It's hard to believe that it is more than a month since my last post and that I missed May Garden Bloggers Bloom Day completely. However, I am slowly making inroads trying to get the house in order and catch up with study for a short course I have enrolled in.
The garden has been neglected, but being wintertime here in Brisbane, I can almost get away with it. Unusually for this time of year, we have had a little rain. Although the shortest day of the year is only just around the corner and the temperature is dipping to around 20C by day and under 10C in the evening, there is still plenty of colour to be seen in my winter garden.
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'Wilders White' Hibiscus
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In the front garden, most of the colour comes courtesy of the aloes, several members of the sage and salvia family, and the deep red foliage of the Cordyline Rubra.
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| Looking across the front garden to the aloe and Hawaiian Fan Palm, the striped foliage in the foreground is a rhoeo. |
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| Aloe 'Diana' |
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| Afternoon light throught the cordylines. |
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| Yucca 'Purple Royale' to the right of this Diana spike |
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| Aloe 'Southern Cross' and grapetopetalum |
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| On the driveway, the Strelitzia or Bird of Paradise are in bloom (and Bella and Onslow are keeping up patrol duties) |
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| Nandina |
Interestingly, in the side garden my Brazilian Red Cloak is still putting on a great display, although it was back in March that I was admiring them in the City Botanic Garden. I like it with the dark foliage of the cordylines in the background, and I am leaving a similarly coloured euphorbia volunteer to the left of the red cloak for the same reason.
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| Brazilian Red Cloak Megaskepasma erythrochlamys |
Three of the salvias are adding a pop of colour to the garden bed.
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| 'Heatwave Sizzle' |
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| Pineapple sage |
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| 'Hot Lips' |
Two of the bromeliads are in flower. The top one is Aechmea 'Burning Bush'. I don't know the name of the other, but the bright purple and red combination make it one of my favourites.
All in all, the garden has held up quite well in spite of having been somewhat neglected while I've been busy. Like Onslow I have been on the inside looking out, rather than out there getting my hands dirty. Hopefully, I will be able to turn that around by the time of my next garden report.
To see what is happening in other gardens around the world this Bloom Day, visit Garden Bloggers Bloom Day host Carol at
May Dreams Gardens.
