MELBOURNE BY NIGHT

Lighting up the Yarra River and delighting in the reflections of the City lights from Southbank.

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

VISIT MELBOURNE!

A trip to Melbourne is a very rewarding experience for tourists, travellers or jet-setters. There is plenty to discover in Melbourne's secret laneways and rooftops, the cultural hub of Federation Square, buzzing bars, boutiques and eateries, and the iconic MCG. It's great to experience St Kilda, the Royal Botanic Gardens, bohemian Brunswick Street and the nation-stopping excitement of the Spring Racing Carnival. Always fun to join world class events such as the Australian Grand Prix or relax on a day trip to the Mornington Peninsula or to Phillip Island for fairy penguins...

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

KINGSBURY DRIVE MARKET

The Kingsbury Drive Community Market is held every Sunday between 9am and 1pm. Stallholders sell a large variety of crafts, bric-a-brac and plants.The market is managed by Diamond Valley Community Support (DVCS).  Income from the market is used to fund the various community services provided by DVCS. The market is located in Car Park 2, La Trobe University, Kingsbury Drive, Bundoora.

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.

FETCH

At the Darebin Parklands.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

AT THE PARK

At Yarra Bend Park, one sunny afternoon...

This post is part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 174 - SNOW IN SUMMER

Melaleuca linariifolia, commonly known as snow-in-summer, narrow-leaved paperbark, flax-leaved paperbark and in the language of the Gadigal people as budjur. It is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. A hardy plant, it flowers prolifically in late spring or summer, making it a popular garden shrub or small tree in temperate places. Melaleuca trichostachya is a similar species but its leaves are arranged differently and the fruits have projecting valves.

Melaleuca linariifolia is a small tree growing to a height of 6–10 m with distinctive and attractive white or creamy white, papery bark and a dense canopy. Its leaves are arranged in alternating pairs (decussate), glabrous except when very young, 17–45 mm long, 1–4 mm wide, linear to lance-shaped and with a distinct mid-vein. The flowers are white to creamy-white, perfumed and arranged in spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering, sometimes also in the upper leaf axils.

Each spike is up to 40 mm wide and long and contains 4 to 20 individual flowers. The petals are 2.5–3.3 mm long and fall off as the flower matures. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flower and each bundle contains 32 to 73 stamens. The flowers cover the tree over a relatively short period, between October and February and are followed by fruit which are woody capsules, 2.5–4 mm wide and 4–5 mm long scattered along the stems.The fruiting capsules have valves which do not project beyond the rim of the capsule.

Melaleuca linariifolia is cultivated as an ornamental tree for streets, parks and gardens and is also used as a screen or windbreak in Australia and overseas. It is popular as a nature strip tree in Melbourne in Victoria. It tolerates both dry and boggy conditions and is frost hardy. It should be planted with caution as it can damage wastewater pipes, and is easily ignitable, so should not be planted in fire-prone areas. It has also become a garden escape in Western Australia, however it suitable for planting under powerlines and is a food or habitat sources for native animals, including many insects. There is a range of cultivars that has been developed including dwarf forms such as "Snowstorm" (to 1.5 metres tall) and "Seafoam" (2.5 metres tall).

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

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 173 - FEIJOA

Acca sellowiana, a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, is native to the highlands of southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and Colombia. It is widely cultivated as a garden plant and fruiting tree in New Zealand, and can be found as a garden plant elsewhere such as in Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, western Georgia and southern Russia. Common names include feijoa, pineapple guava and guavasteen, although it is not a true guava.

It is an evergreen, perennial shrub or small tree, 1–7 metres in height, widely cultivated as an ornamental tree and for its fruit. The German botanist Otto Karl Berg named feijoa after João da Silva Feijó, a Portuguese botanist born in the colony of Brazil. The fruit, maturing in autumn, is green, ellipsoid, and about the size of a chicken egg. It has a sweet, aromatic flavour, which tastes like pineapple, apple and mint. The flesh is juicy and is divided into a clear, gelatinous seed pulp and a firmer, slightly granular, opaque flesh nearer the skin.

The fruit falls to the ground when ripe and at its fullest flavour, but it may be picked from the tree prior to falling to prevent bruising. Feijoa fruit has a distinctive, potent smell that resembles that of a perfume. The aroma is due to the ester methyl benzoate and related compounds that exist in the fruit. Personally, it reminds me of oil of wintergreen (often used in sprain ointments or even some toothpastes), a smell I do not like, hence it ruins the fruit for me...

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,

and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

TREES AT DAREBIN PARKLANDS

Many native trees are found in the Darebin Parklands, including River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis); Manna Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis); Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodora); Lightwood (Acacia implexa); Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon); Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata); Black Wattle (Acacia mearnsii); Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha); Drooping Sheoke (Allocasuarina verticillata); Kangaroo Apple (Solanum laciniatum); Swamp Paperbark (Melaleuca ericofolia).

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

UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

The University of Melbourne (informally Melbourne University, Melbourne Uni or simply Melbourne) is an Australian public research university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria.

Times Higher Education ranks Melbourne as 33rd in the world, while the QS World University Rankings places Melbourne 31st in the world. According to QS World University Subject Rankings 2015, the University of Melbourne is ranked 5th in the world for education, 8th in law, 13th in computer science and IT, 13th in arts and humanities, 14th in accounting and finance, 14th in dentistry and 18th in medicine.

Melbourne's main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb north of the Melbourne central business district, with several other campuses located across Victoria. Melbourne is a sandstone university and a member of the Group of Eight, Universitas 21 and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. Since 1872 various residential colleges have become affiliated with the university. There are 12 colleges located on the main campus and in nearby suburbs offering academic, sporting and cultural programs alongside accommodation for Melbourne students and faculty.

Melbourne comprises 11 separate academic units and is associated with numerous institutes and research centres, including the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research and the Grattan Institute. Amongst Melbourne's 15 graduate schools the Melbourne Business School, the Melbourne Law School and the Melbourne Medical School are particularly well regarded.

Four Australian prime ministers and five governors-general have graduated from Melbourne. Seven Nobel laureates have been students or faculty, the most of any Australian university.

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

ROSETIME IN THE SUBURBS

A fine old Edwardian house in Fairfield, an inner Melbourne suburb. Sitting on a sizeable block of land, enough for a decent front and back garden, this type of house is under threat of development... Many such houses have been demolished and in their place anything between 4-6 units have been built, overcrowding the neighbourhoods, increasing noise levels, traffic congestion, pollution and placing increasing demands on already heavily utilised infrastructure.

Let's stop and smell the roses while we still can... These beauties are Hybrid Tea, Rosa 'Pink Peace'. Very fragrant and perfect for cut flowers, as well as being a vigorous and heat resistant garden favourite. Hybridised by Meilland in 1959, an oldie but a goody!

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

PARKLANDS REFLECTIONS

Darebin Parklands is one of Darebin Council’s premier conservation parks sited along the Darebin Creek. The park is managed by the Darebin Creek Management Committee which the Cities of Darebin and Banyule are members. Darebin Parklands is a wonderful setting for walks and escaping into the natural environment, and is located only 5 km from Melbourne's CBD. The park has a full time Ranger coordinating the Education Centre which details the parks rich history and commitment to conservation and environmental sustainability. The Darebin Creek Trail runs through the centre of the park and provides shared trail access through to Bundoora Park 10km to the north.

Darebin Parklands comprises an area of approximately 40 hectares of urban bushland, between the suburbs of Ivanhoe and Alphington. The park is highly accessible being both on a bus route and adjacent to the Hurstbridge railway line. We always enjoy visiting this as it is only about 10 minutes walk from our house.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.