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.
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.
Anyone that knows me, knows that I am NOT a gardener .... but with some expert tips from my buddy in WA, @"Annie C" ..... I've been dabbling with some Desert Roses!!!! It seems they 'thrive on neglect' - so suit me down to the ground!!! They have a similar 'body' to a Boab Tree (called a 'caudex') where they store water when in drought .... WHO ELSE has Desert Roses?? Show me your pics (and tell me your tips!!)
This was one of my first ones to flower .... every time one flowers now, I try to self pollinate it!
I am hoping to get a set of seed pods from this one, some time soon - it has only flowered the once so far!
I bought a couple of plants from a local grower, then a couple more from another grower - then some 'baby ones' from Bunnings & I've been given 2 'nice ones' as well by family & friends!!!
My sister brought this one down from Qld (it has never flowered for them!)
+ these 8 ..... hmmm did anyone say it was addictive??? The one in the terracotta pot was given to me by one one of my Uke Group Members!!
They have STUNNING flowers - and I've been having a go at 'hand pollination' (as they have a really 'weird' setup for pollination, with bees unable to 'get in there', whilst other bugs and butterflies CAN!). So I've been trying to manually pollinate them to produce a pair of seed pods, from which you can get up to 100+ seeds!!!
Finally - after 15+ failures - I have SUCCESS!! I finally have 1 'pair of seed pods' forming (see pic below) ....
They are getting bigger every day - and will end up being quite large - 6-8" each when fully formed & 'dried out' ready to harvest!!
THIS is what the seed pods should look like as they grow bigger - there are about 4 different sets of seed pods on this one plant and they still have a while to mature! (Not mine! :( )
So it looks like you CAN teach an old dog new tricks ...... Watch this space!
So ... Keep an eye open at Bunnings Nurseries (specially in Qld) as they stock way more Desert Roses than Bunnings in NSW - and you too, can be sucked in to the Desert Rose phenomena!! ;)
100% agree, @Fufan - they have the best of anything that Europe has (scenery, fiords, glaciers) but in a much smaller area & easier to access than most of the European countries - And my hubby was an export as well! ;) xx. We have 2 step children still over there (not his biological children, but from his 1st wife) and they regard him as their 'real' father .... and are lovely & have been very supportive xx
@"Annie C" & @Blossom1961 - I mentioned the dettol to my brother last night (spent a lot of time in both Qld & WA) and he says it works too. When you see the horrible deaths that the cane toads cause ..... their own demise, really, by any method, shouldn't really be lamented :(
I've heard that tip as well. This is the first year that cane toads have arrived in the West Kimberley. I think the "Powers That Be" have given up on stopping or eradicating the toads. It will be interesting to observe as to whether the wildlife succumb to their poison or adapt and learn that the toads are not a good food source.
The "experts" in the Kimberley advise to place the cane toad in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer. Not in my freezer!
@"Annie C" A friend told me dettol (or own brand) works a treat on cane toads. I won’t comment on whether I tried it or not as the animal lovers will be out in force.
That’s a bugger about the cane toads @"Annie C" :( THey even kill crocs in the NT! :( They’ve been found in the mid north coast area (east coast) too - we assume they are hitch Hikers & hope they don’t get a hold …. :(
