LONG-LEAF WAXFLOWER

Philotheca myoporoides, commonly known as a waxflower is an Australian shrub. This is the 'Winter Rouge' cultivar, characterised by deep pink buds that open into soft pink or white star-shaped flowers.The plant is an evergreen Australian native that typically blooms from winter through spring.

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EARLY BUTTERCUP

We are already seeing signs of Spring in our mid-Winter month of July.

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TULIP

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NATIVE GERANIUM

The Austral Stork's Bill (Pelargonium australe) is an Australian native flower, similar to stork's bills in other parts of the world. The plants produce clusters of asymmetrical, light pink to white flowers, often with darker reddish-purple markings on the upper petals.  The leaves are generally soft, velvety, and rounded with toothed edges. It is popular in gardens for its hardiness, salt tolerance, and long flowering periods.

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THE LAST ROSE

The last rose of the season is making a brave show of it... 
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LEUCOSPERMUM

Leucospermum formosum hybrid "Leucospermum Carnival® Peach" produces a unique colour display that combines and captures the seasonal peach and apricot notes into a beautiful centre of burning embers. Carnival Peach is a medium sized shrub and ideal for low maintenance, low water use gardens. Additionally, it has a moderate frost tolerance which sets it apart from other Leucospermum varieties.

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EPIPHYLLUM HYBRID

Disocactus is a genus of epiphytic cacti in the tribe Hylocereeae found in Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. It should not be confused with Discocactus, which is a different genus. Species of Disocactus grow in tropical regions either on trees as epiphytes or on rocks as lithophytes.

They have two distinct growth habits. Species such as D. phyllanthoides have stems which are round at the base but then become flattened and leaflike. Many of the cultivated plants known as epiphyllum hybrids or just epiphyllums are derived from crosses between species of Disocactus (rather than Epiphyllum) and other genera in the Hylocereeae.

The one illustrated here is blooming in our garden at the moment and is probably a Disocactus × jenkinsonii is a hybrid between Disocactus phyllanthoides and Disocactus speciosus. It is perhaps the most commonly grown orchid cactus and seems to survive and flower under most conditions. It has a very complex taxonomic history and has been mistaken for Disocactus ackermannii for a long time.

And I thought my family history was complex!

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MAGNOLIA

Magnolia grandiflora, commonly known as the southern magnolia or bull bay, is a tree of the family Magnoliaceae native to the Southeastern United States, from Virginia to central Florida, and west to East Texas. Reaching 27.5 m in height, it is a large, striking evergreen tree, with large, dark-green leaves up to 20 cm long and 12 cm wide, and large, white, fragrant flowers up to 30 cm in diameter.

Although endemic to the evergreen lowland subtropical forests on the Gulf and South Atlantic coastal plain, M. grandiflora is widely cultivated in warmer areas around the world. The timber is hard and heavy, and has been used commercially to make furniture, pallets, and veneer.

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SCARLET PIMPERNEL

Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), also known as red pimpernel, red chickweed, poorman's barometer, poor man's weather-glass, shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock, is a low-growing annual plant. The native range of the species is Europe and Western and North Africa. The species has been distributed widely by humans, either deliberately as an ornamental flower or accidentally. A. arvensis is now naturalised almost worldwide, with a range that encompasses The Americas, Central and East Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Malaysia, the Pacific Islands, Australasia and Southern Africa.

Although traditionally included in the family Primulaceae, the genus Anagallis is now considered to be better placed within the related family Myrsinaceae. In the APG III system, Primulaceae is expanded to include Myrsinaceae, thus Anagallis is in Primulaceae sensu lato.This common European plant is generally considered a weed and is an indicator of light soils. It is most well known for being the emblem of the fictional hero "The Scarlet Pimpernel", a novel written by the Baroness Emma Orczy.

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BEE

"How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!

How skilfully she builds her cell!
How neat she spreads the wax!
And labors hard to store it well
With the sweet food she makes..."
                                           Isaac Watts

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DAHLIAS

Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. As a member of the Asteraceae family of dicotyledonous plants, its relatives include the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia.

There are 49 species of dahlia, with flowers in almost every hue (except blue), with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. Dahlias were known to the Aztecs until their Spanish conquest, after which the plants were brought to Europe. The (high in sugar) tubers of some varieties are of value to humans.

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ASIATIC LILY

Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are native to the Northern Hemisphere and their range is temperate climates and extends into the subtropics. Many other plants have "lily" in their common names, but do not belong to the same genus and are therefore not true lilies.

Here is a hybrid of Lilium asiaticum. Asiatic lilies are the easiest and most tolerant of the lily cultivars. They are available in the broadest range of colours and are distinguished by their lack of fragrance. They are the first of the lilies to bloom. In several areas in Asia, they are commonly eaten edible as a root vegetable.

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BUSY BEE

Bee on a Crassula flower. Crassula ovata, commonly known as jade plant, lucky plant, money plant or money tree, is a succulent plant with small pink or white flowers. It is native to South Africa and Mozambique, and is common as a houseplant worldwide. Much of its popularity stems from the low levels of care needed; the jade plant requires little water and can survive in most indoor conditions. These flowers are in bloom in Melbourne at the moment and the bees are feasting!

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