AUSTRALIAN NATIVE FLOWERS IN THE GARDEN

Last week I showed some photos of flowers I had planted in the autumn. This week I thought I would focus on Australian native flowers in the garden. These all started to bloom in late Winter and early Spring.

The first of these is Pandorea pandorana * , a climber on the side fence. This is how it looks from the bathroom window catching the early morning sunlight.

The dense panicles are slightly fragrant and always make me think of the abundance of mother nature in Springtime.

I planted this helichrysum * (possibly h. apiculatum), which has very small flowers, last autumn in a rather dry part of the garden. I am pleased that it has survived quite well and am hoping it will spread over a sloping bed beside a walkway.

The small flowers are still partially closed as a result of the rain we have had over the last few days.

There are a few spreading bushes of Goodenia ovata * in the garden which provide some screening against fences and help breakup the garden into discrete spaces.

The small yellow flowers are very bright against the dark green of the foliage.

It was only this afternoon that I noticed this pink Callistemon * had started to open its flowers.

The bush has a somewhat weeping habit, unlike its neighbour, another callistemon, which has an upright growth...

       

...and pale yellow flowers.

Nearby on the side of the road is a wattle, Acacia seligna * . I have been watching the wattle for the last few weeks as it has started to blossom. As you can see it has a weeping habit and quite large, very richly yellow, ball-like flowers. As this wattle has a weeping habit I thought it would work well in a unique vase, with side openings, made by the Canadian ceramic artist, and Sogetsu Ikebana practitioner, Janet Keefe. 

I have stripped all the leaves from the wattle and arranged the blossom almost entirely within the vase, keeping it below the top of the curving lip. A single leaf of Coast sword-sedge, Lepidosperma gladiatum * rises vertically with a gently twisting curve to give height and movement.

Janet emailed me recently to say that she has launched her own web-site called Snailpace Pottery * . On her home page you can see an arrangement I made in this same vessel in July.

Greetings from Christopher

1st October 2016

* Click on the blue text for further information.