Bren’s Floral Friday: FF#55
A native Wisteria that grows on my place

Cee’s FOTD
The Ragtag Daily Prompt for Tuesday: Garden
Have a quick wander about my garden.
Blue-banded Bees like dropping in
When the pink Crocus flowers the Stingless Native Bees all come around
One of the wheelbarrow gardens with Hippeastrums
The Frangipanni flowers scent fills the air
The Bromiliads flower too
One of my favourite flowers – Cats Whiskers
The Dietis look great buit trhey are taking over in places in the garden
One of the many Hibiscus flowers
The Agapanthus put on a show around the garden borders
The garden is a place to relax
Even Long-necked Tortoise stroll through heading to the dam
Every now and then when working in the garden, I surprise a frog. The Broad-palmed Frog took a while to wake before hopping off
Lots of Bottlebrush flowers
The Pelagoniums add colour
There is always help in the garden
So many Grevilleas too
The Native Wisteria winds its way among the foliage
Always wear gloves and shoes as you never know who you might disturb. The Mouse Spider was rather fiesty
The Bullants let you know if you are getting too close to their nest
Every now and then another variety of fungus appears
The garden is a lovely place to raise a family
The fruit trees look wonderful in Spring
and of course the garden is home to lots and lots of birds from the smallest Honeyeater, the Scarlet Honeyeater
to the larger birds like the Satin Bowerbirds
The word prompt from Debbie at Travel with Intent: Purple
Check out Debbies Purple – click on the above link – It is stunning and I was thinking what do I have that’s purple to be able to contribute to this photo challenge. There is no way I can do wonderful lights like Debbies post. But I do live in a city which just had it’s Jacaranda Festival and has Jacaranda trees. But I wanted more so it’s floral all the way.
Here’s my bit of Purple
Better start with a Jacaranda tree
Purple berries from a native vine
Looking into a Torenia flower
Another Native flower from my place. Haven’t identified it as yet.
The Native Wisteria or Wild Sarsparilla that grows all over my place
and a regular Wisteria with bonus Wanderer Butterfly
Purple Pansies
Another purple flower I found somewhere
Wonderful Water Lilies
Another Australian Native flower found on the coast, Purple Fringe Lily
My old mates Iris
Back to the streets of Grafton
Thought about a song. Here is the original from 1958
Please have a look at some of the fabulous flowers that have been sent to Beckys Square in September
I thought it was time for some Australian native flower. In August the Native Wisteria entwines among the Fringe Wattle blooms throughout my property. I love the purple and yellow.
I do seem to have a lot of favourite photos from August. I have done quite a hard cull. I hope you are able to get through all of this blog. It was a busier than usual month. The rain hasn’t come and the place is dry now. It is a pity the dam I use for around the garden leaked as it was full in Autumn and that would normally have seen me through Winter until the Spring storms arrive. Being so dry the number of birds are reduced but I have maintained the water points around the garden for the birds and animals. I almost feel like a bad parent, selecting the plants to water and hoping the others will hang in there until I start the pump and give the garden a good soaking.
Enough of the sob story and let’s get started with the things I found in August.
I just love the colour of this leaf.
Late one afternoon while I was searching for a new log to cut firewood, I went down to the water hole. This water hole has never dried even in some of the severe droughts in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Camera settings 1/320 F6.5 ISO 800
Driving about the property, mainly gathering firewood and pulling lantana out, I often come across a family of White-winged Choughs as they patrol the bush, walking about looking under leaves and bark for insects. It was good to see that this family group has grown from five to seven.
The wily Currawong was sitting in the Bottlebrush waiting for an unsuspecting small Honeyeater to drop in for a meal.
At the small paddock dam, in reality a wetland now, the Peaceful Dove was walking down the slope heading for a drink.
In one of the water points I have placed a stick so if a bird falls into the old drum, they have something to grab onto and get out. The Yellow-faced Honeyeaters like sitting on the stick after having a drink or plopping in the water for a bath.
The main sounds that were echoing through the bush in August were the calls of the Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. They loved feasting on the Bottlebrushes.
The Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike was surveying the scene at Modenville.
One morning the Bowerbird was eating the grass for breakfast. It had quite a number of beak-fulls before it flew off.
