Being winter here in Australia, it's nearly time to prune the roses (I normally do this in July). Despite the impending chop, one of my favorite roses, 'Candy Stripe' is still putting on a lovely display of blooms. 'Candy Stripe' is a tall, vigorous rose, growing to about 6 feet tall. It puts up with a lot; it's planted in heavy clay soil and each year it gets overrun by the giant Mexican tree daisy growing nearby. I've never seen even a hint of black spot on the leaves and the plant is rarely without flowers. Perhaps this rose's only downfall is its very faint perfume. I'm willing to forgive this for all its other positive attributes.  Placed in the vase alongside 'Candy Stripe' is the spike of an unknown dark red Cymbidium sp. Usually I don't pick orchids, preferring to bring them inside in their pots to enjoy their blooms. However, this one was a lost in its pot and a little snail munched, so I thought it would be better apprecia...

In Australia, chrysanthemums are synonymous with Mother's Day. In the week leading up to this date, they are everywhere; brightly coloured bunches appear at pop-up roadside stalls and potted 'mums' are placed strategically near the counter of every supermarket, garden centre and hardware store.  I grow a few of these plants in my garden, including a pale pink variety which belonged to my Nana, who grew loads of them and sold excess blooms to local florists. This week's IAVOM arrangement was created and given to my Mother-in-law for Mother's Day.  As my Nana's pink chysanthemums are not quite fully opened yet, I will admit that the pale pink 'mums' in this bunch were purchased to bulk out the arrangement. All of the additional flowers and foliage, including the gold chysanthemums, are from my garden.    I hope all Mums had a happy day on Sunday. Flowers: shrimp plant Justicia brandegeeana, Hydrangea macrophylla (unknown cultivar), Chysanthemum (gold, unk...