Christmas in the garden

If you look closely into the photo below, there's a little face almost dead centre.

Onslow, Miss B, and yours truly got back from 4 lovely days over Christmas with my brother and his family.  He lives near Ballina in northern New South Wales, about a 2 hour drive south from here in Brisbane, and his garden is paradise for pups and garden lovers alike. They have wonderful volcanic soil and get more rain than we do, so the area always looks lush and tropical.

Onslow exploring

Miss Bella thought a clump of Dwarf Panda Grass Pogonatherum paniceum was just perfect for nestling into.

Whenever I go down there, I think one day it will be like Sleeping Beauty's place: I'll need my machete to get to the front door! My brother is a tireless plant collector.

I took loads of photos of things that caught my eye in the garden, but I forgot to take my battery recharger, so the photography came to an abrupt end on Christmas Eve, although I still have plenty to share, starting with the boundary fence, covered in rose flowered bignonia or pink trumpet vine, bower of beauty, and jasmine.

Rose flowered Bignonia Podranea ricasoliana



Bower of Beauty Pandorea jasminoides



Jasminium (not sure of variety)

 It's not exactly a planned garden. It's one that grew...like Topsy. There are fruit trees: avocados, figs, tamarillo and banana (not photographed), and a somewhat overgrown pineapple.

 Cottage garden plants like buddleia are planted alongside tropical frangipani. 

 There are traditional favourites, like Japanese maple and magnolias, and the odd curiosity.

The tree with pale foliage behind the heliconia is a variegated jacaranda. (We  had waves of these wonderful fronts with heavy showers coming through a couple of times a day.)

But Tony's current obsession is orchids. Palms, bromeliads, and bamboos have all had their turn too, and I will focus on them next post.

Of course, his greatest treasure is his beautiful family. This is my gorgeous niece Yassie who turned 13 on the 23rd. Happy Birthday, Beautiful Girl!

Jacaranda time

There is so much happening in my own garden and a little further afield that it is hard to know quite where to start. One of the most iconic sights in Brisbane at this time of year is the jacaranda. When Richard, my friend at work, asked me if I knew what that meant, my unhesitating reply was 'Yes -- exams!', but he quoted a Christmas carol I didn't know:
When the bloom of the jacaranda tree is here,
Christmas time is near.

I prefer Douglas Stewart's take:
Where, dancing with pale blue fire, the branches rear
And the dark twigs hold the sky up to the sky.

At the University of Queensland

The University's Great Court

The colour of the jacaranda is often debated. Are the flowers blue or purple? There is a lot of purple prejudice out there, but I am one of its staunchest defenders and feature it in the garden whenever I can.

Cordyline - I think this one is a native variety.

This is one of my favorite daylilies 'Acacia Bella' in my front garden. I'm sure I saw it described somewhere as having a jacaranda eye zone.

Hardenbergia violacea  This has sprung up mysteriously in my garden. I'm not sure if it is from the nearby bushland, or a remnant from previous owners. The most widely grown variety is called 'Happy Wanderer'.

A postscript to my previous post on star jasmine - here Morning Glory has infiltrated a garden bed. It might be the most terrible weed but the colour is divine, and, like the jacaranda, it hovers on the purple-blue cusp.

Purple foliage courtesy of one of the bromeliads Neoregelia concentrica

Well, if you were purple phobic before, I hope I have convinced you of its beauty.