Orchid display

Orchid flowers are out and on display. Some will call it will-nilly placement of odd shaped flower stalks, while others will appreciate it as modern flower arranging.

Pink Geranium

Some candy-floss-pink geranium to brighten up this compost bin.

Maidenhair Fern

In the past, maidenhair ferns (or Adiantum ferns) used to die under my watch. I have now realised I killed them with too much love (the usual – too much water, food etc). In fact maidenhair ferns are rather tough and once you’ve found the right spot for them, and become well established, then you’ve hit the jackpot.

Strawberry Hanging Basket

I’m a bit slow taking photos of this strawberry hanging basket, but here it is anyway and it’s still fruiting despite the frost.

Moschino Scarf

The latest purchase is this Moschino scarf from their Spring Summer 2012 collection. It has fruit and vegies – my favourite subject!


FOULARD, Detailed print, Composition: 100% Silk, Height: 86cm, Width: 86cm

Natalina’s Knitting

My friend Natalina likes to keeps her hands busy by knitting. This evening however, her scarf in-the-making rests on her Lazy Boy armchair.

Violets

Who would have guessed under this Melbourne sky that it is winter. These little pink and purple violets are looking super cute amongst the green foliage. It brings a lot of joy during those cold mornings and you just wonder about looking for spots of colour.

Chinese lantern

This Chinese Lantern was purchased as "flying start" small cutting for less than $3. Look at it now! It's growing under a citrus tree, almost neglected and yet it has survived. You gotta love hardy plants that still manage to flower all year round.

Passionfruit

I have been waiting patiently for this passionfruit to ripen since summer! And I'm still waiting....

Silverbeet / Chard

I'm enjoying the colourful stalks of the chard (or silverbeet) in the garden. They grow super quick and in temperate regions, can be grown any time during the year.

Palm

This golden palm is supported by an old broom stick handle. It does the job well enough and the palm looks very happy in the corner of this room.

Ginger Lily

Looking out the window I admire the Ginger lily (Hedychium gardnerianum). It’s nice and cosy inside and the plants are enjoying the rain.

Purple Iris

I love a rain soaked garden. What a shame the Iris flowers are almost destroyed when it should be as robust as its leaves.

Clivia seeds

I found some ripe Clivia berries and I will attempt to grow them from seed!
Wish me luck!

Kaffir lime

This is my friend’s kaffir lime fruit. This citrus has aromatic leaves used in South East Asian cuisines. The astringent flavour rind and zest is also used in Creole cuisine and for making rum.

Bouquet

Some lucky person (not me) received this beautiful bouquet of flowers at work. It contains red hot pokers (Kniphofia), gerberas, purple orchids and green chrysanthemums. They are so fresh and perfect that they look almost fake!

Seaside Daisy

More about daisies! These seaside daisies (Erigeron karvinskianus) flower nearly all year round, are easy to grow and will even grow in the cracks of pavements. Hence, why they are a weed in Australian bushland. I have maintained mine in my garden and I just pluck them out if they grow in the wrong spot. Apparently they are a mosquito repellent also.

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)

I didn’t think much of this daisy flower until my gardener friend told me to smell the leaves. The crushed leaves smelt of citrus! The word "feverfew" derives from the Latin word febrifugia, meaning “fever reducer”.

Clivia

I want to buy a clivia (Clivia miniata) for the shady areas of my garden. Their roots also tolerate competition such as under shallow-rooted trees. I spotted them a Bunnings ranging in prices from $6 - $26. I shall consider buying one during my next visit.

Apple & Blackberry

I saw this joke posted on Facebook and it made my tummy grumble. Of course, I was thinking of apple and blackberry pie!

Silver birches

I love how these silver birch trees highlight the white window frames of this building.

Loquat & brick

I am determined to grow this loquat in a large pot. I dare not plant in the ground for fear it will grow out of control. The problem is now the tree is heavier on top and kept falling over during windy days. It didn’t help that the surface the pot is sitting on is on an angle. I have placed a brick to weigh the pot down (for now).

Owl

This is my plastic owl that is supposed to keep the birds away. I also have numerous CDs hanging off the branches. Deterring birds is easy but my major problem is deterring possums!

Climbing Geranium

This is my attempt at a vertical construction using climbing geraniums (or Pelargonium). I’m using chicken wire as my structure as it is pliable to make the cylinder and the bamboo sticks to keep it rigid. Below are some of my inspirations.

Dragon fruit

This dragon fruit (aka Pitaya) is in need of a transfer to a bigger pot. I may need to create a supporting structure so I can encourage an upwards direction of growth. The challenge also trying not to injure myself with the prickles. My inspiration is a picture I found on the internet of a dragon fruit in a pot and growing vertically, fruiting a lot and in a neat formation.

Heuchera

In a shady area of the porch, I potted up a Heuchera (hybrid cultivar 'Firefly') – once the red flowers appear, it will brighten the area and I might even experiment with bringing it indoors.

Purple sage cuttings

This is my recent purple sage cuttings. I find sage very easy to propagate. What you no longer require from the kitchen, you simply stick back into the ground. You can then give away the plants to family and friends in springtime.

Saffron 2012

This is what my saffron looks like now. After a couple of years, what were once 3 bulbs has multiplied to several plants. So many that I have had to transfer them to a larger pot.

This is the saffron back in 2010 - http://ginac123.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/saffron.html

The saffron now (below).

Persimmons

Imagine three boxes of persimmons arriving at work freshly picked from the farm. Now imagine me taking six of those large fruit home. Here they are. Yum!

Bromeliad

Here is a picture of my friend’s spiky bromeliad growing well undercover.