Winter native flowers in the tropics

The dry season is when a lot of native Australian plants come into their own.
My bouganvillea that I started from a slip is heavy with flowers

 I have a greyvillea that I planted at the beginning of the wet season in the front garden and it has just been sitting there doing not much for an awfully long time.  Greyvillea are one of the iconic Australian native plants, and mostly like the drier areas on Australia.  I figured if I planted this one alongside a fence where I rarely water, and it gets full sun it might be happy. In fact when some eggplant volunteered in the area, I let them stay since the greyvillea was just, well...
 there...
a grey plant against a grey fence.   It is a Sandra Gordon Greyvillea - supposedly suited to the tropics, flowers year round, or so the label said.


 Recently I noticed some little buds forming and now look what is happening....

Look at the details.... I can just see why these attract the little honeyeaters!

Isnt this just an amazing flower, with all those little yellow loops?

Comments

  1. BernieHTue Jul 27, 04:25:00 PM

    Your Bougainvillea is looking fantastic ... a great splash of colour at this time of year.

    Your Sandra Gordon blooms are beautiful ... they can take a while to become established at first, but it should take off now after the first flowering. They usually only bloom in the Winter and Spring ... and remember you can prune after flowering to ensure even more flowers next year. Pruning also helps keep the whole plant dense and not so spindly ... they do have a tendency to become rather scraggly looking.

    ReplyDelete
  2. FloridagirlTue Jul 27, 11:23:00 PM

    Those yellow loops are fantastic! Love them. I wonder if they sell this plant in the US. I like that American native in your first photo as well. One of my favorites!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AmiWed Jul 28, 12:16:00 AM

    That Sandra Gordon Greyvillea looks amazing! Never saw anything flowered like that with the yellow loops! I also have the same pink Vinca (periwinkle) in my garden, and they self sow easily, so I have them all the time without planting more :)

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  4. Steve AsbellWed Jul 28, 12:39:00 AM

    I wish I could find more greyvilleas around here. Watch out for that bouganvillea, as they can really wreak havok on a wooden fence!

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  5. africanaussieWed Jul 28, 07:54:00 AM

    Bernie,
    thanks for that advice about pruning, yes I have noticed that greyvilleas can get a bit scraggly. Floridagirl, this is the only colour bouganvillea I have been able to strike from a cutting,it is the most common colour. and Rainforest Gardener I have it tied to a huge post the same as the one in the foreground - hope that will provide the support and not put the strain on the fence. Ami, those Vinca are useful when my little 4 yr old neighbour wants to pick a bunch of flowers to take to her mom every second day!

    Thanks for all the comments everyone - it is good to be back and sharing gardening stories again.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Carolyn ♥Fri Jul 30, 12:40:00 AM

    Oh I love the blooms in your garden, so different from anything I can grow! Thank you for your sweet comment on my rose garden post. I didn't mean to make you cry! I do love that garden!

    ReplyDelete
  7. KimberlySat Jul 31, 01:57:00 AM

    Holy cow!! Those golden loops have me by the throat!!! I must have one!!!!!
    Your bougie looks great. I think it's so funny how we have so many of the same plants but are worlds apart! :) I thought of you this week when I saw a really pretty kangaroo paw on clearance.

    ReplyDelete

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