Illawarra Flame Tree (N)

This beautiful Native Australian tree should be the choice
of local Councils instead of the Poinciana, (E)
although it is lovely! (see previous post)

A link to that great site Wikipedia... here
for more info on the Flame Tree

Our own brilliant flowering red tree has even
inspired a fantastic rock song!
Flame Trees sung by Cold Chisel
A link to Utube here!

*******************

Bougainvillea (E).
This very attractive plant look wonderful decorating
the back fence of a nearby neighbour.
Another link ...hope it works!

*****************

Another neighbour...
this Brushtail Possum jumped off the fence to
escape the human invaders (us) in his area!
The rotten apple he/she dropped was rather horrible!!
A beautiful animal!

******************************

Grass Tree No. 7
This photo of a new spear was taken on the 25/7/o9.
It has taken 5 months for the spear to
reach the seed state you will see in the following photo.

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)
Here you can see the little seeds
still sitting in the opened pods.

**************
No Fatalities to report!
I have collected heaps of seeds from the two prolific
flower stalks mentioned over the last few months!
111 Grass Trees residing at this house!
103 0f them seedlings!

Cheers Carol

Flowering Trees in the neighbourhood.

Delicate flowers on this flowering tree.
I think? it is an Acacia of some sort!
Lovely to see on a morning walk.

***********
This Lovely Tree is a Poinciana.

Planted many years ago in a nearby council park.
Not native to Australia and in fact now classed as a weed!!!
You can follow this link to read more about
these beautiful trees from Madagascar.


******************

My New Baby Grass Tree house!

My Man of Work (husband) made this fantastic
purpose built home for my numerous seedlings.
I have moved them to the side of the house so
they can experience more natural weather conditions.
ie. in Aus ...drought and flooding rain!!!
However they do have some shelter from the
worst nature can throw at them
with their own shade cloth covering.

Here they are all lined up, getting used to the elements!

The shade cloth goes across the top
and can be rolled up or down and fits
into metal slots in the front. (left side)

**************
New to the neighbourhood!
There is another Grass Tree lover in our area,
this handsome plant has recently been planted
in a local front yard.
A conservative estimate would put this
tree at approx 20-25 years old.

*********************************

The Tally.
I had a re-count and discovered that I have 103 seedlings.
I must have failed to count some of the new seedlings
which sprouted earlier in the year.
So...
103 seedlings it is.
6 Adults in the garden.
2 youngsters in large pots.
= 111 Grass Trees.

Cheers Carol

Freshwater National Park Qld.
This National Park is 34 km north of Brisbane, an absolute treasure!.
Grass Trees by the hundreds, thousands even!
This small NP covers a small area of only 0.94 sq.km.

These photos were taken last week in the
south-eastern corner of this small park.
(please click on the photo to enlarge)

After such a rainy summer ...
the trees in this NP are looking so healthy!
You can see how the leaves are shining in the sunlight!
I noted the earth was a little swampy in this area.

It appears luckily no fires have burned through this area
in recent years, the older leaves were forming lovely skirts
around the plants. We had to be very careful not to stand
on any of the new plants hidden in the grass.

This pic shows the prolific tree growth in the Park.

These photo's also show that it is not necessary
to have fire the for germination of seeds.
A reminder too... that these plants only grow
approx 2 &1/2 cm or 1 inch per year!

Grass Trees of all sizes.
I will be visiting the Freshwater National Park again!

A delight for a Grass Tree lovers!

*************
The Tally 2009 seedlings = 34 (-4)
2008 seedlings = 64
6 in the garden and 2 in large pots.
Total = 106

Cheers Carol

Boars Head, Katoomba and Inhabitants

Recently my daughter went abseiling at this
wonderful Australian landmark!
The Rock so-called because of it's
likeness to a Boar.
And definately not a bore!

Katoomba is in the Blue Mountains
in the State of N.S.W

This lovely Grass Tree with a flowing skirt of old
foliage was growing half way up Boars Head!
Thanks for the terrific photo Joanne!

