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I am back from my little ‘holiday’ from blogging, which was due to injury and sickness. Hopefully I won’t take too many of these breaks, but sometimes it is good to have a break.
Today’s photo is of a Banksia. There are quite a number of Banksia species, which belong to the Protea family. Australia has quite a number of different Banksia species. I believe this one to be Banksia ericifolia.
Ellenborough Falls are located to the west of Taree in New South Wales, Australia. To get there from Taree simply follow Tourist Drive 8.
The falls drop some 200m over the escarpment. There are a number of viewing areas giving good falls of the waterfall.
For more information visit:
Another sign that spring is here is that the Indian Hawthorns (Rhaphiolepis indica) are in full bloom and looking spectacular in the Tea Gardens Grange gardens. We have a large number of these plants with some planted in mass plantings and others in hedges.
The Indian Hawthorn is an evergreen shrub that usually grows 2-3m tall x 2m wide. There are several cultivars, with one having completely pink flowers. The flowers are generally followed by a black to blue berry. Flowers appear mainly in spring, though there can be some flowers at other times. There is a slight perfume, but I barely notice it.
Indian Hawthorns can be used as specimen plants, tub plants, hedges, in drifts and in coastal areas (salt tolerant).
Indian Hawthorns are best grown in full sun (though they tolerate semi-shaded positions in hot climates) with reasonably fertile, well-drained soil. They will respond well to regular shaping, including the use of hedging machinery.
Plants can be propagated by seed or semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer.
For more Indian Hawthorn pictures visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmatthews/sets/72157622203247845/
On Friday I was visiting the Bulahdelah Cemetery in order to photograph headstones for my family history research. I decided to go up to Bulahdelah after work, it being only a short journey from Tea Gardens.
What I had noticed over the last week or so was that as the temperature had begun to rise so the number of bushfires and controlled burns had increased around the area dramatically. In fact, there have been quite a lot of bushfires burning around the area. Though this photo was taken on Friday, bushfires are continuing to burn around the place, driven by the very strong winds and dry conditions that currently exist. There is a massive fire burning over toward Nelson Bay by the look of it, as there are huge plumes of smoke in that direction.
This photo was taken from the Bulahdelah Cemetery toward Alum Mountain, where the fire was burning. The air throughout the area, from Tea Gardens to Bulahdelah, was full of smoke and there was a thick smoke haze. I wouldn’t say the air was choking, but every breath certainly had the taste of summer upon it.
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