MELBOURNE STREET TREES 151 - NATIVE LILAC HIBISCUS

Alyogyne huegelii is a flowering plant found in the Southwest botanical province of Western Australia, extending along its entire coastline. A large flowered shrub, the species favours the sands of coastal shrublands and heath. The large flower, highly variable in colour, is similar to that of Hibiscus. It was previously placed in that genus, and is commonly named "Lilac Hibiscus".

It is widely cultivated as a flowering plant for the garden, but the varieties and cultivars previously published are no longer formally recognised. Alyogyne is a shrub to four metres with many alternate branches, although lower ones may be sparse. Bright green leaves are divided in three to five in outline; margins are irregular, lobate to toothed; pubescent and strongly veined lobes are coarse in shape. The flowerstalk at the leaf axil is long, tilting at the single flower.

The flowers have five luminous petals up to 70 mm long, these are overlapping and have slight ridges. The colour is cream or mauve, or the lilac of the name by which it is traded. The staminal tube structure contains numerous whorled anthers, these are yellow. The five styles of this are fused until the tip, which is composed of swollen and apparently divided stigma. This is supported on a five-lobed calyx, within an arrangement of up to 10 partly fused bracts. As with all the Malvales, the flowers last around a day – becoming deeply coloured and papery when spent. They are numerous in the long flowering period in Australia being between June and January.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

YARRA RIVER SUNRISE

The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Aboriginal: Birrarung, and Wongete) is a perennial river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river are where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches.

From its source in the Yarra Ranges, it flows 242 kilometres west through the Yarra Valley which opens out into plains as it winds its way through Greater Melbourne before emptying into Hobsons Bay in northernmost Port Phillip. The river was a major food source and meeting place for indigenous Australians from prehistoric times. Shortly after the arrival of European settlers land clearing forced the remaining Wurundjeri to neighbouring territories and away from the river. Originally called Birrarung by the Wurundjeri, the current name was mistranslated from another Wurundjeri term in the Boonwurrung language; Yarro-yarro, meaning "ever-flowing".

The river was utilised primarily for agriculture by early European settlers. The landscape of the river has changed dramatically since 1835. The course has been progressively disrupted and the river widened in places. The first of many Crossings of the Yarra River to facilitate transport was built in Princes Bridge. Beginning with the Victorian gold rush it was extensively mined, creating the Pound Bend Tunnel in Warrandyte, and the Big and Little Peninsula Tunnels above Warburton. Widening and dams, like the Upper Yarra Reservoir have helped protect Melbourne from major flooding. The catchment's upper reaches are also affected by logging.

Industrialisation ultimately led to the destruction of the marshlands at the confluence of the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers in the area around Coode Island in West Melbourne. Today, the mouth and including Swanson and Appleton Docks are used for container shipping by the Port of Melbourne which is the busiest on the continent. The city reach which is inaccessible to larger watercraft, has seen increased use for both transport and recreational boating (including kayaking, canoeing, rowing and swimming). In recent years, however, recreational use of the river is threatened by high levels of pollution in its lower stretches. The upper reaches remain relatively healthy. The annual Moomba festival celebrates the Yarra River's increasing cultural significance to Melbourne.

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,

and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

MORNING PROMENADE

Walking in the along the River and in the City early in the morning in Winter. The pedestrian bridge over the Yarra leading to Southbank; some of the famous Melbourne City lanes that serve the best coffee in Australia; the arcaded walk along the General Post Office; St Francis' Catholic Church; the Royal Arcade and the old Shot Tower in Melbourne Central. It's a grand city and a wonderful travel destination. Come and visit!

This post is part of  the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

WINTER EVENING

We are having some cold and wet Winter weather at the moment, so coming home to a warm and welcoming house is wonderful on evenings like this...

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

RAINY NIGHT IN THE CITY

This post is part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme,
and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

WINTER MORNING

On the Yarra River in the City, looking towards the East on a very nippy Winter's morning in Melbourne. The sunrise colours make it worthwhile to wake up at an ungodly hour!

