POND IN THE PARKLANDS

A moment of quiet reflection in the serenity of the Darebin Parklands in suburban Melbourne.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme,
and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

PRAIRIE ROSES - EUSTOMA

Eustoma, a genus of three species in the family Gentianaceae, grows natively in warm regions of the Southern United States, Mexico, Caribbean and northern South America. Examples grow mostly in grassland and in areas of disturbed ground. These flowers are commonly known as Lisianthus flowers. They are herbaceous annuals, growing to 15 – 60 cm tall, with bluish green, slightly succulent leaves and large funnel-shaped flowers growing on long straight stems: Sometimes erect single stems, other times growing on branching stems that can rise to one metre tall.

The flowers can grow up to 5 cm across and can be found in a variety of colours. They have been found in all shades of pink, purple, white, and blue. In addition, some are bicoloured and some are occasionally found in yellow or carmine-red. Lisianthus flowers are either single-flowered or double-flowered, the latter often called "prairie roses". Both types of flowers can be found in all ranges of the possible colours listed above. Lisianthus flowers are tricky to grow and require some maintenance.

They have tiny seeds that must be sown on the surface, not buried, and they must be planted in rich, well-drained soil and exposed to full sun. They must be kept moist but not overwatered. Overwatering may result in the growth and development of fungal diseases. Lisianthus flowers will begin to bloom in early summer and some will continue to bloom throughout the later months of the summer.

When cut, Lisianthus flowers can last anywhere from two to three weeks in a vase. Eustoma russellianum is particularly popular and has a number of cultivars that are grown for the cut-flower market. The cultivated flower is also often known as Lisianthus, Texas Bluebell, Prairie Gentian,Tulip Gentian, or just Gentian, although the last name can cause confusion with the related Gentian plant genus. Eustoma is named after the Greek words eu, which means beautiful, and stoma, which means mouth. Lisianthus on the other hand comes from the Greek words lissos, meaning smooth, and anthos, which means flower.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CELL

cell | sɛl | noun

A small compartment in a larger structure, such as a honeycomb.

Friends of ours have a couple of beehives in their suburban Melbourne backyard. They have become quite adept at beekeeping and they even have a council permit, which allows them to do it! They often give us some honey and honeycomb of their own production and I must say that it is absolutely delicious!

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

FITZROY, MELBOURNE

The weather was rather grey, wet and cold today, so I delved into the archives to get some photos from a more clement day for the Travel Tuesday post!

Fitzroy is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, 2 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. At the 2011 Census, Fitzroy had a population of 9,430. Planned as Melbourne's first suburb, it was later also one of the city's first areas to gain municipal status. It occupies Melbourne's smallest and most densely populated suburban area, just 100 Ha, bordered by Alexandra Parade (north), Victoria Parade (south), Smith Street (east) and Nicholson Street.

Fitzroy has a long associations with the working class and is currently inhabited by a wide variety of ethnicities and socio-economic groups and is known for a culture of bohemianism, being the main home of Melbourne's Fringe Festival. Its commercial heart is Brunswick Street, which is one of Melbourne's major retail, eating, and entertainment strips. It has undergone waves of both urban renewal and gentrification since the 1950s. In response to past planning practices, much of the suburb is now a historic preservation precinct, with many individual buildings and streetscapes covered by Heritage Overlays. Its built environment is diverse and features some of the finest examples of Victorian era architecture in Melbourne.

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.

AT THE BOATHOUSE

Fairfield Boathouse was established in 1908 by John St Clair as a picnic, camping and refreshment room area. John St Clair was a piano tuner from Smith St, Fitzroy, with a vision. He firstly wrote a letter to the Premier suggesting that he open a refreshment room and boat shed area, with motor boats at Fairfield Park. The Premier had to seek the approval form Yarra Bend Hospital of the Insane because the proposal for the boat shed was actually on the hospital grounds.

The Premier gave his permission for the boat shed project to go ahead. Mr St Clair built the boat shed and six years later Fairfield Park was set aside from the same grounds. However Mr St Clair had seven troubled years with Crown Bailiffs over building permits. Eventually in 1915 the Heidelberg council bought him out. In 1923 the boathouse was raised by 12 feet to help minimise flood damage, a frequent threat to boathouses along the Yarra. Boat and canoe carnivals and open air carnivals were common sights at Fairfield until the 1950’s. Boating popularity declined until finally the Fairfield boathouse was closed in 1980 as it was declared unfit for human habitation.

In 1985 the boathouse was restored and re-opened. The derelict building had recently housed squatters and possums. The project took 30,000 hours of restoration work. Meticulous work and an eye for detail was required for rebuilding. Even the gardens have been restored to encourage native birds. It now enjoys renewed popularity and is a pleasure to visit.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Through my Lens meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

MODERN LIVING

High-rise accommodation is proliferating in Melbourne at an alarming pace. An easy solution for the increased demand for housing by an unchecked population growth in a city of limited resources and failing infrastructure. Such are modern times and such is the lot of people subjected to modern living conditions...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,

and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,

and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

WATERFOWL

Ducks, coots and moorhens at the Darebin Parklands in suburban Melbourne.

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

STORMY

We are in the midst of Winter here in the Southern Hemisphere and our weather is predictably cold, often overcast and occasionally rainy. Such stormy, rainy skies are not all that common when I look out of my window, though, so definitely worth photographing...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,

and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

MELBOURNE WEEDS 11 - CAPE IVY

Delairea is a plant genus within the family Asteraceae. It is classified within tribe Senecioneae. It contains only one species, Delairea odorata, which was previously included in the genus Senecio as Senecio mikanioides, and is known as Cape ivy in some parts of the world and German ivy in others. Delairea odorata is native to South Africa.

Delairea odorata is a vine that climbs up trees and will reach heights of five metres in suitable climates. Given time it will smother trees. It has 4 to 12 cm multi-lobed leaves that somewhat resemble those of the unrelated English ivy. Its flowers are yellow with a sweet distinctive odour that some people find unpleasant. A feature that distinguishes it from. This plant is grown as an ornamental houseplant for its foliage.

Delairea odorata has become an invasive species in California, Hawaii, Oregon, New Zealand and Australia. The plant will cover shrubs and trees, inhibiting growth and will also cover ground intensively over a wide area, thereby preventing seeds from germinating or growing. It is also toxic to animals who eat it and to fish where it trails into waterways.

The creeper can be controlled or eliminated by a combination of physical and chemical methods. Unless the root system is removed or poisoned the plant will regrow. Young plants can be pulled out with their roots but older plants will break off leaving the roots in place. In Hawaii an introduced species of moth (Galtara extensa) for the biological control of Senecio madagascariensis proved to feed also on Delairea odorata.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

BRIGHTON IN BAYSIDE

The City of Bayside is a Local Government Area in Melbourne, Australia. It is located in the southern suburbs, with an area of 36 square kilometres and an estimated population of about 100,000 people. It comprises the City of Brighton, City of Sandringham, City of Moorabbin, City of Mordialloc and City of Bayside. As well as having quite exclusive and very expensive real estate by the seaside in Brighton, for example, it also has areas of industrial and business park usage, as in Moorabbin, for example.

Here are some photos from Brighton Beach where the bay is blue, the beach is beguiling, the boxes beautiful, the breeze bracing, and the bank balances buoyant!

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