Yesterday I went for a drive to Jackadgery to get some milk from the only shop and petrol station close to my place. There’s not much there any more. We have a community hall, a bush fire brigade shed and the old school house. My girls started school there and we were a part of the school community as well. The school closed in 1995 or there abouts, as there wasn’t enough children attending (my girls had left many years before to go to high school) and the Government at the time was hell bent on ridding itself of schools like this as they weren’t financial for their liking.
One thing we did to the school grounds was to plant gardens. A lot of them have gone, like the sensory garden, but some of the hardier plants are still going.
I had forgotten about this lovely light pink Hibiscus. Of course I snapped off a branch to strike some cuttings.
It started like any normal morning. After unfurling from their nighttime rest, the Leopard Lily flowers petals opened to greet the day.
Already the bees started to arrive to seek vital nectar and pollens to take back to their hives. A European Bee was quite engrossed when a Stingless Native Bee saw what was going on.
“Hey you! You big bag of yellow. Get off my flower!”
The European Bee, whose name was Tom, just kept gathering. “Oy, didn’t you hear me? Do I have to hover here for ages?” said Steveo, the Stingless Native Bee
Not used to being ignored, Steveo flew right up into the flower “Look at me,” he said right in Toms face, “It’s time we knew who owned what around this garden.”
“Now look around here,” said Steveo, “From up here all the orange flowers you can see are mine.”
“Are you even looking?” “Come up here and see what I’m talking about.” “Don’t make me come down there!” an exasperated Steveo said.
“Go on, off you go…..and don’t come back!”
“Now for a bit to gather and enjoy” “Don’t these stamen look a treat?”
“Mfheese rr tho gosth….nom nom nom”
“Hey Steveo, looks like you found a good supply there.” “Yeth,” said Steveo swallowing hard, “these are so good, want to come and share?” “No thanks, I’m off to Trevs place. I hear he has some coffee bushes flowering,” said Billy with a wry smile.
Nom nom nom. Steveo made sure that all bits of what the flower had to offer, going over the top and shuffling pollen into his pollen baskets below.
Going along the stamen like this gives……well I’ll let Steveo tell you. “As I move down, I scrape my rear legs where the pollen baskets are and pollen fills the baskets.” If you look really hard that little orange ball at the Native Bees rear is the pollen basket. It looks quite full to me.
Yesterday I noticed that some plants that I have in the garden for quite a while have finally flowered. They are from my bestie’s garden and from her uncles place.
Pavonia hastata. A small Hibiscus like flower
I know this one as Chinamans Hat. A species of Nightshade. Sometimes Blue Potato Bush as well
I am having another indecisive day. I am playing spin the wheel and see what flower it lands on in the flower folder. Todays flower is a cactus – Mammillaria bocasana v. splendens flower. I was taking photos in a nursery of flowers I had never seen before or for a long while.
So in my current mood you get not one but two Mammillaria bocasana v. splendens flower photos.
The one I spun and picked.
and the next photo which was in macro mode. Yes I just had to play around
Spreading to pendent shrub, parasitic on many species of rainforest trees, germination occurs on trees bark of a suitable host plant with a bit of the fruit spread by birds when they wipe sticky fruit pulp from their beaks.
Flowers are upright, attracting Mistletoe Birds, Lorikeets and Honeyeaters, mainly Summer.
The scent that surrounds the house at the moment is lovely. There are only two trees that have a few flowers but they smell heavenly in the afternoon and early morning.
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