Wet season - the flowers enjoy it but I wilt a bit!

Last week we had cyclone Oswald meandering around the area  to the north of us.  We had some flooded roads and a bit of wind, but nothing damaging.   This week it has been wreaking havoc to the south of us - thinking of you and praying for those whose houses have been damaged through flooding just after getting back on your feet after the floods two years ago. It was amazing to see the true Aussie spirit shine through and hordes of wonderful volunteers helping others in need.  Hopefully it doesn't take long for the floodwaters to subside and the clean up to begin.
My garden loves the rainy season, these ground orchids really shine at this time of year.
 The way these buds are wriggling their way out of the casing reminds me of a fat lady wearing a too tight dress.  Like me after Christmas dinner!
 Ah free!  there is something really lovely about white flowers.  These are in the cinder blocks all along the front of my veggie patch.  My veggies have not bee doing so well lately - I hope they perk up after the couple of good downpours we have been having.   I also gave them a  good foliar feed of seaweed, suphate of potash and epsom salts.  I pulled out a few weeds and then slapped down lots of hay mulch to prevent more growing.  Did I tell you how much the weeds like this time of year as well?  I grow wet season vegetables at this time of year - chokos, winged beans, sweet potatoes, asparagus.
This bouganvilla is a delight to behold   - continuous colour!
I could only do short spurts of work in the garden this weekend  - temperatures up to 37*C  (close to 100*F) with 80% humidity!  

Comments

  1. LesaTue Jan 29, 10:09:00 AM

    In SW Florida, our bouganvilla are shining too, but we're in our dry season. I know what you mean about wetness and heat though, that's our June through middle October. Good thoughts going out to the people having flooding and storm problems. I hope things return to normal soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieTue Jan 29, 02:41:00 PM

      Lesa,
      I thought they were only a dry season plant, but this ones never seems to stop flowering :0

      Delete
  2. AnonymousTue Jan 29, 10:36:00 AM

    Gorgeous photos of your plants, I especially love the Bougainvillea, yours is stunning. The humidity is so hard to deal with especially with high temperatures. Terrible news regarding the floods.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieTue Jan 29, 02:42:00 PM

      September cottage,
      Yes I tend to just drag myself through the summers, but then love the winters here :)

      Delete
  3. DebbieTue Jan 29, 12:37:00 PM

    Just beautiful! Thanks for sharing the photos....they brighten the days for those of us not haiving much sunshine this winter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieTue Jan 29, 02:42:00 PM

      Debbie,
      Glad you enjoyed them and I am happy to share!

      Delete
  4. MLM247Tue Jan 29, 05:24:00 PM

    I was wondering how you were coping with all that rain. It has certainly been a shocking summer with those dreadful bushfires and now horrible floods. You seem to have been very lucky.
    Generally people do not grow vegetables here in the Wet because of all the diseases. They must have done so in the old days of course or people would have starved.
    Your flowers look fabulous. You have a great eye for combining colours. It is surprising how many people do not know which part of the bougainvillea is the flower. In your photo today the flowers are clearly shown. It is a textbook shot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieWed Jan 30, 01:41:00 PM

      Louise,
      Yes we were lucky, just a bit of flooding which is not unusual here during the wet. I only try to grow the veggies that will put up with this weather, but even they sometimes struggle. I love those little flowers within the bracts.

      Delete
  5. VirginiaCTue Jan 29, 09:16:00 PM

    I adore white flowers, and I loved your comparison of a fat lady shimmying out of a tight dress as the buds escaped to bloom.
    I am relandscaping my back garden, loosely based on a Japanese garden, and I'm only incorporating white flowering plants.
    I hope the flood waters in your country recede soon, so that folks can clean up and move on with their lives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieWed Jan 30, 01:42:00 PM

      Virginia,
      Oh that sounds lovely - I tend to not plan, and then end up cramming way too many plants into a small space.

      Delete
  6. orchid0324Tue Jan 29, 11:08:00 PM

    Dearest Africanaussie
    Oh, it seems there were damages form the flood ad bush fire I heard from tv news lately... Please Take Care of Yourselves with that weather!!! In northern people are having trouble record high snowfall.
    Your ground orchids are GORGEOUS♡♡♡ And thank you very much for sharing these sweet flowers. Wonderful to see in this cold season p)
    Sending you lots of love and hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieWed Jan 30, 01:43:00 PM

      thank you Miyako,
      glad my flowers could brighten your cold day!

