last flushes of many of the summer-flowering plants here. Things will be a lot quieter next month, probably just as there are the first signs of Spring in your garden.

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  10. In my area mock orange refers to Philadelphus, on the west coast it refers to Pittosporum, and now I know a third, thanks to your blog.

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    1. There are probably still more 'mock oranges' out there, Les. It seems to be a popular common name - one of the reasons I try to give botanical names when I can. Common names can vary here too from state to state. I am gradually learning more as I keep blogging.

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  12. Gracias por visitarme.
    Preciosas imagenes llenas de colorido!!!!
    Un cariñoso abrazo.

    Manoli

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  13. Comment pourrions nous vivre dans un monde sans fleurs ? Il est toujours intéressant de constater que nous en découvrons toujours de nouvelles à connaître. Ton blog est un vrai bonheur à consulter et certaines de ces fleurs sont aussi étonnantes que belles.
    Merci pour le partage.
    Amicalement.

    Roger

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Roger. I am honoured by your visit. I enjoy your blog very much. Your beautiful creations are the perfect fusion of art and nature.

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