Eucalyptus ficifolia x ptychocarpa "Summer beauty"

I think these are one of the most beautiful small trees to come out of the fairly recent hybridising that's been going on in the Eucalyptus/Corymbia families. There is also a soft pink, a bright orange and a white now available in the these lovely small trees.




I love the way the bud cap folds back, like a little trapdoor, to tantalisingly display the flower waiting to emerge from inside.

Only one of my three trees has produced flowers this year,
and it has only managed one truss instead of the usual magnificent coverage of the whole tree

The flowers last for quite a long while too. I haven't tried picking them for the house because I hate the idea of taking anything from the outside display when the tree looks so lovely.

Also I know there are lots of little creatures that rely on the nectar, produced in abundance, for part of their evening meal. Animals like the Sugar Gliders and Feathertail Gliders.

If they weren't so expensive I could plant lots and lots more, then I wouldn't mind having to pick the odd bunch.

Click here for more information on Sugar Gliders


Click here for information of Feathertale Gliders

King Parrot or Alisterus scapularis

Peek-a-boo King Parrot.

Beautiful birds aren't they? Beautiful but pesky in orchards. Most years we don't get any of the fruit off this apple tree. They are all eaten before they ripen.

Birds, up to a dozen at a time, congregate, feast and party here amongst our fruit trees. After three years of drought the birds number have decreased dramatically and this fellow was all alone.

King Parrots are fruit eaters and can sometimes be a menace to growers who are trying to make a living from supplying fruit. We, however, are not in that position and we welcome the bird life and are willing to share with them; even though apples certainly weren't part of their native diet. They like to eat seeds of eucalypts and acacias, berries, other fruits, nuts, nectar, blossoms and leaf buds - so a fairly wide diet which includes apples without any trouble at all

These birds can become quite tame and will happily feed near you, whilst keeping a wary eye on what you are up to. Look at these photos and you will see
what I mean. This one is a male because he has that gorgeous red head and chest. We usually have 8 or so living here fairly permanently but with the drought we have noticed the numbers dropping considerably. In fact we have very few birds around. I hope they have flown away to better areas and haven't perished here because of lack of food and water. The local blossom trees have finished and the exotic ones in my garden have shrivelled and dropped their buds and fruits. Our local creek is now dry. We do still have water in our dams but have noticed that the birds prefer to drink from smaller bird baths scattered around the place than attempt to drink from large open areas.

Click here to learn more about King Parrots

Australian Frogs Genus Litoria

We came back from a recent holiday to find a frog in our bathroom. It was sitting on the edge of the bath pretending to be sponge or perhaps invisible. With my new fantastic camera I can take close up pictures so I snapped away very happily.
Then I attempted to name the frog using 'A Field Guide to Frogs of Australia.' by Martyn Robinson. That was a good idea but the problem was that I had taken many photographs much like my first one here, which is pretty much useless for naming a particular frog. I couldn't clearly see the toes, or the colour in the armpits or much else that would help me distinguish this frog from its close relatives

I had managed to place it in the Litoria genus at least. I vowed that next time I would photograph what I needed in order to make a decision as to which frog it was.

These little brown tree frogs all look very, very similar. Sometimes it comes down to the colour of their eyes. Note frog 1 has silver eyes with a cross across it, all helpful for distinguishing who he is.

The next little frog I saw, only a couple of days later again in the bathroom I managed to look for and photograph the colours that I needed.



Here you can quite clearly see the marbling in the groin area, colouring completely hidden in the first photograph.















Notice also the creamy/white tummy. I decided that this was Litoria peronii. They can vary from grey or dark brown to cream and can change colour depending on where they are. He also has a flecking of emerald marks on his back, which I didn't see with my eye but noticed at once in the photograph.









The next photograph was taken yesterday. It was a very hot day so I don't understand why he was where he was. He was on our deck and was almost squashed underfoot by our comings and goings. He blends in so beautifully with the grey of the decking and was very difficult to see.

He was hunched up tight, presumably to keep all moisture in.


Again I checked the marbling and colouring in the thighs, armpits and groin area and decided that this one is Litoria tyleri.
Maybe I'm right, maybe not but I learnt quite a lot about what you can see when you really look very, very closely.

He looks very undignified in this position but be assured that he was quickly given his freedom, tucked inside a nearby bush.