(Click on the photo's to enlarge)

**********
This Grass Tree is a lot closer to home!
In fact only 2 km from where I live.
I had never noticed it before although
I had passed by many times!
Possibly because of the recent
two lots of rain we have had,
It has sent up a very tall flower spear!

********************

Last year I posted the photo's of some caterpillars
pruning my Crown 0f Thorns plant!
Well! a relative is back this year!
This one has the same white dots on its head.
Croton Caterpillar - Achaea Janata
As you can see he/she has had a great chew!

******************
Orchids
Recently A neighbourhood couple showed me their
collection of 300 orchid plants

(amended from 80 plants -apologies)
This one was slightly damaged (a point made vigourously by the owner)
which I felt did not detract one bit from this lovely Orchid.

******************
The Tally

2009 Seedlings = 38
(2 doubtful - 1 frail & 1 whitish)
2008 seedlings = 64 seedling(2 doubtful)
6 in the garden 2 in large pots.
Total = 110 !

Note-It seems at any time these little plants can
up and die - basically they all are kept in the same
area and given similar amounts of sunshine,water
and fertiliser, however some die!

Cheers Carol

Day 25 in the life of a Grass Tree flower stalk.

This stalk is now 89 & 1/2 inches tall. (227cm)
Measured from the ground level

The flower part at the top is now 24 & 1/2(62cm)
This is the tallest spear this plant has had so far!
( to my knowledge ... )
Amazing !

We had 11 inches of rain in two days!
I think moisture, rapid growth and lovely
sunny had this dramatic effect on the stalk.
However the next morning it was straight again.

A small interloper in a seedling pot!
This rather sweet little fungi/toodstool
and a few other little mates
has taken up residence with a seedling.

********

This beautiful orchid lives in the neighbourhood!
Along with approx another 60 -80 varieties grown
by a very nice man
who kindly let me photograph his flower.
He told me it was the National Flower of Singapore!

Honestly this photo does not do the flower justice... it is stunning!

The Vanda Miss Joaquim was chosen from among 40 flowers,
30 of which were orchids, to be the National Flower of Singapore.
This makes Singapore the only country to have a
hybrid as her national flower.
(if you google - lots of info available)
********************

The Tally
is the same.
66 seedlings in black pots.
6 in the garden. 2 in large pots = 74

Cheers Carol

Frangipani
glowing with wonderful colour
and fragrance. (*E*)

We are incredibly lucky these plants grow so well in South-East Qld.
These trees are growing in my suburb...the morning air is
filled with their sweet fragrance! And there are dozens more!

A little info!

Frangipani or Plumeria are a native from the tropical Americas,
introduced to the pacific islands by missionaries
they are a favourite tree across warmer climates.
A well drained soil rich in humus and a sunny position
(frost free please).
With great perfume and a huge range of colors from white
with pink though yellow, purple and red.
Frangipani are a fantastic addition to the garden.
Frangipani can be pruned and will do well in pots.
With interesting hybrids now being developed
watch out for new flower forms and colors,
including 'Dwarf' or miniature frangipani such as
Duvauchelle (Dwarf) and Dwarf deciduous white Frangipani.

Last year the flowers on this tree were yellow through to orange,
salmon pink and dark pink, this year we
had a lot of rain and the flowers are this deep red.

*****************

This smaller plant is on a nature strip.
*******************

Last year I picked up a broken branch of this one and
was able to strike 5 new plants from it.
The local school crossing lady, told me the method I needed...
cut the tops off the branch approx 50r 6 inches,
nip off 3/4 of each leaf, toss the stalk on the ground for 3 days,
then plant it into a pot! (Thanks Sue)
They all lived!!

**********

The tally of Grass Trees...
6 seedling fatalities! since January 1st.
The weaker seedling just fizzed over or browned off and died!

The ones remaining seem a fairly strong bunch.

66 seedlings in black pots
6 in the garden

2 in large pots = 74

Cheers Carol

An Update on Grass Tree No. 9

This photo was taken 2 weeks ago... the developing seeds
can be seen with a number of little flowers drying off
on the spear.

