Octobers flower displays

Hi All, I checked out the new Eupatorium name too! Didn't know it had changed.
Wayne, I love Echiums. I grew one here, the tall candelebra one, and it got huge, but then it rained and it broke off at ground level. too wet here for thoise lovelies. Yours look very happy. Judy, I am forever pruning oleanders! Do you grow yours as trees or shrubs! Mrs Andreasen is a lovely colour.
Nice Epi pic Karen, I have some peices given to me from Chrissy and Jean, and all are pointing now, but I believe could be awhile before the bloom opens. I am waiting patiently though.
Dianne, that seems like a huge Azalea bloom! Is it on a smallish plant? I have seen some lovely colours go through Bunnings lately, and have had thoughts of putting a few more through the garden, as they seem to do well.
Cestrum, i have the same shrimp plant, and I don't think its ever been without a flower! I have to cut it back sometimes as it does like to wander and flop!
This is my Heliconia bihai 'Yellow Dancer' which has been in the ground for over 4 years! This is the first ever flower! I told it if it didn't flower for me this year I was going to dig it up. I wasn't looking forward to doing that as it is quite a big clump, but now I won't have to.
Sue

What gorgeous pics everyone!
judy three guesses which pic I liked best ...Boges and brugs!!!! how good is that beautiful!

sue wow you still have those eppie bits from me, I had forgotten.
I have to go clean the webs off my broms again but I must say talk about tough, those things just love neglect. Mine look stunning, lovely colour, I can see why they have a lot of fans. Your yellow heliconia is beautiful.

wayne gee your poor beautiful garden must have been hit hard by the frost it must have been so disheartening. It's looking pretty good already!

Ok I must go out into the grey old day and see what I can find, hopefully something to take a picture of.
Thanks for the lovely pics we get see everyone, it's nice to see the sun in your gardens and all the beautiful Spring blooms.

Yes, spring is springing across the country LOL
Here's the purple bauhinia, again. A slight scent.

Rondeletia. It has, at certain unpredictable moments, a slight scent. Lemony, oddly enough. But only if you stick your nose in it. And only when it feels like it ...

Hi Sue, we have the best of both worlds here... I can enjoy your Heliconia, and you get a look at our Echium! :)
The garden is very forgiving of the past winter. Yes, still cutting back dead bits here and there, however enjoying the froth of re-growth.
Here is Wisteria and some weed poppies we decided to leave in (just dead head asap!).

More Wisteria with Viburnum in the background.

These Clivea were protected from the frosts.

beautiful!
Aren't the Clivia wonderful? and those pretty orchid tree pictures too, I couldn't find much out there right now, so thanks for sharing your pretty pics with me.

Ok the sun is out and I found some stuff but mostly green leaves out there so here is common old v.vinca but it does smother the weeds (cause it's a weed itself ^_^) but a nice weed. One of my lovely old fashioned geraniums has peeked through though I must move it somewhere else.
luckily this is in a place hubby could not cover in cars!

Chrissy, try as I might I haven't been able to get that Vinca to do the weed thing! It IS growing, but very slowly. I think its dauted by the ammount of ground it has to cover! Lovely shot there!

There are hundreds of these cute little blooms forming on the congo parrot plants ...I wonder what became of Helen who gave us these beautiful cuttings ...everyone of them took and I always think of her when I look at them.
Such happy beautiful little things.Some of the plants are over 4ft now, I thought they would die in the cold winter but they came through ok, I had them sheltering in the secret jungle.

Hi Sue ^_^ I was just about to show my jungle but you will yell ^_^


On second thoughts ok you can yell!
See the new growth on the Golden Penda it's almost as pretty as the blooms.
I am pretty good at triffids.

cestrum this little darling survived the cold too do you recognize the leaves?




It's a bit of Beaumontia growing quite happily (sorry it's not a bloom everyone but I did say lots of green leaves everywhere.)

Why would I yell Chrissy, except maybe 'Cripes'! he he. All this rain has really got things going huh?
This is my unamed orchid flowering for the second time, so I must have got it a year ago. It has leaves and stems like a cattleya, I think

I think helen must have got busy with life Chrissy. I bet she still lurks on occasion. I do alot of lurking these days!
These go by the common name of evening primrose, although I did know the name of them once, I really don't care anymore. they are a bit pinker than the picture shows. I just weed them back off the path, but else i let them go. I threw the ones I weeded out, up the back where I hope they'll go rampant. Lots of hopes go up the back!
Sue

Oh, isn't Spring wonderful! I have more green than anything. I think a lot of plants didn't flower this year because of the amount of rain. Crucifix orchids for instance often flower best when its very dry, but the plants continue to grow like mad. I have many colours of the crucifix but don't know which is what anymore.

I do love seeing what you all have growing. Weeds and all.

Karen

Sue in answer to your query, my Jezebel is a little plant in a pot...(pictured below)...it's an A.indica but a small one.
I had a neighbour who wouldn't let his wife grow a piece of my pink evening primrose because it was so rampant in my place....lol
I had a patch about 1m x 1m....takes all sorts.

How is your Phalaenopsis?...one of mine has flowered, smaller than last year but at least it flowered....buds on the other one too.
Vincas do "the weed thing" here very quickly....no thank you...pretty though.

