The last spring

Soon, we are leaving. And the thing that will stay with me forever is the sight of the garden we created. It is at it's best in spring and fitfully, that will be our last memory of it.

A weed that grew in the veggie patch

Daphne - the star of winter

Tibouchina - first seen in Sydney

Jonquil - could be seen from the kitchen window

Magnolia - filled the garden with it's perfume

Hyacinth - played hide and seek every year

Hyacinth - this one was moved from the original hidden location

Lily - the one we never saw flowering

Asparagus - eaten every year

Lettuce - on and off crop

Chives - grew every year since we planted it and used very often

Variegated Crassula sarmentosa - gift from my parents

Kangaroo Paw - framed the flower

Crassula Gollum - every year it grew thinner fingers

Pig face - what attractive flowers!

Cactus - lone one to survive

Kalanchoe - this one fell and grew in the raised bed by itself

Strawberry - didn't get any, thanks to Mr. Possum

Mint - transplanted from the vertical planter

Virginian stock - a carpet of flowers

Hardenbergia - the citizenship plant

Orange African daisy - few to appear

Purple African daisy - subjected to excessive trimming

Pink African daisy - always flowered profusely

Pomegranate - always the first to set leaf in spring

Orange - every year we had fruit

Lime - picked 3 limes in 7 years

Hakea - quickly grew to be a star

Purple Hebe - lovely shrub

Eternal Daphne - subtle yet omnipresent

Herb planter - the only one to make the trip with us

Hakea flower - a bee favourite

Maple - sophisticated splendour

Spring wildflowers

I can't really say that I have ever noticed spring flowers before my years in Australia. With each passing year, I noticed more and more. It's like reading a book or watching the same movie over and over again - every time you see something new that you had missed before.

I first noticed Wattles in Spring 2016, while driving to work. Just under the Edgar road exit on Western Ring Road, there are a bunch of wattle bushes. Throughout the year they are the most boring, arid-looking and dull bushes you can think of! But come spring, and the wattles burst into life (for a brief month) and make it look spectacular. This year, I wanted to capture them on camera.

Easier said than done! Wattle grows everywhere in public places - along roads, in reserves etc. But, literally, nowhere where you can stop and take a closeup. We even went to Wattle park in Burwood which claimed to have 200 wattles. Yet, there were none in the periphery of the park. As it was pouring down, we did not venture any further.

Finally, on our weekly walks to Westerfold park, we were able to photograph an early growing one.

Wattle at Westerfolds park

Closeup of Wattle

Alongside that, we also captured and unknown deciduous tree. Our neighbour across our house has it. The leaves are maroon in colour throughout and die during winter. In spring, at first the tree gives out white flowers, whose petals keep blowing in the wind. These last no more than two weeks, after which leaves appear.

Unknown deciduous tree

I got more pictures in Mornington Peninsula, where there were many viewpoints where one could stop and take pictures. This one was growing right next to the parking, hence I was able to get a close shot.

Wattle on the way to Arthur's seat

Standing out on the hillside - 1

Standing out on the hillside - 2

Citizenship plant

In July 2016, we became Australian citizens. During the ceremony, we were each given an Australian native to plant in our gardens.

One plant set well and started crawling all over the veggie patch! It was so determined to take it over, that it started to wrap it's tendrils around the Gardenia. I soon cut those off and thankfully, it went a different path from then on.

Buds

This month, it started to flower. The common name for the plant is puple pea and you can see why. The flowers do look like pea flowers, though much smaller.

First flowers

I have taken a cutting and hope to immortalise it in a picture frame, like I did with the Kangaroo paw.

Purple Pea

Narcissus

In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a hunter who was known for his beauty. He was lured to a pool, where he saw his reflection and fell in love with it. Narcissus Jonquil is a perfumed variety with yellow or white flowers.

My attraction for this plant started from the 90s and it has been a favourite since. We saw it in on one of our trips to the Himalayan towns, where it is called ‘Nargis’. It has a lovely scent, with white petals and yellow trumpet centre. The one in my garden has yellow petals and a darker yellow trumpet centre.

Without doubt, this bulb has done well. We bought three in 2013 which flowered for a short time around September. In the next few years, more flowered for longer.

This year, there seemed to be 6 bulbs which flowered in quick succession. Here are the series of photos of once they all started flowering.

The last picture is the best one! The earliest Jonquil has lost it’s scent but not it’s looks. And the new ones are fresh and fragrant.

Frost attack!

Melbourne is susceptible to frost during the winters. In the last 7 years, our garden has survived it well. Perhaps we did not have enough frost to cause much damage. This year, however, quite a few plants suffered damage.

Princess Lily bitten by the frost

The most disappointing one was guava. We had more fruits this year compared to last. Sadly, many of them were, literally, frozen in their tracks towards development! It’s not a pretty sight, but they deserve a mention on the blog. Other guavas will be ready in a month’s time for plucking.

Poor Guava

Blackened

Another victim of the frost is Tibouchina. The original Tibouchina is located under trees, so is not affected. The new ones are out in the open and quite tall. The frost took out most of the branches and the leaves started dropping at an alarming rate. I read on forums that the plant is not dead, but may need pruning of the dead branches once the risk of frost has passed.

Dead arm of Tibouchina

I am looking forward to spring soon and putting this winter behind us!