This poor quality photograph taken 2 weeks later and shows
how the seeds have become quite plump and healthy.
This small flower stem has produced approx. 30-40
seedpods, a good number considering it is still in the pot!
I intend to plant little specimen into the the garden very soon.

Cycads...
This lovely spiky!...plant grows very happily in our garden,
I am not sure if it is an Australian Native variety or not!..
I have include the following Link which has
interesting information about these plants.
The perfume of the central flower is really sweet and pungent.
Insects seem to appreciate the aroma as well!

*************************

The Tally:
2 seedlings have died... they were very weak and were
counted in my doubtful list.
However I am really pleased with the condition
of the little plants...
many are putting up new spiny leaves...
which have a lovely fresh green colour!

78 seedlings in new black pots - 12 pots with 2 seedlings in each pot.

(2 still in doubt...a rugged transplant!)

8 adults (varying sizes)+ 1 seedling in the garden,
=
87 Grass Trees.

Cheers Carol

It's Lily Time in South East Qld.

Around my suburb these beauties are blooming!

These are Hippeastrum Lilies ...

or Amaryllis or Knight's Star Lily and they are Fabulous!

They are exotic to Australia and come from

Central or South America

How to grow them? Read here

Another garden down the street!

Yet another!

This stunning group dazzled the camera!

In the previous photos all the plants were growing in garden beds, this one is in a pot!
Where it does quite well every year...

I brought this from Victoria when we moved here 7 years ago. There are other photo's of these and the other Lilies I have, in the side column of this blog. (from last year)

**********

An update on Grass Trees No. 7 and 9, both flowering!

I put the smaller one (still in it's pot) out by the larger one so the little native and honey bees could find it and hopefully do their job pollinating the flowers.
(click on the photo to enlarge)

****************

The Tally

88 seedlings in yogurt pots

(1 died but a new seed came up 4 days ago so = no nett loss/gain)
+ 8 adults (varying sizes)
+ 1 seedling in the garden,= 97 Grass Trees
(2 still doubtful)

I'd had a few fatalities...so I bought some fertilizer to help the remaining 88 seedlings,

a product called Seasol - Seaweed Plant Food and Liquid Fish Fertilizer for Gardens (free add!)

I have noticed the little guys have perked up though i made the solution 1/2 strength to be on the safe side!

My new pots are on order and are 7.5 x 7.5cm x 12 cm deep, these will be perfect for these little plants which have a long central root.

Cheers Carol

The local Tree Orchid.#N#

Recently I posted an earlier photo of this Tree Orchid, well I was Lucky- I receive a

ABC Radio National newsletter with upcoming info on programming!

Lo and behold the following Link shows information about

Native Australian Orchids. And they named my one! Cool!

ABC article:

Rock Lily Orchid (Source: Kaye Placing, University of Sydney)
The common King Orchid (Dendrobium kingianum), has white to pink flower spikes and is found from NSW to Cape York in Queensland. Two epiphyte species are found in Tasmania, Gunn's Tree Orchid (Sarcochilus australis) and Dockrillia australatus.
Rock orchids or lithophytes occur on rocky areas where species such as the Rock Lily Orchid (Dendrobium speciosum) can form spectacular flowering clumps in springtime.

PS. the local one is actually up a gum tree!

(Thanks ABC)

**************

Grass Tree No.7 is flowering!!!!

It looks so beautiful...

and the Honey and Natives bees love it too!

The geometric pattern of the flowers is lovely.

*click on any photo to enlarge*

A close up -

There are no bees in this pic, however 4 or 5 were buzzing around !

I noticed the bees had pale yellow nobs of pollen on the backs of their legs...pretty cute!

The bees are vital to this plant producing viable seed... where will I fit them?

(Yikes I will have to save more yogurt pots!)

*********************

Tally:

Another new seed up!

Planted 9/Aug/08 - Up 28/Sept. /08 - it's about 1/16 of an inch high!

