This photo was taken at Rocky Crossing near the New South Wales town of Gloucester, in Australia. I’m cooling down after a hot day one Australian summer on a causeway.
summer
Australia: Northern Territory – Kakadu National Park
Gunlom Falls
This photo was taken during my first major trip around Australia in 1998. This photo was taken from near the plunge pool at Gunlom Falls. The plunge pool is a great place to relax and cool down on a hot summer’s day. It is also a safe place as far as crocodiles go.
Australia: Northern Territory – Kakadu National Park
Gunlom Falls
This photo was taken during my first major trip around Australia in 1998. This photo was taken from near the plunge pool at Gunlom Falls. The plunge pool is a great place to relax and cool down on a hot summer’s day. It is also a safe place as far as crocodiles go.
Bald Rock National Park: Little Bald Rock
This photo was taken on the Little Bald Rock Walk within Bald Rock National Park. The national park is in New South Wales Australia. This photo shows some of the wildflowers (Blueberry Ash) that can be seen along the way to the top of Little Bald Rock during the Spring/Summer months.
Bald Rock National Park: Little Bald Rock
This photo was taken on the Little Bald Rock Walk within Bald Rock National Park. The national park is in New South Wales Australia. This photo shows some of the wildflowers (Bacon and Eggs) that can be seen along the way to the top of Little Bald Rock during the Spring/Summer months.
Bald Rock National Park: Little Bald Rock
This photo was taken on the Little Bald Rock Walk within Bald Rock National Park. The national park is in New South Wales Australia. This photo shows some of the wildflowers (Flannel Flowers) that can be seen along the way to the top of Little Bald Rock during the Spring/Summer months.
Bald Rock National Park: Little Bald Rock
This photo was taken on the Little Bald Rock Walk within Bald Rock National Park. The national park is in New South Wales Australia. This photo shows some of the wildflowers that can be seen along the way to the top of Little Bald Rock during the Spring/Summer months.
Spring Wildflowers at Tea Gardens
There are quite a few wildflowers around Tea Gardens during spring. This particular photo is of a plant known as Drumsticks (Isopogon anemonifolius). It belongs to the same family as Proteas, Banksias and Grevilleas (Proteaceae).
This particular species of Isopogon is an upright, medium sized shrub with yellow flower heads in spring and summer. They are quite a nice flowering shrub and would make a great addition to a garden in the same way proteas and grevilleas are. They also make a good cut flower for flower arrangements. Propagation is from seed.
More Tea Gardens Wildflowers at:
Indian Hawthorns are in Full Bloom
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/
BUSHFIRE SEASON HAS ARRIVED
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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