Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day June 2013

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.

'Wilders White' Hibiscus

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.

Looking across the front garden to the aloe and Hawaiian Fan Palm, the striped foliage in the foreground is a rhoeo.

Aloe 'Diana'

Afternoon light throught the cordylines.

   

Yucca 'Purple Royale' to the right of this Diana spike

Aloe 'Southern Cross' and grapetopetalum

On the driveway, the Strelitzia or Bird of Paradise are in bloom (and  Bella and Onslow are keeping up patrol duties)

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.

Brazilian Red Cloak Megaskepasma erythrochlamys

Three of the salvias are adding a pop of colour to the garden bed.

'Heatwave Sizzle'

Pineapple sage

'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.

Bali: The Gardens (Part One)

Since flying to Bali for my conference last Wednesday, flying back to Jakarta for a night to pack on Saturday, and now exploring Jogyakarta, I seem to have seen and done so much and have taken a huge number of photos. It is a challenge to group them into themes as the subjects range from temples to handicrafts to hotel interiors, and, strange as it may seem, many of these categories overlap. But I thought I would make a start with the wonderful gardens at the hotels I visited in Bali.  My conference was at the Ramada in Kuta, but on Friday, the girls (my project manager Ema and translator Steny) and I moved to the nearby but more economical Hotel Kendi Mas, and then we went up-market once again on Saturday when we lunched at the Hotel Tugu at Canggu Beach.

Each of the gardens had its own charms, and there are wonderful ideas to take from all of them.

At the Ramada, I especially loved some of the planting combinations and the mix of warm and cool colours in the huge, beautifully maintained grounds.

The Pagoda Flower Clerodendrum paniculatum was a star (here with variegated Ophiopogon and red cordylines)

With plumbago and a red border

Blue ruellias with warm-toned cordylines, crotons, and ixora.

More ruellia, with dracaena, green cordylines and red cannas

They had some stunning potted Adeniums

Variegated pandanus

I have seen this in my local nursery, but I have forgotten the name.
(Thanks to Kacky at Vivero's garden I now know this is a Thryallis.)

Doesn't it look great planted next to red foliage.

Here lime foliage adds a zing to the garden bed...

and the pretty two-toned flowers are a bonus.
(Thanks to a post by Lotus Leaf at Garden Tropics, I can belatedly provide the name to accompany this pretty flower - Pseuderantermum reticulatum,  known in Southern India as Gokarna jasmine.)

Cool whites and mauves, courtesy of the orchids...

And a sizzling Heliconia rostrata.

I hope you enjoyed the tour, and, no, I couldn't sign off without a water feature, especially in Bali!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day April 2012

I am a little early for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, which is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens on the 15th of the month to enable gardeners around the world to showcase what it is happening in their gardens. My excuse is that I have been frantically trying to get organised to start work in Jakarta next week, and I actually fly out at 6.30 a.m. on the 15th, so no hope of posting that day. I thought I would have already left, but a minor hiccup with my visa has resulted in a couple of extra days to enjoy the pups, home, garden, and fabulous Autumn weather, so here is what's in bloom in my garden for March GBBD and my 100th post.

First up is this bromeliad Guzmania wittmackii. Although I posted a photo a week or two back, the colour has continued to develop, and it is now at its peak. The inflorescence will last for several months.

In another part of the garden, another G. wittmackii is just begin to colour up. This is the purple form, and,  although isn't as tall as the red, it's another very welcome sight. I was worried I had lost these two, among the very first bromeliads that I added to my collection.

The brugmansia has flowered wonderfully over summer and is still in bloom. It currently has one branch that towers above the rest of the tree. I should have pruned back to maintain a more regular shape, but I must admit I love this over-the-top growth spurt. It reminds me of an exotic parasol.

The row of cordylines I planted along the driveway were all cuttings from a very old and overgrown plant in the backyard.  They really seem to love this spot and are all in bud at the moment.

Another star along the driveway is the Bird of Paradise Strelitzia reginae. I hope I will have a chance to weed their bed before I go, and somewhere down the track I will consider the fate of the neighbouring pentas. I love them almost as much as the bees and butterflies do, but if I'm really honest, they clash with the colours of the Bird of Paradise. Perhaps the grey blue of Agave attentuata would be a better companion.

This little salvia 'Heatwave Sizzle' is still flowering and looks very pretty against the variegated alstomeria.

And both the salvia and the alstomeria provide a backdrop to a white Zinnia 'Polar Bear'.

Nearby, a rhoeo Tradescantia spathacea 'Vittata' serves as backdrop to a pink zinnia 'Pastel Dream'.

Cosmos with more of the variegated alstomeria and variegated pineapple. None of the fancy schmancy cosmos seeds I planted have done much, but the self-seeded ones are thriving.

Salvia 'White Velour' with Aloe 'Diana' behind it.

Looking back to last winter, I really enjoyed pots with mixed varieties of succulents. Since then, the different varieties have grown at varying rates, and some of the combinations that worked last year aren't the harmonious balance of shapes and sizes that they were. They would probably all benefit from re-potting, which I won't get a chance to do in the near future. When I do, I probably have more than enough different varieties to work with, but I couldn't resist adding one more into the mix. This gorgeous kalanchoe(?), such a lovely combination of chocolate and teal.

Well, this will be my last post from Australia for a couple of months. Sorry I have been remiss responding to comments and visiting your posts lately. I look forward to catching up on all the latest, and, rest assured, I have already packed the important things and look forward to sharing lots of exciting tropical plants and images from Indonesia.

The essentials!