For the May edition of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, I posted a photo of Disocactus macranthus , covered in buds, with the first few blooms newly opened. Fast forward a couple of weeks and those buds have exploded into a spectacular display, greeting visitors as they enter our front door with a dazzling array of citrusy-perfumed flowers: The blooms only last one day each, but with so many buds in varying stages of opening, the show will continue for at least a few weeks. Poke your nose deep into the flower and the pleasant citrus scent becomes somewhat...ponky. My neighbour likens it to old socks. I'd describe it more as the faintest whiff of cat wee. But you really have to stick your nose right down in there to smell it. From anywhere other than close proximity, its perfume is really quite pleasant. And anyway, with a display like this, I'd still grow it, no matter the smell! While I was out taking photos for this post, a couple of other flowering hanging plants caught my ey

This week's feature flower, with its towering canes of exploding white daisy flowers, is the standout plant in my garden at this time of year. Easily reaching 4 metres (13 feet) tall, Mexican tree daisy Montanoa bipinnatifida is loved by bees and passers-by, several of whom have snuck up our driveway to snap a photo with their phones in recent days. Mexican tree daisy triffid The blooms are so fresh and pure Wrestling with a rose in our driveway   I recall picking a large vase full of of these flowers to take in to my Mother in hospital a few years ago. Disappointingly, they completely flopped during the car journey, even though I had placed them into water immediately after cutting. For this reason, I decided to display the blooms floating in a bowl - this way I could avoid wilting stems and enjoy the flowers close up. Simple and sweet With my hand for scale A bowl full of happiness Head over to Cathy's blog, Rambling in the Garden to see this week's vase-worthy creation

A couple of weeks ago, I took a trip across town for a dentist checkup (no fillings - yay!). It was a beautiful sunny morning and I had a bit of free time following my appointment, so I decided to stop in at the nearby Himeji Japanese Garden. Himeji Garden entrance, shaded by a large mulberry tree and underplanted with assorted juniper Continuing through the gatehouse, nearby signage states:   '...you will see the water bowl (chozubachi) so visitors may purify themselves by washing their hands and adopting a humble kneeling attitude.' I don't see many Australians doing this, but I think it is a lovely idea. Water bowl, chozubachi, flanked by Nandina domestica and Juniperus sp.   Having not been to this garden for years, my immediate impression upon walking through the entrance way was how beautifully tidy and well maintained everything looked. For a free public garden, I think this level of care is quite extraordinary. The garden was opened in 1985, to symbolise the bo

It's late autumn here in Australia and though there are a few flowers in my garden, I thought I'd have a go at creating an arrangement that draws on foliage colours and forms rather than flowers for interest. Though Adelaide has a Mediterranean climate, I grow a fair number of tropical foliage plants in pots, moving them undercover in winter to keep them dry in the cooler weather. Here's what I came up with: Foliage: Iresine herbstii , Aucuba japonica , Plectranthus argentatus , Hypoestes phyllostachya , Alpinia sp., Syngonium podophyllum 'Neon Robusta' (I think), Ctenanthe setosa , Ctenanthe setosa 'Grey Star'. Flowers: Begonia 'Mega Red'. Fruit: Sold to me as 'Chinese 5 colour chilli', from a garage sale over a decade ago - I've been saving the seeds and growing it every year since.       Here's the arrangement with a few props: Props: being late autumn, it's persimmon season. Yum. I like the vanilla type; the knitted black ca

It's late autumn here in South Australia, but in reality, it feels more like winter as our rainy season has well and truly arrived. Though I aim to have a plentiful supply of flowers in my garden throughout the year, this month feels like slim pickings, however I still managed to find a few blooms as I wandered around with my camera recently. The standouts this month are the Schlumbergera sp. With their dazzling colours, they brighten the garden on cold, drizzly days. This one is Schlumbergera 'Millie'. Schlumbergera 'Millie' Schlumbergera 'Millie' with Iresine herbstii below This yellow / buff variety is a favourite for its unusual colouring:  On closer inspection, I noticed something unusual going on....     At first, I though the salmon blooms might sprouting from a separate plant (often several cuttings are placed in the same pot to create a fuller basket for sale). However, on closer inspection, I noticed that both yellow and salmon blooms are growi