Spring is the time for two of my favourite Australian native plants to put on their spectacular flowering. These are the two species of the Doryanthes genus, D. excelsa and D. palmeri, both of which are endemic to Australia's east coast from southern Queensland to south of Sydney in New South Wales. Fortunately they grow well in Victoria!
This morning I photographed Laurie looking at this D. excelsa when we went for a walk in Melbourne. The flower is just starting to open on its flower stalk that is at least 4 metres tall.
This one is growing by some nearby steps with a tall echium, also in flower.
I had to zoom in from quite a distance to get this photo of a flowerhead.
A little further on we came across this very healthy D. palmeri. It has a shorter flower stalk with the flowers clustering along its length.
This is the same plant from below...
... and here are the flowers at a closer range...
...and close up.
At the other end of the scale, so to speak, among other native Spring flowers I noticed the Australian clematis microphyla that grows on our fence at Torquay.
Also the Pandorea vine on the fence...
...and vigorously climbing one of the trees. I haven't had a chance to pick any this year.
Among the exotics in our garden is this daisy from South Africa cascading over the steps.
And this one that has taken over a large area beside the garage.
Also from South Africa, another favourite of mine is this Freesia. This year it has flowered sufficiently for me to pick some for the dining table. I love the fragrance of this pale cream variety.
Exotic flowers brings me to this week's ikebana. The arrangement above was made by my student Marisha. The exercise being: An arrangement with "colours in the same tonal range". She has used statice, freesias and three gerberas. The latter are not my favourite flower as they can be so dominating. However, the placement among, beside and behind the other materials softens their impact so that they harmonise well with the other materials.
Above is a photo I took six weeks ago of an arrangement from left-over stems of the snapdragon I used in the Surf Coast Arts Trail. The form is like an upright variation #1 (reversed) from the Sogetsu curriculum. The black ceramic vase was made by Jan de Veth from Nth Queensland and bought in 1978.
Greetings from Christopher
22nd September 2019
It’s always so interesting to see the floral materials you have over there. I had never see the D. palmeri before. Thanks for sharing.
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