bromeliads and ferns

Bromeliads and ferns do well in the cooler months of the year.  When we had our first over 30 degrees day a week ago I was quite worried about the ferns and bromeliads.  The tree ferns are looking good but are too tall to be covered, should we get another very hot and windy day.  A few years ago the tall tree ferns were singed by the February heat and it took a couple of years for them to recover.  The lower ferns could avoid the hot wind but would go brown when the temperature is too high.  I water the ferns and bromeliads when the temperature becomes unbearable.

bromeliads, red and green

low growing ferns

two tall tree ferns

Poppies

Last winter I sowed some of the poppy seeds, mauve and red, in different part of the garden.  In one of the planter boxes I found quite a few self sown seedlings.  I decided to leave them there rather than clear the box for vegetables.  Now the poppies are blooming beautifully and I will wait till the seeds are ready before pulling out the plants.

The veggie box of poppies.

Red and mauve poppies.

Bright red poppies.

Changing look in the spring garden

The blue bells and the wild ixias look quite dejected with all their flowers gone.  I will dig up the bulbs once the leaves turn yellow.  Other bulbs are flowering in their place, such as the Arabian star flower, the gladiolus callianthus or sword lily and the white ixias.

The Arabian star flower alongside an early rose.

Gladiolus callianthus.

White ixias.

The broad beans are ready for picking and there is a glut of flat leaf parsley.

Kalanchoe white and pink.  It is time for me to look for other colours.  The kalanchoe is so easy to grow.

Pink geranium in a hanging basket.

Blossoms from the Granny Smith apple tree in my outside garden.

Spring garden

The garden is looking gorgeous when not dampened by the rain.  It is telling me that the bulbs need to be thinned out to give them a chance to survive next year.  I shall be giving away the extras.

The Manchurian pear has lost its blossoms but the young leaves are beautiful.

Intermingling colours

Diosma doing very well.

Feeding this thin bed last autumn has helped.

Welcoming bright gazanias.

Wallflower, ixias and red azalea fighting for space.

Spring stars (Tritellia) and blue bells.

Blue bells and freesias appear each spring without fail.

Potted pansies for variety.

orchids and other flowers

Illness and the wet weather have stopped me from doing much if anything in my garden.  When we had a glorious spring day last week I walked all over my garden, appreciating the flowers that are brightening up the garden.  Hints of blossoms and bulbs as well as hellebores and cyclamens are encouraging me to get back to work.  The flowering orchids give me much pleasure.  The pale cymbidium has been flowering for over two months even though the wind broke the flower spike which I had to bandage and support with a stake.  The edges of the petals are turning brown.  I should have taken some pictures when they were looking their best.

The darker cymbidium has been with me for twenty years.  It was given to my daughter for her eighteenth birthday but I have been it's carer and had divided the original clump many times.  It is looking good even though it has been neglected.

This white orchid I bought at the garden club a few years ago and I should have noted its name.  It too survives without much support from me.

This is the time for daffodils and I have a few, only a few in the garden.

Two golden daffodils that have survived the wind and heavy rain.  The bit of pink beneath them is a cyclamen flower.

This egg and bacon wallflower comes back in spring with some help from cow manure which I had spread around some of the bushes in autumn.

This hot pink camelia is squashed by azaleas but is doing very well.  Can I say that the amount of rain we have been getting has been a great help?

These are some of the azaleas that are surrounding the camelia.  I will give them a good pruning when they finish flowering.  Another beautiful azalea is this pink one which grows in a pot.

I have been picking violets from the scattering of patches in my garden and this is just one of them.

Walk along Le Thiou, river in Annecy old town

Along this narrow and shallow river potted plants are cleverly arranged.

A grand old wisteria that grows from a pot and trained to grow up to the top floor.

Weeping willow from a small island on Le Thiou.

Elderflower and smoke bush are grown on the side of the path along the river.

A large horse chestnut tree over the river.

A white vibernum as hedging along the path.

These are flowers along the river path.  I have no idea what they are.

Rome, Florence and Milan

Apartment living is the way of life in Rome, Florence and Milan but you will still see trees and flowering plants all over the place.  I was sick most of my time in Italy but below are some floras of these ancient places.

A view from the balcony of my B & B in Rome, of a banana tree and a potted palm.  Not far away was an avocado tree.

A bridge that connects two apartment blocks in Rome and on the terrace there are potted plants and bushes grown on every available space.

A market garden stall in Florence, with petunias and geraniums ready to plant out in window boxes and pots for terraces.  I bought two geraniums which I planted in pots on the terrace of my hospitable hosts in Florence.

Olive grove in Tuscany, on the way to Fiesole.

In the middle of Milan, not far from the tram track is this pleasant meadow, red poppies brighten up the space.

A street in Milan close to our B & B and in the white pot is a red bottlebrush.  I saw a few potted bottlebrush, (callistemon), in Florence as well.  The work of returning Australian Italians?

A balcony garden in the apartment block where we stayed at a B & B.