Africanaussie

At some stage I talked about how a bit more white in the garden would be nice.  I think that was before I put in the path, and the garden had seemed rather deep and dark.   I saw these lovely white and green caladiums  at the market and popped them into the garden.  Then I forgot about them - well it seems they were just having a little rest,  because they are back.  I love how you see the veins, and how the white seems to pop right out at you. .    One of the reasons that I started this blog in the first place was to be able to look back and see when things flowered or fruited.  All the caladiums are looking so lovely right now, so they must like the wet season.   Oh!  it is all a guessing game.  Like this bush that I purchased to attract Ulysses butterflies.  I have never noticed it flowering before, and look how the flo...

While I was watering the garden the back light behind these burgundy and red plants caught my eye - not sure that the beauty of the scene really shows up in the photo.   The rex begonia are beautiful when they flower, but then the leaves themselves are a delight too - not sure if the back of the leaf is even prettier than the front.   I love the red stems on this pink and green variegated plant.  It was pretty much crushed when the tree was pruned but has come back better than ever.  this is such a pretty little coleus - it keeps popping up every where and I don't mind one bit! This caladiums leaves are the biggest I have ever seen, and I love the curly edges. The sunshine on the reddish pink leaves of the cordeline were just waiting to be photographed. I am in love with the red and pink foliage in our garden: I thought since I eventually got around ...

Look at the big branches of the lychee tree! - there are new little branches shooting up all over the place :)  Aren't they cute?  I moved the ponytail palm out from under the gazebo to give us more room for entertaining, and it too seems to like the sunshine.   We have had some rain, and the skies are mostly cloudy, but  that just means the plants have had some time to adapt to more light, and gosh they all seem to be loving it.  There are still plenty of ratty looking leaves, and bare spots, but all in all I think recovery is good. The caladiums are also popping out all over the place - they were trampled right down during the tree lopping, but seem none the worse for wear.   This one I got from my neighbor - what a huge leaf!  I love this native ginger - it doesn't seem to have any flowers but with the underside of the leaf being red it actually ...

I am so excited to have a torch ginger flower, and hope this is a sign of many more to come.  As you can see the flower comes out at the base of the long arching leaves.  They go right up into the lychee tree - about 15ft!   Look how little it looks right at the base of the huge leaves!  they normally do have a longer stem.  Just look at this gorgeous flower...  the petals are waxy and according to k ebunmalaykadazangirls can be used to added to laksa.  I wont be eating mine though - too busy admiring it. from every angle - so much so that I thought I might enter her in the Picture This contest at  Gardening gone wild .  the theme is to fill the frame, and that is what this little beauty does I think. the caladiums are popping up all over the garden too - they don't all disappear during the dry, but they are very happy once it get hot and humid and muggy. I thought this one had gone - I am pleased to see it back once aga...

The weather is hot and spicy and so hot and spicy  is what is growing at this time of year. The birds eye chili are prolific - very hot - they say the smaller the chili the hotter it is and these are tiny.  These bushes pop up all over the place - one has climbed tree next to my office at work - it is about 20ft high!   The birds love them - they must not have taste buds like we do!  This is a close up of fresh juicy ginger bursting through the wet soil.  You might remember when I was getting this ready to plant.... planting ginger      Now I have a huge bed of it - gone are the days of buying ginger from the supermarket.  I do like growing things that are difficult or very expensive to buy from the store.  They say that eating spicy foods cools you down, and right now I can make nice spicy laksa with all the ingredients (except for the prawns) straight out of my garden.   Then of course I also do like gr...

The red gingers are so reliable - they never seem to stop flowering - a bit less in the dry season, but now they are approaching their prime.  You can see my neighbours garden behind this and they have a couple of the same plants, so it makes my garden look bigger since you can't see the distinction.  This is a feature in my garden to make it seem bigger than it actually is! The anthiriums too seem very happy and just keep flowering continually.   The miniature white caladiums look pretty as a border plant.   and I see some new shoots at the base of the beehive ginger - I think I must remove the extra leaves and add compost.  Soon we will have some beehive inforesences, and the best thing is that they last for months. Yes the wet season is on its way!

I love the variegated leaves I have scattered around in the garden and find that the simple combination of green and white makes plants pop out of the shadows under the tree.  These white lilies fill a dark corner This little fern has happily spread around the lower areas.  Then this caladium has just never been particularly happy. I wish mine looked like Meems does at hoe and shovel!  I have cleared more space around so that it can grow.... grow......come on, grow!  This is a little caladium like plant a friend gave me, and I have put them around the edge of the croton area. they are flopping around a bit now, but will perk up soon and create a nice edging alongside the stone path.. as the weather has been so hot this winter, I am wondering what summer will bring. green and white seems somehow cooling... I have started my daily swim once again, and the water is pleasant. I must have blinked and missed winter. The humidity is still only 50% a...