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme,
and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

MANDARINS

It's the season for picking fresh, luscious citrus ripened on the tree. We are lucky enough to have lemon, orange, grapefruit and mandarin trees in our garden. Perhaps no other citrus tastes as good as freshly picked sweet mandarins right off the tree on a blustery Winter's day like today in Melbourne. We had rain and wind and hail, but also little pockets of sunshine that made the fruit shine out like little golden orbs amongst the dark green foliage!

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Food Friday meme,
and also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme.

START OF WATTLE SEASON

Wattles, also called acacias, are amazing Australian native plants. More than 850 species of wattle (Acacia spp; family Fabaceae) grow in Australia, ranging from ground covers and charming shrubs to giant trees that provide fine timber and screening. With this number of species and many cultivars there is a wattle for just about any garden in Australia.

Most wattles are quick growing, short-lived plants that will usually last for about seven to 12 years. Some species, however, are longer lived. If planted in a thicket, they will self-sow, which will mean that short lived plants are quickly replaced. Wattles are tolerant of a broad range of conditions. While there are wattle species which flower throughout the year, the winter-flowering species are particularly attractive in the landscape, where their bright yellow or cream flowers bring colour to the garden at a time when many of the more traditionally grown plants are bare or not flowering.

Currently, in the cold and wet Winter of Melbourne, the gold of the wattle flowering is beautiful in the green landscape. Especially so, when the days are fine and the sky is blue, the wattles reign supreme... The illustrated species is Acacia baileyana or Cootamundra wattle.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CRAIGIEBURN PONDS

Craigieburn is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 26 km north of Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the City of Hume. At the 2011 Census, Craigieburn had a population of 32,757, which is expected to double in the next 10 years. The suburb of Craigieburn ranges from halfway down Bridgewater Road to Mount Ridley. Most of Craigieburn is more than 200 metres above sea level, with Mount Ridley being the northernmost hill in northwestern metropolitan Melbourne, giving it clear views of Melbourne's central business district 29.7 km away.

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

ST KILDA, ACLAND ST

Acland Street is a street in the Melbourne seaside suburb of St Kilda, which enjoys great popularity as a recreational area, mainly due to its many restaurants and its proximity to the entertainment areas along St Kilda beach. Acland Street runs on a north-west to south-east axis between Fitzroy and Barkly Streets. It was one of the first streets laid out when St Kilda was surveyed in 1842.

The north-west end of the street is largely residential, and features many fine houses from the late 19th century, some of them converted to flats or other uses, such as the Linden Gallery. The south-east end of the street, between Carlisle and Barkly Streets, is a commercial strip. The section of Acland Street between Barkly Street and Carlisle Street is a tram zone where route 96 terminates.

Near the junction of Carlisle St and Acland St is Luna Park, one of Australia's best-known amusement parks, which attracts large crowds during the summer. Almost next door is one of Melbourne's oldest theatres, The Palais. Also on Acland St is the St Kilda Army and Navy Club, which has been renovated and become a popular gambling venue.

These photos are from my archive and date from 2005. The locale, however, remains equally popular, vibrant and colourful today!

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

BY TRAIN

Metro Trains Melbourne, known colloquially as simply 'Metro', is the franchise operator of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Australia. Metro Trains Melbourne is a joint venture between the Hong Kong-based MTR Corporation (60%), John Holland Group (20%) and UGL Rail (20%).

Metro Trains Melbourne operates a fleet of 407 three-car train sets on 837 kilometres of track. There are sixteen regular service train lines and one special events train line. The train fleet travels over 30 million kilometres and provides more than 228 million customer boardings each year, over 14,000 services each week and carries over 415,000 passengers each weekday.

Metro Trains Melbourne is also responsible for 215 railway stations and employs a workforce of 3,500 rail professionals including train drivers, mechanical and electrical engineers, network operations specialists and customer service representatives. The actual railway tracks, infrastructure and rolling stock is owned by VicTrack on behalf of the State Government, and is leased to Public Transport Victoria which then sub-leases them to Metro Trains Melbourne.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

FLOODED CREEK

We've had some decent rainfall in the last few days and the Darebin Creek in Fairfield swelled up with all of the extra run-off. The ducks seemed to enjoy it!

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.