Lastly today is this tiny little blossom. It's self sewn, about 4 years old and flowering for the first time this year. The tree is now about 2 metres tall and the flowers are tiny, tiny, tiny.

Pretty though. What kind of fruit is it? I don't know. But that's part of the fun of gardening sometimes. You let things grow where they will and give them a chance to shine - if they don't out they come. This one will probably stay around for a while, there is that touch of desirable pink after all! 

What a little stunner this is. A Dendrobium kingianum, but which one I don't know. I've had this plant for many years growing in a pot. I decided a couple of years ago to release all my orchids into the garden. This one I put on top of the soil between two large old logs which I then filled with leaf mulch. It's actually growing underneath one of the lovely pink blossom trees from a month back.

This year it really looks likes its appreciating my efforts on its behalf. This flower stem is completely out and there are probably another 4 or 5 stems to come - which should stretch the flowering season out enormously. I sprinkle a little cow manure on it occasionally and that's it. 

The promised white blossom following the gorgeous pink has arrived! Two very large old pear trees add their beauty to our garden. Ruby is on the jetty - she's pretty gorgeous too. She loves gardening, especially if I can spend the time to chase her all over the grass. Actually it is a pretty good game because all you have to do is stand in the middle of the lawn, she runs around you, you making little feinting moves in her direction, and she runs madly away. Uses up oodles of energy for her and none for you! And as I am already tired from lugging around hundreds of bags of cow manure and mulch I need the energy saving part of the game. 

Another native flowering at the moment is Hardenbergia violacea. I am rather puzzled as to why the kangaroos don't eat this one, which is growing naturally in our bush, but they have eaten the ones which I bought from the nursery and planted in my garden! Why? My poor little bought ones can't manage to keep any new leaves on their skeltonised frames. As they valiantly try to put out each new leaf it is eaten over night. The only evidence a pile of little kangaroo poos, just to show everything digested nicely thank you very much.

My darling husband pointed out the resemblance of each flower to the cartoon character from our childhood, Yosemite Sam, big hat, cross eyed look and huge moustache. Look at a close up of the flower and you will see what he means. 

Here we are still in winter, although many plants are beginning to bloom. This is a native beauty known as the Wonga Wonga Vine, real name Pandorea pandorana. Its tiny little flowers are charming and as it gently entwines itself through shrubs and over wire fences it looks very pretty indeed. 

This is a dear little Salvia. I think one of the Salvia Greggii but I am not absolutely sure. It appeared on the edge of my garden one day about ten years ago; a poor straggling little thing it was. I took pity on it because I liked the colour and it has rewarded me ever since by slowly multiplying. It sailed through the drought and now has two beautiful patches of colour about 2 metres square. It seems to flower all year round and when the plants get a little straggly or when I want to grow some more I simply cut off old flower heads and sprinkle them in the new spot. Up they come and flower very quickly. How simple is that!! They are easy to keep in check and don't spread where I don't want them too. I never have to water them and look at just how beautiful they are. 

Half way through winter and this is what you see. Double pink peaches flowering away - makes for a happy me, (pink being my favourite colour), and very happy bees also.
As the pink blossoms are finishing the white double peaches start, and then the pear trees. It will be interesting to see if everything blossoms madly in an effort to reproduce. Certainly the autumn colour was much more intense with the dry weather. Maybe the blossom trees will be trying extra hard too?

Spring is so brief here. Technically it is not yet spring of course, but when it officially starts the weather suddenly warms up, everything comes out and then finishes, almost before you have time to enjoy it.

When we lived in Canada I was able to watch each new blossom appear in a long succession, whereas here it happens almost overnight and then just as quickly they're gone until next year.

Still there are some lovely flowering trees to look forward too. 

The Archontophoenix cunninghamiana (Bangalow Palms)
have colonised a clearing which appeared a year or two ago when one of the older trees fell over.

I don't like these planted into gardens. They really need to be surrounded by rain forest to look good to me. 

The fallen logs look fantastic covered in green. 

Finally, some rain. 36 mls - enough to fill 2 of our three interconnected dams. Just a little bit more needed. The weeds of course spring to life first, but everything else is coming along nicely. I've spent a happy day pottering in the garden, digging in bag after bag of cow manure. (18) and then moving perennials into the newly enriched soil.