(..I had 90-4 = ) now 86 in yogurt pots+ 8 adults (varying sizes)
+ 1 seedling in the garden,
= 95 Grass Trees
(4 seedlings are now declared dead. )

*************

I am about to purchase a stack (90 odd) of new pots and Native plant pot mix,

I think it may be time to carefully transfer the the seedling to larger deeper pots

- they may be running out of nutrients!

Cheers Carol

Shock! Horror!

My lovely neighbour has been Fired!

Either the owner,gardener,or a vandal has set fire to my

favourite neighbourhood Grass Tree.

As I walked past there last weekend I saw the poor thing,

burnt and the tree behind looks crook too!

In the wild, fire often burns these lovely trees and they survive fairly well.

However it is not necessary to burn them deliberately to

promote growth or open the seed pods...

In fact in a very hot fire it would seem reasonable to assume

fire could destroy the seeds...even the tree!

A bit like roasted peanuts!

This tree will survive, however this was a useless exercise

and may have severely damaged a lovely tree!

*click on the photo to enlarge*

Our misguided tree owners

have planted another smaller tree...

Isn't it sweet! Just a baby!

( I think it was the owners because the whole garden has been renovated!

er... fired up! I hope this one does not suffer the same fate!)

**************

GT No. 9

Still going up, sorry the photo is listing to the right! The permanent bend has straightened marginally, doing OK though! I will plant this when the flowers have finished I think!

*************

Another seed popped up 4 days ago!

Planted 13/6/08, up 20/9/08 - 14 weeks to germinate!

The other seed in the pot took 10 weeks...

*********

The Tally...

...89 in yogurt pots+ 8 adults (varying sizes)

+ 1 seedling in the garden,

= 98 Grass Trees

(3 now doubtful...I'm fairly sure 2 will croak!)

Cheers Carol

This is a pic of Grass Tree.No.7...

see those lovely little baby GT's sprouting slender spiny leaves at the base of the

Tree stump...!

Well ... I was duped, mistaken, fooled, by Mother Nature,

yesterday I noticed something a bit different about them...

They had SEEDS...Nooooo!!!! it is a WEED!!!!! (hahahaha!)

(click on the photo to enlarge and to see the little seeds)

How really wonderful evolution had been, to produce plants that look like something else ...this plant (the weed) has been nurtured by Moi... until it seeded!

***********

I well and truly won the "estimate the height of the spear" competition!

I'm 5 ft & 1/2 (I used to be 5'2' & 3/4...but I got older eh! and shrunk a bit!) You can see how huge this flower spear has grown and I don't think it has stopped yet!

***********

This is a photo of the Lake Kurwongbah approx 2km from where I live on the outskirts of Brisbane. Only a small lake! but so beautiful to see with clouds reflected in the water.

I'm very fortunate to live here!

***********

The Tally...
88 in yogurt pots
+ 8 adults (varying sizes)
+ 1 seedling in the garden,= 97 Grass Trees
(2 still doubtful...I'm fairly sure 1 will croak!)
Cheers Carol

An Orchid

( E or N ?)

in the local vicinity

(I think it's an Orchid!- click to enlarge Photo taken 18/8/o8)

The sign on the tree ...well it's a joke!

there aren't any crocs in this area,

Well! not wild ones anyway.

Australia Zoo has plenty, but that is about a 1/2 hour

drive from where I live.

12 days later this beautiful flower is in bloom! (30/8/08)

Creamy white with a faint perfume best described as vanilla-ish !

***************

This baby Grass Tree (the one in the front) will probably perish!

It is from the first batch Grass Tree No.1, Planted 30/10/07. The little plant has not thrived in the last two months and now the outside leaves are browning off. It has taken 10 months for this plant to appear unlikely to survive. The strike rate in the wild must be fairly high I expect.This may account for the idea that Grass Trees are hard to grow! My small plot has been fairly easy to germinate, however growing the plants to a decent size will be more challenging.

***************

The Tally

88 in yogurt pots + 8 adults (varying sizes) + 1 seedling in the garden,

= 97 Grass Trees

Cheers Carol.