Spring flowers

I thought I'd sneak in a quick post before I head off early tomorrow to Western Australia.  We have had two weeks of unseasonably warm spring weather and not much rain which I hope is not a sign of things to come.  Spring flowers are popping up and opening out everywhere and the first roses of the season should open while I'm away.  I went around this morning snapping these few blooms that caught my eye.

 

I love Lunaria and have always wanted to grow some in my garden.  I bought a packet of seeds years ago, lost them and then rediscovered them last year.  Although the packet was over 10 years old I thought I'd sow seeds into punnets to see if they would germinate which they did.  Now I have these pretty flowers in pink and white.

Foxgloves never cease to give me visual pleasure.  I love the spotted throat of the flowers and the way those bells flower up the stem.  The first time I heard of foxgloves was in the Poldark series of books which I read as a teen.  Demelza would gather bunches of foxgloves growing wild in Cornwall and when I discovered what they looked like, I couldn't quite believe something so beautiful would grow wild near the coast.  But of course I saw it with my own eyes in 2012 when we visited that very beautiful part of England.

 A few years ago when I was going for a winters walk, I came across a very tall shrub with bright and deep pink flowers.  Not much flowers in winter here so I was delighted to find a plant in a local garden flowering so beautifully in the depths of winter.  My great grandmother would often walk by gardens and take a little piece of a plant overhanging the fence and strike it for her own garden.  I figured I should follow her example and struck some pieces of the shrub which I believe to be Salvia wagneriana.  My little shubs are small yet but hope they will grow to be as tall and beautiful as those in my neighbours garden just a street away.

 This Azalea is blooming prolifically.  I've only a few Azaleas in the garden now as the others have sadly died.  Perhaps it's time to invest in a few new plants for next winter/spring.

 

 The apple tree is full of blossom this year, I hope that might mean a good crop of apples as long as we can keep the parrots away from them. 

  This next photo is not flower related but definitely worth talking about.  A recent grocery shopping trip resulted in an over abundance of Kent pumpkin and as I didn't want it to go to waste while I am away in Western Australia, I searched for pumpkin bread recipe on the Internet and found this one  and doubled the recipe.  The amount of mashed pumpkin I had only came to 1 1/2 cups whereas 2 cups was required for two loaves.  I also adjusted the sugar amount to 2/3 cup instead of 1 cup per loaf.  This pumpkin bread is light and fluffy and full of spicy flavour.  So the next time you have and excess of pumpkin on your hands, give this recipe a try.

 Anne  xx

Hello, spring is definitely here and this dwarf eucalyptus tree on the boundary of our neighbour's property is flowering beautifully.  The bees love it.

 

More work has been done on the canopy for the studio.  A little more to do and then it will be finished.  A balustrade is being built too.

And just because I've been thinking about our Europe holiday from 2012 a lot recently, here are two photos taken in Provence.  Such wonderful memories.

We've enjoyed a wonderful day of sunshine and warmth today.  I hope the weather is treating you well wherever you are.

Anne xx

Spring in the garden

Hi everyone.  Blogging mojo has been severely curtailed while other things have been occupying my mind and time.  But I thought it was time to show you a little of the garden now that Spring is here.

Arum lilies with begonia in the background.

Close up of the begonia.

The latest camellia planted about two years ago.  It only has a couple of flowers as it is a very little shrub at the moment. 

The front garden with a rhododendron tree in full flower, bluebells, and a red camellia in the background.

The sycamore trees are coming into leaf.

 The studio is slowly but surely being worked on.  Hubby has had some rather painful back and leg problems so work is not progressing as quickly as he would have liked.  Also being in the throes of Melbourne spring weather, we really can't predict whether we will be having four seasons in one day.  On day like that (which inevitably falls on the weekend), it has you scampering in and out of the house to miss the showers of rain or hail.

The floor of the studio is down.

I thought I would leave you with this little posy of rhododendron flowers.

Anne  xx

My week

Hello everyone.  Before I start, I should warn you this will be a photo heavy post, so if you are running short on time, you might want to tune out now.  I'd love it if you'd stick around though 'cos I've have some gorgeous photos to share.

First up we have the adorable Stripey who continues to give our family much pleasure.  I never cease to be amazed at the interesting ways they sit.

From the other side.

Yesterday I had some visitors of the feathery kind.  I have posted photos of these parrots before, but they are so beautiful I couldn't resist sharing more.

Adult female King Parrot

Adult male King Parrot

Sitting on the pergola

Together

We also had some Rainbow Lorikeets visit too.  While I love their beautiful colours, I don't welcome them because they are aggressive, very destructive and chase the more tame and gentle King Parrots away. 

Adult male and female Rainbow Lorikeets have the same colour plumage

We are off out into the garden now for a bit of a tour of what's been happening which is rather a lot now that spring is here and we are welcoming sunny days and warmer temperatures.
I've planted some of these carrots.  They look kind of cute with their little round shape.

The Cinerarias are flowering in colours that make me very happy, bright and bold.

Pansies, Primula (just about finished now), Polyanthus, Sweet William and Alyssum.

Alyssum, Sweet William and Campion and Fuschia coming into bud.

Stripey decided to join me in the sunshine.  Just after I took this photo, he decided to roll on the garlic I have planted under the Roses.  He was shooed away very quickly.

Tree Fern fronds unfurling towards that gorgeous blue sky.

Sunlight on some other Tree Ferns in the backyard.

Liquid Amber not yet in leaf.  I took this photo to show the contrast of the grey/brown branches against the beautiful blue.

The ornamental grapevine coming into leaf under the pergola which will give us lovely summer shade.

These lovely yellow flowers come from the following crimson/green succulent, of which I don't know the name.

While looking at some other succulents I have planted in a tub, I discovered the little fern trying to share soil space.  Some of the fern spoors must have taken a liking to this spot.

While walking around I spotted something else flowering brightly and discovered a Cyclamen in flower.  Such a pretty colour it is amongst the greenery.

One last photo (phew), an update on my painting.  I worked on the arms (forearm is a bit sinewy and thin, hand (thumb needs to be longer), defining the neck and improving the skin colour.  The face is still not the right colour and I just had to add some hair to the head as I was most disconcerted to be painting around an egg head.  Her hair is up and away from her face in a messy bun, so that's why I've painted it short.

Well that's it for now.  Have a wonderful weekend whatever you are doing.

Anne  xx