Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day February 2014

Here at Casa Bella our thoughts are with all those affected by extreme weather, from the UK's floods and North America's freeze, to the heatwaves and bushfires in South and Western Australia. I am sure gardening is far from many people's minds, but perhaps this update for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day can provide a temporary distraction.

It has been a relatively mild summer here in Brisbane. The only unusual feature so far has been the late arrival of our wet season. Hopefully it is just late and not bypassing us completely, or it will be a long dry year ahead.

As usual, my summer garden is dominated by the huge poinciana in the front garden. Because of its size, I used to think of it as fully grown and a static presence, but it is becoming clear that it is still spreading. Many of the sun-loving annuals and perennials planted in the front garden are falling under ever-increasing shade, and a few moves will be in order before next season.

 

Plumeria obtusa with a flowering yucca behind and the red of the Poinciana

 

 

White ixora and variegated pineapple

 

Onslow knows it's all about keeping cool in summer.

I brought my Adenium indoors so I could enjoy the pink and white blooms for a few weeks.

 

These two bromeliads are Achmea 'Burning Bush' and the spotted foliage of Billbergia 'Hallelujah'

Plumeria pudica

Yucca in bloom

The next two plants are not from my garden, but I spotted them on walks and couldn't resist including them.

Gloriosa lily

Russelia

Meanwhile, back on my driveway...



Strelitzia or Bird of Paradise

Miniature ginger Globba winitii

Firespike

 

 

Datura and croton

Here's a close up of the croton. I love tropical foliage. It ensures I have colour all year round even when nothing is in flower.

Another foliage favourite, a Neoregelia bromeliad .

Some of the potted caladiums along the side of the carport.

This pale caladium is one of my favourites.

And finally, I am letting Miss B have the last 'word'. She thinks Onslow gets way too much attention in this blog, just because he is an exhibitionist! 

 

 

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.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day January 2013

January marks midsummer in Australia, and although we have had a week or so of heatwave conditions recently and the garden is a little dry, it is full of colour for the first Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for 2013.

This was the first year I planted scabious in the garden, and they have been a great success. I sowed the seeds directly into the garden, and it seems that nearly every seed germinated. I will definitely be planting them again next year.

I may have been away for their Spring flush, but the daylilies have continued to brighten the garden with repeat blooms.

'Kent's Favourite Two'

One of my absolute favourites 'Percival James'

Another favourite 'Donna Mead'

'Passion for Life'

'Passion for Life' again

'Isis Unveiled'

A badly focussed photo of the very beautiful 'Jordan Verhaert'

Alongside the daylilies in the front garden, the white ixora 'Kampon's Pride' is a mass of blooms for such a young plant.

The Leopard Lily has self-seeded and sprung up in a few new places but is always a welcome sight.

And the Variegated Alstomeria is re-establishing itself after taking a bit of a pounding while I was away.



One of the showiest bromeliads in flower.

Here is a view of the front garden at the moment, absolutely dominated by the Poinciana Delonix regia.

The white flowers to the right of the poinciana belong to the Hammerhead Frangipani Plumeria pudica.

Elsewhere in the garden, tropical foliage provides almost as much colour as the flowers. Among the more spectacular are the Elephant Ears or Caladiums, a tropical perennial. I am a recent addition to the ranks of their admirers. In just a month I have expanded my 'collection' from two to ten. The second photo is of four new plants I picked up at the local markets.

For December Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, I was very proud to report that my Yucca was in flower for the first time. If you were thinking it couldn't get any more exciting than that, you are wrong. Just a week or two back, I was gazing vaguely in the direction of the Ponytail Palm Beaucarnea recurvata when I realised it too had come into bud for the first time since I moved here in 2005.

Here are a few photos tracking its progress.

  

I do love my garden; there's always something new popping up and demanding my attention.

To visit more gardens around the world, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens who hosts the Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day meme on the 15th of each month.

Goodbye to Hua Hin

With only a few days remaining of my week's holiday in Hua Hin, I thought I should shake off my slothfulness and make an effort to see some of the 'sights'. Fortunately, given my tight timeframe, there aren't very many must-sees in Hua Hin apart from the beach. However, I was keen to see Baan Silapin a local artists' collective on the outskirts of town. There were a couple of fabulous paintings on display, which I managed to resist, but it was still a fun and colourful place to visit.

Heliconias in bloom

Can you see a black and white 'something' near the bottom of the stairs in the distance? It warrants closer inspection.

At another end of the property... Why do I feel that face looks familiar?

Of course, the divine Miss B... I wonder what those two are up to while I am off working in foreign climes to support them in the lifestyle to which they have grown accustomed.

Just so long as no one is sleeping on the newly recovered sofa that isn't even in its official position yet!

But I digress....  My second and final port of call on my visit to Hua Hin's tourist spots was to the King's Summer Palace - Phra Ratchchaniwet Marukhathayawan - built by Rama VI. The teak buildings are connected by a series of elevated, covered walkways and surrounded by lush gardens.

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The sparkle of blue plumbago in the garden bed.

You can just catch a glimpse of the sea to the left behind the ancient frangipani.

I love this building set to the rear of the palace, presumably for officials. It's too big to be a cottage and too pretty to be barracks.

The submerged terracotta pots catch the rainwater from the downpipes.

It's official: I am a failure as a butterfly photographer, but I had better hone my skills quickly as I have an exciting wildlife adventure coming up soon!

Finally, a look at some of the other blooms around Hua Hin that caught my eye.

The Queen's Flower Lagerstroemia regina

The always fabulous Hammerhead Frangipani Plumeria pudica

A rather lovely white Ixora with a very narrow petalled, starry bloom compared to the one I have.  Here is the link to an earlier post of mine so you can see just how different the two are.

 

It was also quite tall. This was the growth above what was a five or six foot fence.  (The gorgeous veined leaves of the tree above are of a breadfruit.)

So it is goodbye to holidays, Hua Hin, and Thailand for now, and hello once more to my working life in Jakarta.