CITY VISTAS

The last few days in Melbourne have been very hot and it was good to find some shade beside the river in order to sit down, rest and sip cool drinks. Thankfully, the cool change came through on Sunday afternoon and at least we'll sleep comfortably tonight.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

SWANSTON ST SILHOUETTES

This post is part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme,
and also part of Pippa's Week That Has Been Friday meme.

BUGS IN THE GARDEN...

Jewel Bugs (Family Scutelleridae) have broad rounded bodies with an undivided shield covering the whole abdomen. Jewel bugs get their common name from their bright colours. Jewel Bugs have the scutellum expanded to cover the whole abdomen and both pairs of wings, leading to their other common name, Shield-backed Bugs. Australian jewel bugs suck plant sap and feed on a broad range of seeds, either while they are still attached to the plant, or after they have fallen to the ground. In Australia, some are known as Harlequin Bugs, a common name used for several other sorts of bugs elsewhere in the world. There are 25 Australian species of jewel bugs in the Family Scutelleridae.

Hibiscus Harlequin Bug, Tectocoris diophthalmus, sucks sap from hibiscus plants, bottle trees and related species. Its main foodplant is the native Beach Hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus). It is also a minor pest of cultivated cotton, a member of the hibiscus family Malvaceae, leading to its other common name, the Cotton Harlequin Bug. In our garden it was feeding on a native hibiscus bush.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 139 - OLEANDER

Nerium oleander is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, toxic in all its parts. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium. It is most commonly known as oleander, from its superficial resemblance to the unrelated olive Olea. It is so widely cultivated that no precise region of origin has been identified, though southwest Asia has been suggested. Oleander is one of the most poisonous of commonly grown garden plants.

Oleander grows to 2–6 m tall, with erect stems that splay outward as they mature; first-year stems have a glaucous bloom, while mature stems have a grayish bark. The leaves are in pairs or whorls of three, thick and leathery, dark-green, narrow lanceolate, 5–21 cm long and 1–3.5 cm broad, and with an entire margin. The flowers grow in clusters at the end of each branch; they are white, pink to red, 2.5–5 cm diameter, with a deeply 5-lobed fringed corolla round the central corolla tube. They are often, but not always, sweet-scented. The fruit is a long narrow capsule 5–23 cm long, which splits open at maturity to release numerous downy seeds.

Oleander grows well in warm subtropical regions where it is extensively used as an ornamental plant in landscapes, in parks, and along roadsides. It is drought-tolerant and will tolerate occasional light frost down to −10 °C. It is commonly used in landscaping freeway medians in California, Texas, and other mild-winter states in the Continental United States because it is upright in habit and easily maintained. Its toxicity renders it deer-resistant. It is tolerant of poor soils and drought. Oleander can also be grown in cooler climates in greenhouses and conservatories, or as indoor plants that can be kept outside in the summer.

Oleander flowers are showy and fragrant and are grown for these reasons. Over 400 cultivars have been named, with several additional flower colours not found in wild plants having been selected, including red, purple, pink, and orange; white and a variety of pinks are the most common. Many cultivars also have double flowers. Young plants grow best in spaces where they do not have to compete with other plants for nutrients. Thailand has produced miniature sized Nerium plants to use in ornamental gardening.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

WARRANDYTE STROLL

Warrandyte is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the City of Manningham. At the 2011 Census, Warrandyte had a population of 5,520.

Warrandyte is bounded in the west by the Mullum Mullum Creek and Target Road, in the north by the Yarra River, in the east by Jumping Creek and Anzac Road, and in the south by an irregular line from Reynolds Road, north of Donvale, Park Orchards and Warrandyte South.

Warrandyte was founded as a Victorian town, located in the once gold-rich rolling hills east of Melbourne, and is now on the north-eastern boundary of suburban Melbourne. Gold was first discovered in the town in 1851 and together, with towns like Bendigo and Ballarat, led the way in gold discoveries during the Victorian gold rush.

Today Warrandyte retains much of its past in its surviving buildings of the Colonial period and remains a twin community with North Warrandyte, which borders the Yarra River to its north. The Warrandyte Road Bridge over the Yarra River connects Warrandyte with North Warrandyte. The first bridge was built in 1861, but after its demise, the current bridge was built in 1952.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also 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.

CROWN CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

Melbourne is certainly the place to visit at Christmas, as the decorations in various parts of the City and suburbs are worth seeing! Here are the decorations at the Crown Hotel atrium this year. There is a music and light show with animated ornaments, but I was rather in a hurry and had only time to take these photos. I'll see whether I can return to take some more another day.

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.

CAMBERWELL SUNDAY MARKET

Camberwell Sunday Market is a popular trash and treasure market held every Sunday by the Rotary Club of Balwyn, in the carpark at the rear of Burke and Riversdale roads, Camberwell. Only second hand goods, or hand-crafted goods, specifically made by the stallholder, excluding food are sold at the market so its great for vintage clothing, crockery and books as well as unusual things like photo albums, typewriters and ornaments.

You never know what you'll find there and with a bit of luck and digging you might uncover that hidden vintage gem. Some stall owners are happy to haggle so you might be able to save a few dollars. It's easy to spend the whole morning wandering through the markets in time for lunch at one of the many cafés and restaurants on Burke Road. The Camberwell Sunday Market raises funds for a wide range of charities raising over $9m for the community. Make sure you take along a hat or a parasol because in Summer the sun can be quite fierce and you may go searching for the shady café before not too long!

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,

and also part of the Monday Murals meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Through my Lens meme.

YARRA RIVER AT WARRANDYTE

Warrandyte is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the City of Manningham. At the 2011 census, Warrandyte had a population of 5,520. Warrandyte is bounded in the west by the Mullum Mullum Creek and Target Road, in the north by the Yarra River, in the east by Jumping Creek and Anzac Road, and in the south by an irregular line from Reynolds Road, north of Donvale, Park Orchards and Warrandyte South.

Warrandyte was founded as a Victorian town, located in the once gold-rich rolling hills east of Melbourne, and is now on the north-eastern boundary of suburban Melbourne. Gold was first discovered in the town in 1851 and together, with towns like Bendigo and Ballarat, led the way in gold discoveries during the Victorian gold rush. Today Warrandyte retains much of its past in its surviving buildings of the Colonial period and remains a twin community with North Warrandyte, which borders the Yarra River to its north.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

SUNSET SILHOUETTES

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

SUBURBAN TRANSFORMATION

A suburban house with its leafy green front yard in Melbourne may be a vanishing species as more and more of these single occupancy houses are being demolished to make way for blocks of units, flats or even big apartment buildings. In the last 2-3 years, the building boom in Melbourne has seen an amazing change in the face of the suburbs. The worst is still to come as green Melbourne is transformed into a concrete jungle...

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.