You know it’s autumn in subtropical Brisbane because the Black Bat flowers bloom their best.
Category Archives: In Flower Today
First Flowering: Pandanus cookii
This summer my fifteen year old specimen of Pandanus cookii flowered. It was collected from Cape York by Yuruga Nursery in the Atherton Tableland, where I bought it.
Like all Pandanus, they are intolerant of frost and grow best in sub-coastal gardens in full sunshine in an open position with excellent drainage. I watered my plant six times to get it established when I planted it in September 2004. When it starts growing in summer it gets a small amount of poultry manure. Continue Reading →
First Flowering: Freycinetia scandens
Freycinetia scandens is an evergreen scrambling vine which I’ve seen growing in coastal rainforest along SE Qld. They need a moist, sheltered, semi-shaded position.
My plant, grown from a cutting, is now six years old. It first flowered in March and would probably have flowered before now, had I not tip pruned it to keep it bushy.
In Flower Today
This is what’s flowering in our garden during the last week of our brief subtropical autumn:
Continue Reading →In Flower Today
The Carpenter bees and mosquitoes are back again – a sure sign of the end of spring.
In Flower Today
There are fifty one plants flowering in my garden.
My Ant Plant is still flowering since the last ‘in flower today’ entry on 24.4.06;
Springing To Life
It’s thirteen days since the mulberry, Morus nigra, next door sprouted its new spring leaves – in the middle of July (17.7.06). Here springtime traditionally follows Brisbane’s agricultural show – “The Ecca”, August 10 -19th.
The media always look for indicators that springs are arriving earlier due to climate change. It’s such a predictable request that I used to keep my eyes peeled at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney for any early signs (or differences) from the previous year.
Climate change is a fact and the ten hottest years on record have been in the last fifteen years. Yesterday Jeff, Damien and I saw a preview of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ (Paramount Pictures). It goes on general release in September.
