Sydney’s summer in the suburbs

We recently spent a week in Sydney, house-sitting for Paul’s brother, Martin and his wife Kris.

Paul’s mother is 96 years old this week, so it was a wonderful opportunity for Paul to spend some time with her every day.

Martin and Kris live in a leafy suburb, with many trees, colourful flowers and cool green lawns. Sydney gets a much higher rainfall than Canberra, so we are always somewhat blinded by this bright sunny green city.

We soon found a walking track with a notice saying, “A Blue Gum High Forest in your Backyard”

Some thoughtful planners have managed to preserve land in the suburb to keep a small amount of Blue Gum forest. There is a path through the forest, and it is a bonus for suburban dwellers to have this small forest within reach of walking every day.

The Blue Gum High Forest only occurs in Northern Sydney. It gets its name from the tall Eucalyptus saligna, or Sydney Blue Gum with its distinctive smooth bark and trunk.

The timber of the Blue Gum high forest was valuable to Sydney’s early settlement, and ongoing clearing, farming, development and weed invasion meant that less than 5% of the original forest remains in the world.

Needless to say, all the birds love the Blue Gums, and cockatoos gather amongst the trees every day. ( a mixed blessing).

Paul and I have also been inspired by the wonderful garden Kris has made…

When we arrived the Flowering Pink Gum tree had just started to flower…

and the day we were leaving the beautiful Flowering Gum put on a show for us, and the Rainbow Lorikeets did the same!

We are back in Canberra now, after an enjoyable week in Sydney.

We are so impressed with Kris’s Flowering Gum Tree, we are going to try growing one ourselves.

Many thanks for reading my blog post today, and best wishes to everyone, especially friends and relatives in New Zealand who have been battling the elements for some time.

Copyright Geraldine Mackey: All Rights Reserved.

16 Replies to “Sydney’s summer in the suburbs”

  1. My gosh, what a beautiful place! To think there is a forest in the suburbs. Love, the trees, love the birds, love the flowers. This post is sheer delight. A very happy birthday to Paul and Martin’s mother.

    1. Thanks Laurie, I think it was quite a feat to manage to keep a bit of forest in suburbia! I thought the birds and flowers deserved to be in a post.

    1. Yes, I agree the flowering pink gum is a delight…these flowering gum trees are generally not frost tolerant, however my neighbour has successfully grown one here in Canberra, so it is worth a try.

  2. What a beautiful garden and interesting tree. I looked up Flowering Gum Tree so I was able to learn something new. Nice week in a different landscape and opportunity to visit family. I’ll be heading out this morning to move the snow from yesterday before a second storm expected tomorrow so your beautiful photos including those handsome birds were certainly welcome.

    1. Thanks Judy, it was a good opportunity to take photos of the birds. I hope the second snow storm is not too severe, by the end of February I’m sure you are getting tired of moving snow! Best wishes.

    1. Thanks Sylvia, yes it was lovely for Paul to spend time with his Mom. How is your husband’s Mom, wasn’t she nearly 100 years old?

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