Here in Brisbane, it is not winter, but it is incredibly wet lately. In fact, if you hear of Ikea selling DYI Ark kits, I may be interested.
I set off optimistically yesterday, but I hadn't even made it to the end of the block before it started raining again, so I knew it was going to be a short walk. However, even in that short distance, I can across this native beauty and have been been keeping an eye out for them since then.
This is the Xanthostemon chrysanthus known as the Golden Penda, a member of the myrtle family and endemic to North Queensland. While I was driving around today I noticed they are just coming into flower all through the neighbouring suburbs.
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| The young Golden Penda was planted next to a pink frangipani |
This is the hill opposite mine, with bigger, more modern and more colourful houses; there's a great purple one over there somewhere that has a coordinated jacaranda planted beside it.
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| The Golden Penda lives at the house on the corner where the street signs are. |
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| This guava was growing with the yellow allamanda on the opposite street corner. |
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| Spotted this Duranta 'Geisha Girl' on my way back. |
I spent the rest of what was a very dark and gloomy day a little preoccupied by Golden Pendas and was hoping to find a larger tree to share with you. This afternoon I was very pleasantly surprised to spot this one in a cul de sac only a block from home (in the opposite direction). The lime yellow blooms look wonderful beside the burgundy foliage of the nearby plant.
It came with an added bonus: some rainbow lorikeets were feeding on the nectar - a sight guaranteed to add colour to the gloomiest of wet weekends.
