Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day February 2013

One of the joys that follows decent rain here is Brisbane is the flush of flowers on the Murraya or Mock Orange and the glorious perfume that accompanies it.

I have a murraya hedge near the front door, but because it is regularly clipped the blooms are sparse. Not so the bush near my driveway! I only occasionally trim it back when it obscures too much of my vision as I reverse out of the driveway and it rewards me with a mass of blooms.

As you can see above, the poinciana is still flowering.

There are two kinds of plumeria flowering at the moment. The unscented Hammerhead frangipani Plumeria pudica

and the Evergreen frangipani Plumeria obtusa

It's quite a sensory overload of a evening with the murraya, frangipani and night-scented jessamine, which I haven't photographed, all in competion for the most heavenly scent.

The bromeliad above is Achmea 'Burning Bush' is just coming into flower, as is the ixora 'Pink Malay'

This beautiful flower is a Globba 'Red Back', a member of the ginger family, and I have another small golden globba that should be in bloom in time for next bloom day.

Firespike Odontonemea strictum

The daylilies are slowly coming to an end but have put on a fine show.

'Spacecoast Whiteout'

'Ash Rosie'

'Mr Lucky'

'Just A Tease'

I was thrilled to see my waterlily has made a recovery after a major decline last year. Unfortunately, I often miss the flowers because they haven't come out when I duck down early to feed the goldfish and have closed up again by the time I'm home from work.

I hadn't realised these two bromeliads were related until I noticed the similarity in the flowers.

This lovely canna is a very welcome refugee from my neighbour's yard.

Finally, along the driveway all the spider lilies Hymenocallis littoralis are out and looking spectacular.

That's the last garden blogger's bloom day for our summer here  in Australia. I'm hoping to order a few spring bulbs later today and am eagerly anticipating the arrival of blooms on dahlias.  To see more of what is blooming in gardens around the world, visit Carole at May Dreams Gardens.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day December 2012

The final Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for 2012 seems to have come around very quickly. When I compare the garden in its current state to how it was this time last year, it is looking a little sad, but that is only to be expected when it was left to its own devices for over 5 months this year.

I have been home now for nearly two months, but there was no clear dividing line between finishing my work in Jakarta and resuming my regular job, so I have been time poor. Fortunately, a few snatched hours over the weekends and a couple of wet days rather than regular watering have produced the beginnings of a turnaround.

The daylilies and spider lilies looked the most pathetic on my return but have come back with a vengeance.

Daylily 'Royal Rego'

Detail of its wonderful gold braid

'Strawberry Fields Forever'

Native bee visiting bitone 'Raspberry Delicious' 

'Double Cranberry Ruffles'

'Ash Rosie'

'Spacecoast Whiteout'

My new addition from last year 'Russian Ragtime'.

'Frank Teele' is a more Christmasy red than it looks in this photograph. 

'Spacecoast Seashells'

This is how the daylilies looked on my return. This is 'Ash Rosie'

... and 'Cherryburst'. Looks like I got home just in the nick of time.

Spider lily in front of a flush on new growth on one of the cycads

The spider lilies on my return. They had a battle on their hands with opportunistic mealy bugs.

This nondescript flower belies the wonderful perfume of the night-scented jasmine  Cestrum nocturum

Here is the cestrum in full flower behind an Evergreen Frangipani Plumeria obtusa

I love how the Leopard Lily self seeds and manages to pop in all the right places.

Another unexpected pop-up in my oh-so-weedy lawn.

Looks like my very first Yucca flower is on its way.

Jasminium sambac 'Grand Duke of  Tuscany'

Not exactly a bloom yet, but peaking through the soil at top left is 'Kitty' one of the mail order dahlias I planted a few weeks ago.

The variegated alstomeria that was a great cut flower this time last year has taken a thrashing but will bounce back.

The poinciana went from this (on a stormy day)...

...to this in just a week.

Finally, just a sample of some of the bromeliads coming into flower at the moment. To see more of what is flowering around the world, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens who hosts Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day each month.