Bronze Orange Bug

Isn't it interesting how a seemingly simple thing can lead you on to another, and another, so that before you know it life shapes you and takes you in another direction entirely? And usually that's great fun.

These pictures show my latest interest. A new camera has had a role in this as my husband, seeing my interest in tiny things in the garden; flowers, buds, butterflies, bugs and so on, bought me a 12x times zoom digital camera, and it is fantastic.

On the right is a photo of some tiny green eggs on an orange tree leaf. The reason I found these was all to do with a pink moth on the window sill ages ago (see entry October, 06 on this blog) and determined to find out what is was. That beautiful pink moth led me down a path I didn't expect. To find out its name I did some unsuccessful internet searches which in turn led me to a man who has created a site with information on butterflies and moths of Australia. It is so impressive. You should all go and have a look. I have a link on the moth page (October 06).

He told me the moth’s name and then asked for my help and so I am now collaborating with him on a web site, which he had already begun, on the flowering plants of Australia.
Link to site



So how does that get me to the eggs?

Well I started taking more notice of insects and caterpillars in the garden. I already had a good working knowledge of birds, reptiles, frogs and plants. All gained just from taking notice and researching books initially, and now much more the internet.


I noticed large smelly bugs covering my Orange tree. Many of them were mating so I took some photos and then researched. They were members of the Shield bug family or stink bugs to some people. I had to dispose of them before they ruined my crop of tiny oranges just forming and whilst doing that I noticed the little eggs. I figured there was a good chance they were the eggs of the mating bugs so I picked the leaf, brought them inside and researched again.

It took just a few days for the eggs to hatch into these tiny little green bugs in photo 2. They are only a millimetre in size, so tiny. Just hatched they immediately headed off in different directions and began to move their even tinier little wings, drying them out maybe.

I would never have witnessed this fascinating event without the pink moth in the first place.
So one simple thing leads to another.

I love the cranky face on the back of the adult bug.

Link to information on bug

Blog Problems

I haven't been able to blog for ages because the people who run this site have decided we need a new better, fancier more powerful way of posting pictures etc. The only trouble is that we haven't been able to do any of that for weeks now.

I always wonder why people want to fix things which aren't broken. I liked it the way it was - it was comfortable, like worn in flannel pyjamas.

I've known for a while now that I don't feel comfortable with change. It took me years to figure it out but basically everything boils down to that - I don't like change. I sometimes wonder if I was born yonks ago, when life was harder, whether I would have survived. I probably would have plodded along going to the same hunting grounds year after year, the same waterholes, wearing the same clothes, eating what my ancestors ate. I would not have been the one who pioneered new ways of doing things, tried new food, visited new areas. No.

I don't know how or why this trait has survived in humans but survive it has in me.

So Blogger people, I liked it as it was - at least I had success then.

Hibiscus Pink

This particular plant was given to me ages ago as a cutting and it as bravely soldiered
on in terrible soil. The plant is sparsely leafed, not at all thick and happy looking,
but at least it has flowers - and they are pink!

Willie Wagtail update

My how the babies have grown!
In a week they've gone from featherless scrawny creatures to almost fully fledged birds. Another week and they'll have flown away.

A couple of years ago we watched babies grow, surviving snakes, weather, foxes etc only to see them be devoured by kookaburras on the day they learnt to fly and left their nest for little flight forays.

So, so sad. I can't look at Kookaburras in quite the same way as I once did. 

The Vanishing Tractor

This is a sad tale - "The Mystery of the Vanishing Tractor Mower".

The lawn needed mowing so Frank went to the shed where we house our sturdy brand new Cox. It's a bit rough and ready but it does the job - the shed I mean.

Disturbingly the shed was bare - no tractor in sight.

At first our thoughts turned to having left it out on the road verge or up the paddock the last time we had it out. A few years ago we wouldn't even have thought such a thing, but with the advancing years sometimes you do have spells of forgetfulness. You wouldn't think you could forget to put a mower away but it has been done in the past.

This time though we retraced steps, thought long and hard, considered the possibility the mower had been stolen - and eventually Frank said "When nothing seems possible then consider the impossible". He decided that the mower had to be at the bottom of the dam.

"How on earth could a heavy mower disappear to the middle of the dam?" I argued. "There is only the slightest of slopes and spongy grass so it couldn't roll that far. Besides Frank don't you always put on the handbrake?"