Cestrum, I didn't know that Rondeletias came in red...my white one has a lovely perfume and the buds are pale pink opening to white..I wonder if I can get a red one here....I've noticed that a lot of plants that are sold here you have different colours of....Native hibiscus for one.

I don't bother with formal lilacs they have too many probs except for the very old ones....so I grow S.mereyi "Palibin" and S.afghanica...lovely lilac perfume on both.....

This message was edited Oct 8, 2010 4:28 PM

Syringa afghanica......S.mereyi will be in flower in a few days.

This is my one, and possibly only, epi flower for the season. I am happy it is such a beauty. Quite a large flower with beautiful colours through it. I hope to get a better photo when it gets lighter, if it gets lighter. Had to use the flash to get this. This only only lasts the one day, I think. It is one with no name. Hope you enjoy it.
Karen

Just beautiful Karen.Your camera has captured the iridescence of the bloom perfectly.

Oleander

Karen, I have the same problems with my crucifix. I don't know which is whic untill they flower, because I planted them as mixed groups. If I'm getting peices to give away, I have to pick them when flowering. Your Epi pic is great. I have a few coming on, and one looks like it might be yellow? Is that from you Chrissy? I suppose it could end up being orange. Guess I'll have to wait and see.
Dianne, your Azalea indica has quite large blooms then for a smaller plant. Well done. I used to have Lilac in the garden when I lived in the Blue Mountians, but of course, have never seen it up this way! I know a lady who put quite an advanced plant in and I watched it promptly die! Waste of money trying to grow out of climate plants.
Judy, that oleander is so pink! how many colours do you have? Are you on a large block?
Today I spotted these walking irises flowering and the Aechmea flower is coming from a plant that has been sitting, soiless, in a bucket for 6 months!

I also have Hibertia scandens, which grows wild through the garden, mostly around the bottom of the gums. Its all flowering now and looks quite effective, especially where the crucifix orchids are growing through it.
Sue

Sue...aren't those Walking Irises cute..I had never seen them before Charleen posted some the other day...isn't the yellow wonderful in the Hibertia.
Judy, the Boug is pretty but the Oleander is spectacular.

Karen the Epi is lovely....you will be happy snapping next year....

Lovely pics everyone. Dianne what a lovely combination of colours.
Gold Bougie

A little worse for wear from all the rain..

I love all these beautiful flowers. I think the rains have delayed spring weather here and being cooler, things just haven't flowered as they normally do. But I do love to see the displays of bougainvilla (not sure of spelling) en masse. The colours are glorious. I have never been able to grow it successfully for some reason.

Karen

I didn't know there were white rondeletias! Yours must have the superior perfume though, because most of the time mine has none at all. Only rarely, when the moon and stars are aligned just so, does it seem to be fragrant ...

If you go to http://floreznursery.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html and scroll down to the entry on Rondeletia leucophylla, Panama Rose, you'll find what I think is a fair summary of the plant ...

This message was edited Oct 10, 2010 1:35 PM

The star jasmine (Trachelospermum) has started flowering. Lovely fragrance that wafts too ...

The popcorn cassia (Cassia didymobotrya) is STILL flowering ...

I can't wait for my star Jasmine. Its in bud, so any day now! I hadn't seen that pink Rondeletia either, and a customer of mine has the very fragrant white, which we have taken cuttings of, as apparently its not easy to get at the nurseries here. If I get one going I'll send you one cestrum. I only put them in about 3-4 weeks ago so I'll check for roots in another 2 weeks.Our rondeletia is a tree.
Too wet for taking pics but I'll drop in again later.
Sue

Very fragrant, you say temptingly LOL
I can send you unrooted cuttings of my pink one if you still want it after reading that blog. Just email me your address. Sometimes you want to have something just to have it in different colours, even though one is clearly superior to the others (as I do with my unscented cestrums).
Wet, wet, wet: surely the drought is well and truly over in this part of the country. Fingers crossed the rain/water makes its way down south and fills the rivers and dams there too ...

It's pouring rain all of a sudden :(

Sue would your customer want to swap some brug cuttings for a bit of that white Rondeletia ?
Could you ask her for me please?
Are the cuttings fairly easy to strike? ...if it's rare we should spread it around.
Yes hopefully the water finds it's way to where it's needed.
I will try to take a pic of something after the deluge if I can,

Such lovely pictures everyone ...I am green with envy ...it's still so cold and wet here.

Look what you've started, Sue! LOL

I couldn't help myself ...I read a description of the fragrance ...I don't know anything about that one except it's hard to find ...that is like waving a red flag at a bull to me (and most of us ^_^) as specially if it smells wonderful!

I don't think we have to explain ourselves ... I'm sure Sue is as crazy as we are LOL

The Panama Rose is night scented like the Brugs it is said.
I must go do something domestic ...too wet outside.

It doesn't seem to be consistent in when it decides to release its fragrance, Chrissy. In fact, quite idiosyncratic ...
I've got a bauhinia about to flower for the first time: B. acuminata. It's a smaller bauhinia, large shrub or small tree size. This one is about 2m tall and the blooms should be opening up in the next few days. It's too wet to check on it now but this is what it looked like yesterday, just about to open. (Yes, it's white.)

Ooooh that's exciting!
Ok I must try and find something to put in here ...hope I don't float away.

Still overcast and wet here..