This wonderful Sturt Desert Pea, from the desert of Central Australia, seems to be singing..
‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas..”
Canberra is nowhere near the desert in Central Australia, but the Sturt Desert Pea grows here in the Desert Garden of the Australian National Botanical Gardens.
Canberra usually becomes very hot, and dry-looking the closer we get to Christmas, but this year we’ve had unexpected rain, and the Brindabella Mountains stayed blue for a long time.
The development of the Arboretum in Canberra was very controversial at first….one hundred forests of trees from all over the world were planted.
This was an act of faith really because a ten year drought had not long ended. However, we have had regular rain since then, and despite the difficulties there may be, the Arboretum looks stunning now, and is a great tourist attraction….
Not far from the south side of Canberra, (where I live) is Namadgi National Park…
These last couple of years, with abundant grasses and vegetation, there has been an explosion of babies in spring….
On the edge of Namadgi is Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve…used by bushwalkers, and families alike, and it is a joy to see all the animals and birds around after a rainy day..
I believe two new koala babies have been born since our visit…
…closer to home, one kindly gardener has planted red hot pokers, red geraniums, and blue agapanthus along the verge next to her house…it looks wonderful in the morning sunshine, and the red hot pokers are stunning against the white trunk of the Eucalypt tree.
I often walk along the backtracks (fire trails) with Paul and also with friends and neighbours..
Paul had just finished painting the deck (luckily it was dry) when an unexpected hail storm occurred.
It only lasted about 15 minutes but caused some damage around the neighbourhood.
Luckily no damage for us, but most of the plants looked a bit bedraggled….. one minute it is 33 degrees Celsius and the next minute there are pieces of ice in pot plants!
These Liliums and the Gazanias get the prize for resilience….they began flowering again the next day.
The Gazanias must wonder what is going on here….one day a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is lopping its flowers, the next….pieces of ice are landing in the pot!
My favourite part of summer is sitting on the deck having breakfast, the sound of sprinklers and happy birds flying in and out of the water.
So much fresh stone fruit to add to our breakfast… the birds eat from our fruit trees and we buy ours from the markets…something seems wrong with that equation….but where would be we without them?
yes…its beginning to look a lot like Christmas….
The Good Food website has this variation on a Pavlova (an Australian/New Zealand favourite summer dessert) …and there is another one with honeycomb…they are worth looking at…
Season’s greeting to everyone, and thank you for your company this year, I’ve enjoyed writing about Canberra’s Green Spaces, and travelling the world through blogs I read, and the people I’ve met.
…best wishes to you all, and may you have enough time to enjoy family and friends and green spaces (or snowy white spaces from the comfort of your warm fire..) where ever you are in the world.
Copyright: Geraldine Mackey All Rights Reserved.
