Sunday Selections #822

 

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files. Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image. 

The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle.  

 

The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Sorry I still haven't succeeded in working out how to do a blog hop. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.

 

 I usually run with a theme.  Each year there is a race to see whether our tree dahlias (Dahlia imperialis) flower before frost brings them down.  This year it was a draw.  We got some flowers on Friday morning but we also got the first frost for the year that has made the plants look very sorry indeed.  Next week I am going to have to cut them down.

 

So this week's Sunday Selections is devoted to their brief flowering - in which the bees found and dleighted in them. 

 

 To reach heights of over ten feet tall and only bloom for a day seems a tad unfair - but we did see those blooms which we don't always.

Sunday Selections #777

 

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files. Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image. 

The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle. 

 

The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.

 

I usually run with a theme.  Each year it is a race to see whether the tree dahlias will bloom before the first hard frost kills them.  They amaze me in that after being cut down to ground level they grow anything up to twelve feet high before blooming.

So how did we go this year?

This year our success was mixed.  We did get some blooms (which the bees love) before the frost rotted the buds.  However the visiting possum decided that the buds were delicious and stripped all the plants it could reach from our roof or from the telegraph pole. 
The tears in the telegraph pole in the last photo are a fine testament to the strength of the possum's claws.

Better luck next year.  And sometime this week I will add cutting down the tree dahlias to my garden chores - as well as weeding and planting bulbs.  As an aside I have discovered that photographing things well above my head is a challenge to my balance.

I hope your week is blooming lovely.

Sunday Selections #533

 

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

 

Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image.

 

The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle. 

 

The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen. 

I usually run with a theme.  Last week was v busy and sometimes fraught so I am sticking close to home.

Starting with a gentle dawn which delighted me.

 

Each year I wonder whether the tree dahlias (dahlia imperialis) will flower before we get our first hard frost.  This year?  Success.  There are a lot of buds yet to come, but it is definitely in flower.  In the nick of time.  This morning we are expecting to drop to minus four or five C, and I expect when it is light I will see that these proud beauties will have been hit hard.

 

Tree dahlias are fast growers.  They need to be.  I cut them down to ground level each year after the first hard frost.  The following year they power ahead - and these are well over 12 feet tall.  The canes are brittle and a strong wind has snapped them off more than once so ours line the fence between us and one of our neighbours - and one has established itself (and offspring) beside the garage.

 In other parts of the garden we continue to see signs of a very, very early Spring.  There are more paper-white jonquils out each day and another anemone has emerged and flowered.  

 My bulb planting continues.  I hope to get the last in the ground this week.  Hope, but won't guarantee.  Whatever the season, or the weather I hope your week to come is filled with beauty and joy.

Sunday Selections #329

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
 
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.  Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
 
Like River I usually run with a theme. This week I am (mostly) staying home.

Revelling in the clouds.

Which were very different to the ones looming over the Arboretum when we took a lunch trip there...

Those sullen, sodden clouds did give us welcome rain.  Which the garden and I loved.  Jazz didn't.

Winter is fast approaching but there are still things in bloom.  Some early, some late.

 And this year the Tree Dahlias flowered before the frost cut them down.  A rarity.  Some of them are nearly twelve feet tall and there are more flowers coming out each day.  We have lost some to the cockatoos, and some to wind, but we have blooms.  And the bees and I are happy.

 The colour-bond fence they are up against is six feet tall.

T

This is a race we rarely win.  Significant frosts are predicted for next week which will cut them down - but for the moment I am loving the display.

Sunday Selections #276

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
 
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.  Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
 
Like River I usually run with a theme.  This week is a bit of a hodge podge.

The birds I promised.

Young crimson rosellas, yet to develop their adult plumage.  They look a bit ratty - but are surprisingly difficult to see in foliage...

Then some snaps of the garden, also as promised.  We have had a LOT of wind, and several of our tree dahlias (dahlia imperialis) have come crashing down.  All of them were over twelve foot tall, and they have brittle stems so their fall is not surprising.  Disappointing, but not at all surprising.  And they DID flower before the first frost which is another bonus.  Those that remain have been a splash of colour - and a haven for the bees.

And then to the skies.  Again.

We did get some blessed rain last week.  Not much, but it was very welcome.  And followed by a rainbow. 

Dawn and dusk have been their usual treats too.