The start of Winter has uncovered many beautiful plants which have been hidden amongst the greenery from seasons prior. Discovering these hidden gems has been very much like opening a treasure box and revealing its secrets. As the leaves of the deciduous trees fall, I found myself admiring the tassel cream-yellow blooms of the Hazelnut tree in the upper garden. During Spring, there is a mass of foliage in this one area and everything blurs together, making it quite easy to forget that this wonderful tree was even here in the first place.
The start of the cold season has been warmly welcomed after the brutal Summer we all experienced here in Australia, with the worst bush fires to date and extreme temperatures.
One of the main goals at the farm over the last few months has been to introduce even more native plants. In the hope to create new habitats and havens for all the wildlife which has been seeking refuge in the garden.
We have always been fond of beautiful strolling cottage/country gardens which have inspired many of the garden beds at the property, however, the love for our native flora has become just as predominant.
We have found ourselves planting countless Bracteantha .spp which is also commonly known as the paper daisy. Their flowers come in vibrant colours of orange, yellow, red, rose shades and a pure white. We have planted out a slope of orange and yellow in the hopes to attract not only our own bees but more native pollinators to the garden.
It has been a huge boost to see native birds nesting in the newly planted shrubs, such as the Grevillea and Banksias. Not only will be rewarded with their unique blooms once they age, but the bigger benefit is the fact that they have provided much needed shelter for any animal that have decided to visit us.
Another surprise was discovering that our weeping apricot is in full flower so early in the season. Usually they don’t flower for at least another month or two.
Is this a sign Spring won’t be far away?
Until next time happy gardening!
By Bonnie-Marie Hibbs
©BMHPhotographyTheGardener’sNotebook2020
3 comments
Yes, it’s a very interesting time so much going on in the garden, and new things starting to happen and be revealed. Love your work. Keep on keeping on.
Goodness! That is very early for a flowering apricot. Doing the math, it would put it in about December for us. Heck, even January, another month later, would be very early. Perhaps that is the allure of flowering apricot. I really do not remember their season. They are very rare here nowadays.
Beautiful photos. We have a mainly clay slope is pretty exposed, I haven’t done much to the area yet, so far saltbush & another native I cant remember its name, are doing well, to your knowledge would paper daisies grow in this environment.