Well you can probably guess that the handbrake wasn't on and we had a very wild storm which did loads of damage to property and trees one evening. Iit must have been that night the wind roared through our ramshackle shed and had taken the mower for swim.

Over $1,000 and some weeks later we have our mower back.

The photos prove it really happened. 

Willie Wagtail babies

We're grandparents!

Four little babies are snuggled into this nest. The nest is so close to the ground that foxes or other creatures about that size could easily take the babies. It has no protection from the elements and we have had storm after storm the last couple of nights.

The parents are very protective and look and act quite fierce when we walk past. I don't think they could fight off something which really wanted baby bird for dinner though.

Water lily dam

We had a big, loud thunderstorm last night. This meant that Mum and Dad had to hermetically seal themselves in their flat with all curtains closed and windows tightly shut. Pity because they missed a lightning performance with wonderful booming sound effects.

Ruby, out great dane, has never been bothered by storms until she started spending time with her grandparents on a regular basis. Now I have a huge soppy dog cowering as well. Learned behaviour? - I think so!

However, after the welcome 32 mls of rain last night Frank took this lovely photo of the water lily dam in today's cool and cloudy conditions. The soft light really does help show up colours.

Galahs

These beautiful birds are regular visitors to our garden along with King Parrots, Eastern Rosellas, Crimson Rosellas and occasionally Rainbow Lorikeets.

We don't put out food on a regular basis because we don't want to encourage them away from natural food sources. When we do put seed in the feeder it amazes me how quickly they all converge on our garden and then begin quarrelling over who is going to eat first. The King Parrots generally take precedence but the galahs were here first today.

It is very difficult to take photos of birds. If you've tried you would know. I have many blurry attempts so I am particularly pleased with this shot.

The only thing more difficult are butterflies. We have many butterfly visitors to the garden but I can't capture them with my camera. Moths are a little easier because they seek the light at night and land on the windows.
Info on galahs

Cicadas

Yesterday was a very odd day weatherwise. It had been exceptionally hot the day before and I was away from home. Returning in the evening I was greeted by the deafening noise of frogs. The waterlily dam was a loud croaking mass which I was pleased to hear. It's a lovely home-coming, the sound of frogs.

Next morning' s stillness promised a scorcher of a day. The frogs were quiescent but another sound had taken their place - a kind of a loud eerie hum. A glance out the window showed a haze hanging over the valley. It was either an unseasonal fog, or smoke, and my hunch was smoke. A quick sniff of the air to try to guess the direction. West is the worst, but wherever the smell is coming from the threat of bushfire is ever present - and that is a frightening prospect.

So up and outside, before it became too hot, to check on the chickens and make sure the plants I had left alone for a couple of days had survived without my ministrations, which they had. As soon as the outside door was opened the strange hum increased a notch in intensity. A dull threatening heat, smoke, and a noisy strumming in the ears.

Next stop, vegie patch where I saw hundreds of holes dotting the ground. I knew instantly the cicadas were hatching and beginning to call. We've had a few lonely cicada free summers recently. The last really busy one was the summer of 2001 when cicadas were able to drown out speech whenever we went outside. It was fun to stand in the bush and give a yell. In a good cicada year they yell back. The crescendo of noise which follows your yell hurts the ears. Believe me that is loud.

Listen to cicadas



The photo shows just a few of the shells left behind when the cicadas leave childhood behind and begin the busy period of finding a mate. The photo is of the vegie patch, hence the shrouds over my plants - protection. Shells were everywhere, hanging from plants and hanging on the netting seen in the background. I had to lift the nets to release the poor cicadas imprisoned there. I bet they wondered what on earth had happened, released from the earth but somehow not yet free.

Information here



and here

Painting with Trees

I am playing with colour in this combination, using very tough trees which will probably end up on "Australia's most un-wanted Weeds" list because they are so tough and easy to grow. But I plead innocence your honour. I need tough trees in my rock hard clay.

The yellowish tree in the background is Robinia pseudoacacia 'Frisia'. It seems reasonably well behaved so far, taking about ten years to reach a height where it shades our kitchen all summer long.

The reddish tree in the middle ground is Gleditsia triacanthos 'Ruby Lace' and she is very beautiful too, but not nearly so genteel as the other. She sadly sends up little suckers all over the place, and the suckers are vicious, spiny little root stock trying to take over the garden. So, though we love Ruby Lace for her gorgeous colour we may be sorry for years to come that we invited her home.

