Autumn;

In the southern hemisphere, bees have the opportunity to collect pollen and nectar throughout the year. 

Camellia japonica. Maybe Ballet Dancer. 

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A sunny day...2012

In the herb garden.

My granddaughter Fabrizia making up a game with stones.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. Albert Einstein.

A big ball of fire...

This cactus was sown by my daughter Lilli around 35 years ago.

Chinocactus grusonii also known as Golden Barrel cactus or mother-in-law's cushion, is a well-known species of cactus, and is  endemic to east-central Mexico.

It is rare and endangered in the wild, where it is found near Mesa de León in the state of Querétaro, and in the state of Hidalgo.The population was critically reduced in the 1990s, by the creation of the Zimapán Dam and reservoir in Hidalgo.The cactus grows in volcanic rock on slopes, at altitudes around 1,400 metres.

Flowers of the Golden Barrel cactus, it has flowered spectacularly.

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Cheer up!

Ixora coccinea

Ixora is native to tropical Asia. Mostly shrubs and small trees that are part of the tropical forest. Ixora is not only used for ornamental purposes but also for its medicinal qualities.

Ixora is widespread in Southeast Asian gardens and used to treat various ailments like rheumatism and wounds. Ixora coccinea, a dense shrub with scarlet flowers, is native to India where it is widely used in traditional medicine as well. The leaves possess antiseptic properties and the roots can be used to treat diarrhea and fever.

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Along the garden path.

Dahlia in summer.

The love of gardening is a seed once sown, never dies. 

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Flowers in the kitchengarden.

Pumpkin flowers.

Pumpkins, like other squash, originated in northeastern Mexico and the southern United States. The oldest evidence were pumpkin fragments dated between 7,000 and 5,500 BC found in Mexico. Pumpkin fruits are a type of botanical berry known as a pepo.

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The beauty of native Australian plants.

Brachychiton discolour

Native to northern NSW and Queensland. In early summer it drops its leaves while it produces big bell-shaped flowers.

Never-ending work makes a garden grow. Ts

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The potting shed.

It was fun to draw and paint an interpretation of the potting shed.

A garden is a commitment to the plants, to water, to weed, to prune and finally to enjoy every task.

In 307/306 BCE the Athenian philosopher Epicurus bought a house with a garden just outside Athens along the road from the Dipylon gate to the Academy. 

Other great founders of philosophical schools had chosen public areas for their teaching: Plato established his school near the Academy. Isocrates and Aristotle taught in the Lyceum. Zeno often met his students in the Stoa Poecile. In contrast, Epicurus’ hedonistic and materialistic philosophy flourished and grew amidst the privately owned groves of his Garden. The Garden itself – apart from the city, a private space, and pleasurable – 

Old Rose, Irene Watts;

I love this rose.

Bred by Pierre Guillot (1855-1918) (France, 1895)

China / Bengale.  

Salmon-pink to light pink.  Mild to strong, sweet fragrance.  up to 50 petals.  Average diameter 4".  Large, very full (41+ petals) bloom form.  Blooms in flushes throughout the season.  

Short, well-branched.  Small foliage.
Height  (45 to 80 cm).  Width (60 cm).   Shade tolerant.  -.  Can be grown in the ground or in a container 

seedling of Madame Laurette Messimy

Here in the subtropics winter smells of roses and the hot sun becomes powdered sunshine. Ts

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Tiny pink Rose

This tiny beauty with a wonderful fragrance grows on the fence between my lovely neighbours, Claire and Mary. When the climbing shrub is in flower I pick some.

Cecile Brunner is a climbing rose with bushy, vigorous growth.

This tall growing rose needs support and is perfect for covering a strong metal frame, pergola or arbour. 

Paul Laurence Dunbar - 1872-1900

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The mist has left the greening plain, 

The dew-drops shine like fairy rain, 

The coquette rose awakes again 

     Her lovely self adorning. 

 
The Wind is hiding in the trees, 

A sighing, soothing, laughing tease, 

Until the rose says "kiss me, please" 

    'Tis morning, 'tis morning. 

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Wonderful Penta.

(Pentas lanceolata)  The plant may reach 1.5 m, but I do not let it grow such hight. I prune it back. The flowers are generally pink, red or white, but new cultivars have introduced tones of purple and lavender and mixed blooms such as pink with red centres. Mine do hybridize resulting in nice colours.  

This old-fashioned plant is a favourite in my garden. The nectar-rich flowers are very attractive to bees and butterflies, so you will have the added bonus of enjoying watching these visitors to your garden. The flowers are also good for cutting, lasting a week or more in a vase.

Pentas flower almost year-round, and thrive in full sun or part shade. Pruning is a necessity to keep them blooming.

Flowers leave some of their fragrance in the hand that bestows them. 

 Chines proverb.   

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Camellia japonica;

Pearl's pet, a miniature.

We are the lucky ones who are loving plants and look after a garden. All year the garden provides changing joys, colours, insects, names to remember, to look and to see. A garden is never in denial always ready to please. 

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Wonderful Milkweed flowers;

The milkweed flower (Asclepias syriaca) and its cousin butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) are an essential part of a butterfly garden. Providing nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds. The Milkweed plant supplies larvae of the Monarch with food and shelter, providing caterpillars food and a resting place before they leave the caterpillar stage and become butterflies. 

As the plants can be toxic; consumption of the plant protects caterpillars from predators. Historically, the milkweed plant was valuable when grown for its medicinal properties. Seeds are contained in an attractive pod that bursts and sends seeds drifting through the air, borne by the wind. 

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Camellia Sasanqua;

Camellia sasanqua, Setsugekka;

A delight when autumn arrives in my garden. It is one of the earliest bloomers. Its silvery-white, papery blossoms are delightful and beloved by bees and other nectar and pollen lovers.

Drought and disease resistant. Can grow to a fairly big tree.

“Her delight in the smallest things was like that of a child. There were days when she ran in the garden, like a child of ten, after a butterfly or a dragon-fly. This courtesan who had cost more money in bouquets than would have kept a whole family in comfort would sometimes sit on the grass for an hour, examining the simple flower whose name she bore.” 
― Alexandre Dumas-fils, La Dame aux Camélias

Book of Flowers Photos/Text T.S.