      Delete
  7. Kathryn RayWed Jan 30, 01:10:00 AM

    Your flowers are beautiful.

    We woke up to a fresh blanket of snow this morning... a different kind of beautiful. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieWed Jan 30, 01:44:00 PM

      Kathryn,
      I really enjoy the snow photos, but not sure I could endure the cold!

      Delete
  8. AnonymousWed Jan 30, 08:10:00 AM

    When we got that 150 mmm dump of rain courtesy of the tail end of Oswald I did take a moment to think of you - that kind of rain is no big deal where you are. We enjoyed low 20s - a nice cool break - during the storm, your rain brings no temperature relief. But every time I start to feel sorry for you I look at your blog and the beauty of your garden and I remember you have some amazing compensation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieWed Jan 30, 01:45:00 PM

      Laura,
      Oh what a great way to put it! Yes I often find myself in the humidity wondering why we live here, but the winters are awesome!

      Delete
  9. KarenWed Jan 30, 05:32:00 PM

    Oh, my near 100 degrees with 80% humidity?? I'll take the below zero temps instead, lol. Your garden looks just amazing...all the colors from the pristine white to the gorgeous pink bouganvilla...you'd never think your garden was under any stress at all, everything looks so healthy and happy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieFri Feb 01, 01:42:00 PM

      Karen,
      thank you, but yes I am lucky that everything just grows on its own without any help from me.

      Delete
  10. AnnabelleWed Jan 30, 06:38:00 PM

    Hi, love the pics - the bougainvilla is one of my favourite flowers and looks awesome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieFri Feb 01, 01:43:00 PM

      Annabelle,
      I had a wild one before and it went crazy - this one is very well-behaved.

      Delete
  11. SusanThu Jan 31, 02:37:00 AM

    Glad you didn't get any damage from the cyclone. Your flowers look so beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieFri Feb 01, 01:44:00 PM

      Susan,
      Yes, just a bit of flooding, but the worst of it was when we lost all internet, phones and mobiles for over 36 hours. wow that was hard :0

      Delete
  12. AlanThu Jan 31, 08:13:00 AM

    Here we are getting the last bits of the cyclone; constant rain, 100% humidity and tops of only 25-27 degrees. Some of the smaller cordylines are rotting away in response..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieSat Feb 02, 06:30:00 AM

      Adam,
      Oh I bet you are not used to that kind of weather. Hang in there with the cordelines - they are tougher than you think!

      Delete
  13. veggiegobblerThu Jan 31, 07:51:00 PM

    Yes the floods have been terrible. Glad to hear you escaped. Here in Melbourne it has been so dry and hasn't rained for ages... Until tonight when we've finally had a downpour... And a blackout.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieSat Feb 02, 06:31:00 AM

      Veggiegobbler,
      Oh gosh yes blakcouts always seem to join the rain - hope all is fine now and your garden enjoying the good drink.

      Delete
  14. hueiseiFri Feb 01, 04:19:00 PM

    I love the bougainvillea flower. My dad love to plant them in our hometown garden :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieSat Feb 02, 06:32:00 AM

      hueisei,
      I love the fact that it always seems to be flowering.

      Delete
  15. CatherineSat Feb 02, 01:38:00 AM

    Hello and thank you for your lovely comment on my blog. I couldn't reply to you direct as you are coming up as a no-reply blogger. It would be great to have you link up. Unfortunately the norovirus struck our household last night and I have not been able to set up the linky for this month! Will be in touch again. Good wishes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieSat Feb 02, 06:34:00 AM

      Catherine,
      Oh I will have to re-read your instructions for the no-reply blogger and fix that. Ok no problem - I will try next month and maybe I will have something to show then...Hope you get better soon

      Delete
  16. CaroleSat Feb 02, 02:51:00 PM

    Gorgeous, gorgeous, the flowers are absolutely stunning! How wonderful that you have so many beautiful blooms but that heat, oh my . . . I am your newest follower but having some problems showing up. Will check it out tomorrow.
    Carole xox

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieSun Feb 03, 03:57:00 PM

      Hi Carole,
      welcome, looks like you managed. Yes this heat is rather overbearing - have jsut spent the whole day today inside the aircon...

      Delete
  17. africanaussieSun Feb 03, 03:57:00 PM

    Thank you Chez

    ReplyDelete

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