Africanaussie

About six weeks ago we had the lychee tree pruned again - this time we had the top lopped off. that was what should have happened last time.  Now it should be easier to maintain the tree at a manageable height. Of course this meant that the entire middle section of the tree had no leaves for shading my lovely tropical shade loving plants!  There were definitely some sunburn issues, even death in some cases.  I have had some shades cloths and umbrellas over the vulnerable areas. but new leaves are sprouting and at long last the intense summer heat seems to be waning.  The area with my umbrella palms can stand out now as a feature, instead of hiding away behind the lychee tree branches.  This area was not affected, even though it now gets more light.  The golden candles definitely is enjoying the sunshine, and I love the purple of the geisha girl together with the yellow.  This is a favourite area for the sunbirds and honey-eaters.   They are...

With lots of rain and lack of sunshine, most of the plants in my vegetable garden are not doing that great.  I am not sure that we are getting enough pollinators, but maybe they are also waiting for the sun to come out.  The eggplant that volunteered in the front garden is my most prolific, maybe because it has full sun when it does come out.  I pick the eggplant as soon as they are ready! I do see lots of butterflies, and honeyeater birds around, but not so many bees.  I wish I could photograph a ulysses butterfly, but they are so fast, and the brilliant colour is only on the back side of their wings.  I am getting a new camera though so am pretty excited about the feature where you can take a series of photos very fast.  I am getting the Fujifilm S1500SD - I wonder if anyone else is using that same camera?  These butterflies sometimes sit and sip very slowly so are easier to capture on film. This geisha girl normally attracts lots of bees...