The Bowerbird looked stunning in the afternoon light.
I love having King Parrots around. Their whistle resounds through the bush.
A Restless Flycatcher dropped in for an afternoon.
The Superb Fairy Wrens were bustling about the garden at Modenville hardly sitting long enough for a photo.
The little Variegated Fairy Wren was very busy with his flock of females as they explored the garden at Binna Burra.
I wondered what had happened to my beautiful blooms on my Cyclamen and then I saw the culprit. It is almost like the caterpillar has a straw in its mouth.
I found this tiny “house” that an insect has constructed on the bark of a block of firewood I had cut. I have bought it home and hope to see what come out of this beautifully constructed nest.
I found this beetle marching with purpose along a log.
The Common Jezebals have been flying about the bush and garden for a few weeks. When they fly they have an intense stroboscopic pattern flashing of black and white. When the wings are flat you can see the predominately white side of the wings.
I love it when there is an unexpected spider on a flower or seed head as well as small grasshoppers and ants. The seed head is about the size of a 20 cent piece.
This is the rest of the spike
There is a lot of native flowers popping up this August. It was unseasonably very warm. A lovely circle of yellow flowers about the size of a 10 cent piece.
I called this flower a Buttercup but it’s probably not. The leaves are similar to Oxalis.
Look how hairy the leaves are and the flower has a lovely reddish brown centre.
The Egg and Bacon plant is growing on the top of the dam wall. The flowers are beautiful and yes the leaves are spiky. A great place for small birds to escape into.
I call this vine a Native Wisteria. It is also called False Sarsaparilla and a few other names. It looks lovely when the vine entwines with a wattle threading purple among the wattle flowers.
Scattered throughout the bush these little star shaped flowers are easy to miss as they are about ten millimeters across.
The Bottlebrush flower is photo-bombed by a Stingless Native Bee.
This Grevillea flower is called Lemon Daze.
Isn’t the inside of this flower interesting?
Love the colour of these flowers.
Pansys. Who doesn’t love smiling Pansy faces. The colours are spectacular.
The camera can’t catch the deep purple of these Pansys
One August afternoon the sunset was spectacular.
I love the effect of the hills and trees on the horizon.
One of my Canon Powershot camera setting is called “Creative”. It takes a number of photos with different setting. This one made the sun look explosive.
Looks like the sun has set so goodbye and thanks for stopping by.
I have not kept up to date with my blog. It is already half way through September and the start of Spring has gone. I too so many photos in August that I have to have a second go at putting my photos and things into writing.
Lately I have been walking along my road and as usual, my camera has been to hand. Some of the photos have been from around the neighbourhood whilst other photos have been at home. This first lot are typical of the bush in and around my place. The Fringe Wattles looked lovely this year and the spur my house is on is surrounded by the yellow of the wattles.
The small puffs of yellow encompass the whole wattle tree.
The Native Sarsparilla also bloom at this time of year.
They both look lovely as the Sarsparilla entwines around the Fringe Wattle
The Paperbarks certainly flowered well this season. The air was full of the scent from the flowers which attracted all sorts of insects. How many can you see?
Here are more insects in the flowers of the Paperbark. Mostly the insects get right down into the flower stem so only their bums are visible.
The Coastal Rosemary flowers are quite pretty don’t you think?
I am not sure what this little hairy leafed bush is. I called it Egg and Bacon plant but I am not sure. Can anyone help out with what this flower is please?
I love the colours of Spring. Even the leaves can have such great shades of colour. Plus there is a bonus insect!!!
The Double-barred Finches have been feasting on the grass seed. This one looks particularly portly at it sat high on the powerline.
They have lovely markings. I like their blue beak.
The Red-browed Finches were having fabulous snacks in the tall native grasses along the side of the road.
A late comer to the last of the Bottlebrush flowers, (see the previous blog), was the Brown Honeyeater.
The Friarbirds loved having a bath in the neighbours dam. They were diving in from a great height.
Away in the distance I could hear the “chwit-chwit-chwit-peter-peter-peter” call of a Jacky Winter. Perched high on the dead tree, it was quite happy wagging its tail back and forth chittering away.
Further down the road, a Little Friarbird was enjoying the last rays of the day.
Often when I am sitting in my study, I have eyes that peer in through the door or window. This day the Female Satin Bowerbird was looking in.
