The honeyeater migration is underway. As I have gone native, that is, planting species indigenous to my local area, I have been contemplating ripping out all my exotic plants. It doesn’t help that my new neighbour is trying to hedge me in with European plants. This is ‘Straya, I feel like saying.
Anyway, the visiting Yellow-faced honeyeaters have reminded me that it is okay to retain a few of my less weedy exotic shrubs.
I knew it! Everyone loves camellias.
Still, the woodland birds really love the garden changes. They are coming in droves now.
It has been ages since I have taken part in the Lens Artists Photo Challenge, but since Ann-Christine asked this week “What’s in a garden?”, I thought, well, how hard can it be to take one photo that would suit? Fortunately, I took one photo yesterday that I quite liked but I had no one with whom to share it, so I thought why not share it with my lovely readers?
A place that I often visit when I am feeling untidy is our wonderful Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) here in Canberra. I have been feeling untidy for a while now so it was only a matter of time before I would find myself there again. As usual, I struggled getting a decent photo so I was absolutely stoked to come home with this nice bird photo that required no editing to make it look decent. The bird was in a garden so it met the criteria, don’t you agree?
I had to use Photoshop to brighten up the next two photos. The following plant was flowering in the rainforest garden. The rainforest garden was created completely from scratch when the ANBG was established. The rainforest is such a haven for birds, animals and people when city temperatures soar. It was a pleasant 17oC when we were there.
I think the plant in the next photo is Hardenbergia violacae. It was so lovely and delicate, glinting red where the sun fell on the twining stems. We saw many plants in bud, so if you happen to be in Canberra (Australia) over the next month, the floral displays at the ANBG are sure to be even more spectacular and well worth a visit. A tip – I much prefer the somewhat dishevelled, natural gardens up the hill rather than the more manicured, curated gardens that are on the lower levels.
Finally, a photo from today’s visit to my son’s house. This was the first day that all three dogs had visited him at the same time. They had fun and Ama tried to eat a lot of sticky weed. That, and the fake grass, has gotta go. I suspect there will also be some other modifications to make it more of a haven for small woodland birds. All in good time.
I hope you enjoyed my garden tour. Please visit Ann-Christine’s post here to see all the fabulous garden examples from her many contributors.
A late entry for Patti’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Empty Space. I think the emphasis is on negative space in the photo below. Close enough. Naturally, this photo was taken by my True Love.
Into the Empty Seeking the apex of all that life has to offer. A chance to thrive, a chance to fall. Thunder beats a primal rhythm. Stretch your wings and ride the wild sky.
This is a test, perhaps of my patience and perseverance. It seems there has been a software update somehow, somewhere, so I can no longer load photos that are true to the colour that I shot them in. I’ve tried the fixes but they aren’t working. So my workaround is to over-saturate my photos in Photoshop and then re-edit the de-saturated photos in the Windows photo app. Technology!! Anyway, this will do. I now look forward to seeing how this photo looks on my various devices.
Life goes on. Yes, I am still here. Hope you are too.
Thanks to our neighbour’s wonderful native garden, we have many little birds nesting nearby.
The Superb Fairywrens are up at the crack of dawn collecting nesting materials and hunting insects. They have been incredibly bold bounding around our dog yard.
Here she is.
Here he is.
And a female Golden Whistler also visited today.
Down the road at our park, currawong chicks have already hatched, while the magpies are currently on their nest too. It is all happening.
It is a very different year to last year. It is much drier and hotter. The temperature is forecast to be 35o Celcius next week and we are only three weeks into Spring. Perhaps the rats will leave home then, although it is probably better for the wren chicks if they do not.
Reflections of An Untidy Mind 