JACOB'S LADDER

Attractive, dense ferny foliage makes Polemonium pulcherrimum 'Blue Dove' (also known as Jacob's ladder) a valuable plant for all year round interest in the garden. As an added bonus loose sprays of open bell shaped flowers in a soft shade of blue can appear from spring right through to and including autumn. Its 'lacy' appearance makes it a useful plant for softening hard lines and edges created by rocks, garden edging or paving.

Polemonium is a genus comprising of around 30 species of mostly perennial herbs which are native to regions of North and Central America, Europe and Asia. An excellent plant for general garden use and suitable for most colour schemes. 'Blue Dove' looks particularly at home in woodland type settings or in the cottage garden.

It may be grown in semi shade although this may decrease flower production. This, however, is not necessarily a reason to avoid planting it in such locations as the attractive foliage alone will lend a visual appeal to these often difficult landscaping zones. To accent the foliage further create a foil of foliage behind it using larger, broader leafed plants or those with tall slender foliage such as that of Irises.

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WINTER ROSES...

Our very mild Autumn has meant that we've had some varieties of rose continuing to bloom luxuriantly till the end of May, as you see here (our last month of Autumn here in the Antipodes). The first few days of June have been very wintry, so the garden is now beginning to assume its cold weather guise. Roses are now definitely beginning to go downhill...

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DELPHINIUM & JAPANESE ANEMONES

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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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GLORY FLOWER

Clerodendrum bungei, commonly known as rose glory bower, glory flower or Mexican hydrangea (though neither a Hydrangea nor from Mexico), is a species of flowering plant in the deadnettle family, Lamiaceae. Native to China, it is commonly grown in gardens as an ornamental shrub. It has escaped from cultivation and is naturalised in the Americas.

Clerodendrum bungei is a deciduous shrub that grows up to 2 m in height. Its leaves are cordate (heart-shaped), 10–20 cm long and not quite as wide, and have coarsely toothed edges. The flowers, which appear in late summer, are coloured rose, crimson, or pink, and arranged in a conspicuous rounded terminal inflorescence known as corymb, which is up to 10 cm in diameter. As in other Clerodendrum species, the calyx is five-lobed. At the centre of each flower there is a slender tube c. 3–4 cm long which terminates in five spreading white lobes.

While the flowers are fragrant, crushed leaves have an unpleasant odour. Clerodendrum bungei possess extrafloral nectaries that produce a sweet secretion attracting ants (and other arthropods), which in return often protect plant from herbivory. Its flowers also attract butterflies.

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FUNGUS SEASON

The rains have come and fungi are appearing in the garden, from lowly toadstools to delicious edible mushrooms!

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THE LAST ROSE

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

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and also part of the Seasons meme

GAILLARDIA

Gaillardia, commonly known as the blanket flower, is a genus of vibrant, daisy-like flowering plants known for their hardiness and ability to thrive in hot, dry conditions. They are popular in gardens for their long blooming period and ability to attract pollinators like bees and butterflies.

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LADYBIRD

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LILIES AND ROSES

We are finally having some hot Summer weather in Melbourne and the garden is full of roses and lilies.

Within the garden's peaceful scene

Appeared two lovely foes,

Aspiring to the rank of queen,

The Lily and the Rose.
                                      (William Cowper)

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AT THE CHURCH

The Holy Trinity Church in Kew

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme

ASIATIC LILY

Asiatic lily (Lilium spp) 'Heartstrings' 

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LILIUM HYBRID

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SPRING FLOWERS

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and also part of the Seasons meme.

Forest lily (Veltheimia bracteata); Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) and Sweet bay (Laurus nobilis)

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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ROSE SEASON

The roses have started to bloom in earnest now, despite a few setbacks with our Spring weather. This is a climbing rose we've had in our garden for decades and it is an unknown hybrid, which was given to us as a cutting by a friend who had no idea what particular type it is.

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SUNCATCHERS

Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) flowers against the sky.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

THE FIRST ROSE

The first roses have started to appear in our garden. This is the perennially favourite, "Mr Lincoln". It is a vigorous, tall upright shrub, 120–210 cm in height. Blooms are very large, 15  cm or more in diameter, with 30 to 35 petals. The rose has a strong damask fragrance. The high-centered, deep red petals are generally borne singly on long stems and do not fade, even in the hottest climates.

The shrub is a repeat bloomer. The buds are deep red and open up into large, velvety red, double blossoms. The foliage is dark red when young and becomes leathery and dark, matte green when the plant is older. It is generally healthy and heat tolerant, but is susceptible to blackspot. 'Mister Lincoln' is hardy to zone 5–9

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WARATAH

Telopea speciosissima or the “waratah” is a native Australian plant with spectacular flowers. Robert Brown (1773-1858) named the genus Telopea in 1810 from specimens collected in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Sir James Smith (1759-1828), a noted botanist and founder of the Linnaean Society in England, wrote in 1793: 'The most magnificent plant which the prolific soil of New Holland affords is, by common consent, both of Europeans and Natives, the Waratah. It is moreover a favourite with the latter, upon account of a rich honeyed juice which they sip from its flowers'.

The generic name Telopea is derived from the Greek 'telopos', meaning 'seen from afar', and refers to the great distance from which the crimson flowers are discernible. The specific name speciosissima is the superlative of the Latin adjective 'speciosus', meaning 'beautiful' or 'handsome'. 'Waratah', the Aboriginal name for the species, was adopted by early settlers at Port Jackson.

Telopea is an eastern Australian genus of four species. Two are confined to New South Wales, one to Tasmania and one extends from eastern Victoria into New South Wales. Telopea belongs to the family, Proteaceae, which is predominantly Australian and Southern African.

The Waratah is a stout, erect shrub which may grow to 4 metres. The dark green leathery leaves, 13-25 cm in length, are arranged alternately and tend to be coarsely toothed. The flowers are grouped in rounded heads 7 to 10 cm in diameter surrounded by crimson bracts, about 5 to 7 cm long. It flowers from September to November and nectar-seeking birds act as pollinators. Large winged seeds are released when the brown leathery pods split along one side.

The Waratah is a spectacular garden subject in suitable soil and climate; it flowers prolifically and tends to be long-lived. The Waratah occurs naturally in at least ten national parks in the geological formation, know as the Sydney Basin. Brisbane Water, Dharug and Macquarie Pass National Parks are among the areas where this species is conserved. Waratahs are cultivated north of Sydney and in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria. They are grown in Israel, New Zealand and Hawaii for the cut flower trade. It was introduced to England in 1789 but cannot survive English winters out of doors except in the south-west coastal regions, and it rarely flowers in glasshouses. It is also cultivated in California.

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