bird of paradise

Bird of paradise is the common name of the strelitzia which is also sometimes referred to as the crane flower.  The flower does look like a bird of paradise.  It is strange that this tropical plant is flowering in winter but its beauty is most welcome now when the sky is usually grey.  This clump grows against the north facing wall of the house, a most suitable position.

Chilli and bok choi

You would think this chilli bush would have wilted with the cold weather we have been getting, but no.  I have been picking this hot bird's eye chillies when required rather than have them sitting in the fridge.  There are green chillies waiting to ripen.  The bush is a splash of colours, starting with the very young fruit starting as shiny black and then turning green as it gets bigger and finally the fiery red.  I hope this bush will keep me in chillies through the winter months.

What could be nicer than stir-fried bok choi, freshly picked?  I grew these bok choi from seedlings as I was too lazy to start from seeds.  They have been doing very well and I have to remember to purchase more seedlings.  Bok choi self sow quite easily and I have found a few seedlings coming up from seeds from the previous season.  I had left a couple of plants to go to seed and did not get around to collecting the seeds and they had looked after themselves.

Choko

This bushy choko vine is in a pot.  I planted two sprouting choko fruits at the same time, one in this pot and the other in the ground beneath the hakea in my outside garden.  The vine in the outside garden has clambered over the hakea tree and produced fruits.  I have picked three so far and I can see a couple more amongst the leaves.  Choko is not the most exciting vegetable but it is so easy to grow and from stories I have heard, very productive.  With a little bit of imagination you can turn this humble vegetable into whatever takes your fancy - from plain stir-fry to relish.

The two choko fruits in the picture are up high in the hakea tree.  I don't know if they will attract possums and cockatoos.  Being hidden amongst the leaves may help.  I also pick the tender shoots to add to stir-fry and that encourages growth.

These three chokos are still young and tender, unlike those found in the shops, which can be so mature that they are already sprouting.  I hope to see more fruits forming to be ready for picking over the winter months.

The camellia

From now till spring we will be seeing a succession of camellias flowering and I just love them.  I have three camellias in pots because I have not decided where to eventually plant them.  I have this one sitting on the back porch so I can admire the flowers from inside my warm house when it is wet and miserable outside.  The pink does lift the spirit.

This pink is a lighter shade.  I may just leave these plants in their pots and prune them to contain their size.  Even when not in flower the glossy green leaves of the camellia create a lushness in the garden.

White chrysanthemum and feijoa

I rescued this white chrysanthemum from the garden bed where it was looking half dead.  I hurriedly placed the clump in a pot with some compost and forgot about it.  The compost must have helped for I have been rewarded with some flowers which look better in real life.  I will have to look for a spot in the garden to plant it in when it has finished flowering.  In its first season a few years ago it was a splendid bush covered in the white flowers.

At the moment you may find gardens with feijoas left to rot under the trees.  I hope this feijoa bush of mine will grow into a productive tree and I will pick each and everyone of the fruits off the ground.  Feijoas are ready when they drop.  I discovered a few fruits on this bush and will wait to see if they will ripen.  They are not very big and may not have much flesh.

butterflies and bees

This picture of the bee in the mauve poppy was taken in December but the one of the butterfly in the marigold was taken last week when the fine weather brought a few butterflies to the garden.  There are still bees around but with not many flowers in the garden they must have flown to other gardens.  There are still a few flowers on the budlia and that is attracting the butterflies.  Strangely enough the white butterflies - there are too many of them looking for brassicas to lay their eggs on- do not go anywhere near the budlias.  I have pruned back the budlia bush in the outside garden as it was getting too leggy.

Flowers in autumn

The Cosmos and Zinnias have been flowering through the summer months and they look like gracing the garden for a few weeks to come.  We may losing the warm weather soon and that may put a stop to the colourful flowers, which will be a pity.

The chrysanthemum may last longer as they have only just started to open up.  There used to be a large clump of this chrysanthemum and a creamy coloured one in front of the verandah but after three years they became leggy and no amount of compost would improve the growth.  I transferred some into a pot and the rest into another bed and they are doing quite well even though the stems are still so thin and scraggly.  I may divide them after the flowers finished and hopefully encourage better growth for next year.  They are ready for Mother's Day.

 A pot of pansy is always cheerful.  I bought this plant for a couple of dollars and they will brighten up the garden in winter.  I may buy a few more to plant in some of the bare patches in the garden bed.