Quite often White-throated Treecreepers are spotted jumping up the trunks of trees. This is the first time I have been able to get a photo of one who took its time on its hunt for food.
On the walk up the road I was very excited to see a couple of Grey-headed Babblers forage for insects among the dead wood and leaf litter on the property next door. I have seen them in the forest on my place but I was lucky enough to see them in the cleared land next door. I love their fluffy pants.
The Rainbow Bee Eaters were having a splendid time zooming about the cleared paddock up the road. The many dead trees offered a great vantage point to watch for unsuspecting insects flying about.
Every now and then, a group would gather to tell about the day and to keep a look out for flying insects. Their heads were always swivelling about as they say and chatted in the trees.
So that’s the end of my start to Spring. I hope you have enjoyed my walk up the road.
It seems like ages since I had time to sit down and look through the photos I have taken over the past few weeks. Some of these are from the end of February as I decided to just do the butterflies. I took a lot of butterfly photos in February and since then, have even taken more. I was asked about taking butterfly photos and had to say that out of twenty or so photos, there is usually only a couple that are ok.
This blog hasn’t any butterflies but has some other insects that I came across when walking around the garden or other people’s gardens. I was getting buzzed by this black insect. It wouldn’t go away but finally tuckered itself out and sat on a leaf.
I also spend a bit of time chasing bees around gardens. Coming in for a landing with rear legs full of pollen.
It took a bit of wrangling to get the caterpillar a bit angry to expose his red antennae while holding the camera in one hand and keeping the spikes on the bush lemon at bay as well.
Always have a close look inside of flowers. You never know who you may find!
I love these little orchid flowers. They grow on long stalks and this year have been flowering all the time.
The tiny Native Wisteria flowers are so perfect as they gradually open along the stem giving a blush of colour throughout the garden.
One of the old cottage style Hibiscus flowers. One of the original plants over thirty years old in my besties garden.
I found hundreds of small flowers growing on the breakwall at Ballina.
The Pink Bloodwoods were covered in blossoms, with bees buzzing about making a bit of a racket.
I was walking through the bush at my place when I came across a small shrub covered in white flowers. I haven’t seen this plant in flower before. It is quite pretty isn’t it?
Here are the flowers up close. Can anyone tell me the name of the shrub please?
I love the Tiger Lillies when they bloom, adding a splash of colour through the garden.
While we endured six months of no rain towards the end of last year, my favourite Honey Gem Grevillea suffered with the lack of water and still hasn’t flowered as strongly as it has in the past. Luckily the Pink Euodia has stepped up for the birds with bunches of flowers covering it, attracting so many birds. The Rainbow Lorikeets did their usual antics, hanging upside down to get a snack.
The Little Friarbirds kept an eye on the lorikeets when they popped in for lunch.
This is the first time I have seen the Scaly-breasted Lorikeets at my place. They only stayed for a couple of days.
The Musk Lorikeets returned to feast on the Euodias bounty.
They are so striking with their red heads, cheeks and beak
I really love the smallest of Australia’s Honeyeaters, the Scarlett Honeyeater. They can sit on top of the blossoms and not even bend the boughs at all.
They look so lovely among the pink flowers
They really are like “tiny red jewels” among the foliage around the garden.
One rainy day, I heard some disgruntled squawks and found some less that appreciative Rainbow Lorikeets sitting in the rain.
As always, the Kookaburra kept an eye out for any small creature or insect to wander across the grass. I was going to say lawn but that would be stretching the truth a long way.
The Galahs in the reserve behind the beach at Ballina found the Casuarina nuts irresistible.
Down at the water’s edge, a Seagull looked wistfully out to sea.
The Seagull kept an eye on us in case we had some chips.
Some birds have shown their funny side. I wonder if this is why this one is called a Drongo.
The Wedged-tailed Eagle is the biggest bird. I spotted one down by the side of the road ripping into a Wallaby road kill while it’s mate and the young one sat in a nearby tree. I didn’t notice them until one glided off the branch and into the forest leaving the young one. It sat there for a while until it too flew off. Such magnificent birds.
Well it’s time to kick back and relax. If anyone knows the names of any of the flowers or insects in this blog, please let me know. Thanks
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