Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia

Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia

At the end of August we took our daughter to Adelaide Airport. She was on her way to teach for the rest of the year in Ethiopia. After seeing her off we drove to Botanic Park near the CBD of Adelaide. Here we had a picnic lunch before driving back home.

Adelaide’s park-lands are a feature of this beautifully planned city. The main park-lands, of which this is just one section, surround the CBD and separate it from the suburbs. It’s certainly a wonderful place to picnic and spend some time relaxing.

Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia

Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia

A visit to a native garden part 3

Australian native plants in an Adelaide Hills garden (Hardenbergia)

Over the last few days I have been sharing photos of flowers and plants in the garden of a friend. Today I feature the last of these photos, plus a bonus.

Our friends told us that a pair of Tawny Frogmouths had been resident in a tree just over the fence for some years. These birds had even raised several broods of young in recent times. It just happens to be one of my favourite birds too – and so easy to photograph!

Tawny Frogmouth

Australian native plants in an Adelaide Hills garden (Grevillea)

A visit to a native garden part 2

Australian native plants in an Adelaide Hills garden

As I wrote a few days ago my wife and I were invited to a friend’s garden a while back to take photos of flowers and cuttings for propagation. She and her husband had collected and grown a wide range of Australian native plants over many years; every spot in the property was utilised. They were about to sell and move elsewhere so we jumped at the opportunity for one last look.

I was particularly taken with the water features in the beautiful pots shown above. Such a simple way to grow, feature and display plants one does not usually see in your average house garden.

My next post in two days’ time will feature more flowers – and one of my feathered friends.

Australian native plants in an Adelaide Hills garden (Acacia)

Australian native plants in an Adelaide Hills garden

A visit to a native garden

Australian native plants in an Adelaide Hills garden

A while back now my wife and I were invited to a friend’s home in the Adelaide Hills. She and her husband had planted up every spare space in their ordinary suburban block with Australian native plants. They had just sold their property in order to down size their home, so we were invited to come and take photos and cuttings of whatever plants we liked. Over the next few days I will share photos of some of the plants flowering there. Please take note that this was in the middle of winter; it’s delightful how much was in flower.

Australian native plants in an Adelaide Hills garden

Australian native plants in an Adelaide Hills garden (Correa)

Nature walk, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park

Nature walk in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, NW Victoria

Sydney Trip June 2011

At this stage our two week holiday was rapidly drawing to a close. It was the last afternoon of our trip and it turned out to be the best weather of the whole time away. The sky was clear and bright, the sun warm on our backs and we even took off our jumpers despite it being mid-winter. For the last activity of our holiday we did the 45 minute Nature Walk near the entrance to Hattah-Kulkyne National Park in NW Victoria.

This short easy walk takes you through a variety of flora types, including mallee (eucalyptus species), native pines (Callitris species) and spinifex ( the low spiky plants shown in the photos above and below. We found a few plants flowering and were able to get several nice photos. The birding was a little slow and I didn’t get any good shots.

After a quick drink and bite to eat we headed off on the last 3 hours of our trip home. At Ouyen we stopped at the nationally famous bakery to buy something to eat along the way, knowing it would be quite late when we arrived home. At Murrayville we stopped briefly to have a cup of tea and enjoy the treats bought at the bakery. We arrived home in the dark, tired yet pleased to be heading off to our own bed again.

Nature walk in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, NW Victoria

Flowers on the Nature walk in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, NW Victoria

 

Nature walk in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, NW Victoria