The imagination can always see how it will look, given more rain and plenty of sunshine.

We also had a walk in the rainforest. This moss looked rich and green all over the forest floor. The bracken fern, which used to carpet large areas has died right back (that pesky drought again) but it will soon come back as the days warm up. 

Banksia ericifolia

Stunning. Nothing else to say.

Except that we've had a bit of rain recently and now have 2 out of 3 dams full. Our little red boat, which you can see in the background, is riding high again.
Frank 

Passion

Just one of the spots of colour we have in our garden at the moment. 

Winter sun

The winter sun was at just the right angle to bring these flowers on the miscanthus to a radiant white.
Frank 

I found this little creature crawling across the floor. It had dropped off me after I had been out in the bush. We've had a little bit of rain so the leeches have woken up and are hungry!
Frank 

Here is a 360 degree panorama of the vista, lake and pavilion. It's a little small, but I hope this gives you an idea. 

Rabbit home

A little rabbit, which was bought in Singapore about a year ago, has finally found its home on the Magic Mountain. 

Camellia sasanqua "Paradise Pearl"

Camellias are tough. These have survived the drought and are now flowering proliferously. These are now 7 years old and this is the best flowering we've seen.

They're planted as a hedge around a perfumed rose garden and are coming into flower just as the roses are going to sleep for the winter. 

Chinese Pistachio

The Pistacia chinensis has beautiful red berries as you can see. The colour is looking particularly strong today as there is a misty rain that dulls our usually strong sunshine.

Unfortunately we don't get nuts from this particular cultivar.

And yes, you did read correctly. It is raining!
We haven't had enough to fiull the dams, but our water tanks are full. 

Firewheel tree

The firewheel tree is still flowering!

This particular bloom is on a twig sprouting straight from the trunk. To give you a bit of an idea of size, the flower is as big as a small closed fist and dripping with nectar, so I'm sure it feeds the little pygmy possums we have living with us. 

The Magic Mountain, Phase One, is finished!

Today I finished my major project - The Magic Mountain. It's taken over 2 years to complete.
It's next to the Pavilion on a spot that was difficult to mow and with such awful clay that nothing decent would grow there. So I get 30 tons of sandstone trucked onto the property and barrowed it over to the Mountain. The picture is of an old stree stump that I dragged into position to give a strong vertical line. The roots support it off the ground and I've planted a dwarf lillipilli between them.
Frank 

The autumn colour on the pistachio tree and the persimmon are being enhanced this year because of our severe drought. Seems like there really is a silver lining to everything. - Frank 

Roses

Christine picked this vase of roses from our garden. They looked so good in the afternoon sun in our living room I had to share them with the world. - Frank

 
This is the Cashmerian Cypress tree. I thought I'd better show what it looks like from a bit of distance. It's an absolute beauty, one of my favourite trees in the garden. This one is just a few years old but growing very well - about 4 metres tall in just a few years. 
garden

 
I am trying to learn more about cypresses. This is a gorgeous Cashmerian Cypress flowering or sending out pollen or whatever it is that it does. I have been researching on the internet but not really learning a lot. Like for instance does this tree have male and female whatevers on the same tree?
This picture is greatly magnified (aren't the new cameras wonderful?) and the first day I spotted these little thingies they were all closed up and the next they were brown and opening. What happens next? I hope to know soon but if you know then please tell me. 

 
I haven't put up any pictures for ages - just been too busy, plus there didn't seem anything good happening in the garden. We are so much in drought that I have huge cracks appearing in the lawn and I've lost some of my more tender shrubs. Even things which are supposed to be able to withstand drought, like pokers. My beautiful 'Winter Cheers' are non existent this year. I hope they have surviving roots under the ground and if it ever rains again they will pop up and surprise me.
Which reminds me. The autumn colours this year are glorious. Even my flowering peaches have managed to muster up a little red and gold to match the fiery persimmon nearby and the yellow of the liquid ambers in the background.
The swamp cypresses are a glorious orangey brown and the crepe myrtles are deep red. We don't have the sheer numbers of colourful trees like our friends in Canada but what we have is looking good.

This little insect was sitting on a rock sunning itself. When it flew away it went straight up like a miniature helicopter. and fast!. I was expecting it to fly forwards not straight up.