The orange in the foreground is Campsis. It is better known by various common names, the one most heard around here is Trumpet Vine, and the honeyeaters adore it. It is visited all day long from now until late autumn. It grows very easily and is very attractive but, and it is a big but, it too tends to send up suckers everywhere, even in the deep shade under the verandah, and they are tenacious little devils indeed.

I do love the colours together though. Underneath Ruby Lace I have planted Cliveas grown from seed I collected from a rather gorgeous deep orange Clivea. It remains to be seen whether they come true to colour or not but I reckon I have at least 3 years to go before I see any flowers.

In the meantime I wait. 

Passionfruit

Yum! We have such a wonderful crop of passionfruit coming on. The spring rain came just at the right time and the vine is laden. However for us to have any of the fruit we have to fight back against the birds so the crop is netted, except for this end where I ran out of netting. If we don't net then the cockatoos come in and eat the fruit, leaving none for us. We would be happy to share if they ate one whole piece at a time but they don't. They pull off one passionfruit, then fly to the top of a nearby Spotted Gum, take one bite and then throw it to the ground and go back for another. Very destructive and frustrating for us.

The birds and animals have had a hungry year because of the drought and throughout the winter possums trimmed the passionfruit vine completely of any green leaf. I wondered how it would go after that treatment but once the rain came in spring the vine put out new leaf and flower buds all over it. So I guess they don't mind very heavy pruning!! 

Water lily

If it weren't for the blemishes on the leaves this beautiful flower would not look real- but she is.

Our water lily lake is smothered with pink flowers at the moment and will be for quite a few months to come, until the water cools down towards the end of Autumn.

The frogs certainly appreciate the habitat around and on the water lily leaves. Their calls of a summer evening can be deafening. Loud enough to really hurt your ear drums! It sounds unbelievable but it is true. 

Tamarisk species

Another lovely old-fashioned shrub. Some people think this is a bit weedy - perish the thought. She is tough, loves the dry, flowers a couple of times a year for long periods and is pink!! Too perfect.

My garden is large and finally reaching a stage where it is beginning to look mature, rather than raw and new. Now I am trying to develop planting combinations which are attractive in all seasons; unusual leaf shape and colour and so on. This shrub (I have a few) enables me to make long "sight lines" with something wonderful in the distance because it is quite tall. It stands out and draws you on to see what it is just around the corner.

A very worthwhile plant. 

Rose 'Felicia'

I wish we had a way that everyone could smell the perfume of this rose at the same time as enjoy the picture of it. It is such a heady, gorgeous perfume.

The rose is a very old-fashioned shrub rose, not one of the new modern roses grafted onto a short stem. This one sends out long canes which flower on the end and send out new shoots at many junctions along the stem. The result is a very large shrub massed with flowers. The thorns on this one aren't too bad, but it is a rose so there are some.

I haven't imprisoned this one behind wire as nothing seems to have found it tasty so far. Fingers well and truly crossed. 

Sempervivum

I had an area of garden (well, many actually), where the soil is so poor that even with me feeding it up and pampering it nothing would grow. In despair I turned to succulents and bought a plant from a church fete labelled 'Hens and Chickens'. I divided this one little pot up and spread it in a section where it languished for a time, but with a little rain it has gone crazy and is spreading very well.

When you look on the internet these plants are supposed to like a dry spot and will survive drought. I think what also needs to be said is that whilst they will survive a drought they don't really enjoy it, and when the rain comes they grow very quickly, fill in an area and look very lovely whilst doing it. Now that I know what this plant can do I will plant more of it around, pamper it and have much quicker results I'm sure. I can't wait to see what its flowers might be like. Maybe they will help me identify exactly which variety of Sempervivum it actually is. 

Kangaroo Paw and Rosa 'Felicia'

It's been a wonderful day for photographs today. A cloudy sky seems to enhance all the colours.

The rose in the background is a very old variety called Felicia. It would have to be one of my all-time favourites. It flowers almost all year long, just having a little rest period in August, and has the most wonderful rich perfume (a true old rose fragrance). I've planted it close to an outdoor sitting area along with other old-fashioned varieties of plants (heliotrope, scented geraniums, gardenias and rosemary) all with strong perfumes, so that we can be rewarded with all sorts of pleasant aromas as the breezes blow.