For those of us for whom our gardens are special, or for whom our gardens aided in our recovery whether physical or emotional, post your photos of your garden that bring you joy.
Cassia fistula (Golden Shower Tree)
Delonix Regis (poinciana)
Every afternoon these trees are visited by lorikeets and other nectar feeding birds.
That is an absolutely STUNNING bloom, Annie! I don't have any 'doubles' growing (that I am aware of.) Has it ever thrown a seed pod??
I will try & collect all the seeds from these new seed pods, once they 'pop' ... and will also keep a pic of the flower 'with it', so I know what it should be, when grown out!!! Claire's dad, Cam (who is an accomplished orchid grower) is VERY impressed (as he knows how bad a gardener I am! ;) )
Hmmm, I think it is just the angle of the pic .... I just had another look & it isn't as 'obvious' as it appears to be, in the pic :( I'll keep an eye on them all tho!! ;) A few more are blooming now - so I'll get the toothpicks and scissors out & try again! :)
I have to admit tho - my passion for plants (in general) doesn't extend past the Desert Roses! LOL Luckily, I have a fishing/uke buddy who loves passionfruit, so she gets all my passionfruit - and she gives me the most lovely Dahl and Rice dinners in exchange!! YUM YUM. I've never mastered cooking Dahl .... I must get her recipe! :)
@arpie Mine grow all over our 5 acre block, either by design or by the wind blowing the fluffy seeds after the seed pods have exploded.
No care, just neglect, and when I remember a touch of whatever fertiliser I have at hand.
arpie, have a closer look at your photo of the Desert Rose with the developing seed pods. I am sure I see twin seed pods just poking their heads up on the extreme right. Numbering from the left, flower number three.
As arpie says, have a go at Desert Roses. Start with Bunnings specials. You will be hooked.
This is one of my many Desert Roses, a double pink, given to me by a very special close friend when she left town.
This thread has been quiet for a while ... so here you go .... I'm kicking it off again with my 'deck garden' .....
@AnnieC (who has them growing like weeds in her garden in WA) got me into trying to grow Desert Roses (as I am very good at killing most other plants) and I must admit, I am having GREAT fun, both growing them from seed & now, getting them to flower!! This year, I've even got some seed pods developing too! WOOHOO!!
This has been the most productive 'flowering' of my Desert Roses in the last 3 years & and I currently even have 2 seed pods developing as well - they are my FIRST (if I don't count the one that I accidentally knocked off whilst trying to protect it last year :( )
I ain't gonna touch these ones until they are fully developed, and ready to crack open & show their seeds - months away yet!! (They look similar to Frangipani seed pods, when mature.)
Most of my plants have red flowers, but I have the one white one in the middle front (which sadly, didn't fertilise, when I tried!!) That was its first ever flower!
The plant in flower on the right is the one with seed pods developing!! These little pimple things (in the middle - 2 x lots of 'double pods below) are the developing seed pods! I am SO excited! (The smaller green & other reddish pimples, don't look like they've 'taken'!)
I have been attempting to manually fertilise the flowers for 2 years now (as the bees don't seem to be doing their jobs!) & finally .... finally, I am having success! YAY!
And this is what they should look like if/when I plant them out & they mature on to flower!!
I was also given some seeds and I sprouted & planted them out in Feb 2024 ..... so now, my very first 'grown from seed' baby is also producing flowers!!!! It looks like it will be a deeper, darker red! Time will tell. They should open in the next week or so.
If you've never tried growing Desert Roses (or even heard of them), give them a go. In Qld (in particular) Bunnings often has well priced seedlings in their garden section in all different colours! They are terrific fun to grow.
Take care & keep blooming! :)
What's blooming in your gardens just now? Whack up some photos!
haha - "A friend in town, who also is a Desert Rose aficionado, has always held to the theory that if you can't grow a Desert Rose then it is time to give up gardening." That doesn't take into consideration MY lack of ability to grow ANYTHING!!! ;)
That is a STUNNING flower @"Annie C" - mine are all 'singles' so far!! .... I hope to get something like that one day! :)
If only we could 'trade seeds'!! A bit ridiculous really, as you can grow them ALL round Australia .... so they are hardly a 'feral weed' (specially how difficult it is to propagate them!) ;) Hmmmm .... when is Claire visiting again?? ;) xx
A friend in town, who also is a Desert Rose aficionado, has always held to the theory that if you can't grow a Desert Rose then it is time to give up gardening.
Glad it is just a theory given that I have managed to murder some of mine.
You are however, one up on me, as I have never been able to hand pollinate mine. However given that the Kimberley is Bug Capital of Australia I will leave it to Mother Nature to do the deed.
This one I am thrilled with. It is a double pink Desert Rose. I am hoping that this one flower will give me seed pods.
