The Natives!

Whilst I enjoy many of the Australian native plants, I have to say that our preference is for the exotics, interspersed amongst natives of our local area.

Please understand that this is simply our home garden and neither mr. davi nor I claim to be experts in any sort of gardening, but especially not with native plants.

Some of the native trees on our property include various varieties of Eucalypts, together with Banksias (Honeysuckles), Leptospermums (Tea-trees), Melaleucas (Honey Myrtle) and a lovely Brachychiton (Illawarra Flame tree).

Although native to Brazil, the Jacaranda tree is widely grown throughout Australia to the extent that it is frequently thought to be a native and we are fortunate to have a delightful specimen.

Tree ferns are one of the oldest forms of flora on earth and in our shaded areas we have a number. Amongst the native shrubs we have growing, are Callistemons (Bottle-brushes), Grevilleas (Spider flowers), Prostantheras (Mint bushes) and Brachycomes (Daisies).

Native to Western Australia are the Anigozanthos (Kangaroo Paws) which are now grown widely, and we are fortunate to have about a dozen of them. A tough but spectacular plant in flower, rich in nectar, they are very attractive to native birdlife which feed on the flowers borne on long and very flexible strong stems. The photo depicts the flowers of one of the red varieties in the foreground, with a Melaleuca in the background.

Kangaroo Paws Stand Alone

Here is one of my favourite photographs of some of our red Kangaroo Paws majestically reaching for the sky.

Just in case you may be wondering what we look like, here we are...

I am davi (davina_au) which is my chat name when I visit Yahoo! Garden Chat room in which I have made some great friends, who have become even more important to me following the deterioration in my health.

Our menagerie includes our golden Labrador Honey, Missy our grey and white cat, four Isa Brown Chooks (Chickens) and a pair of Chinese Brown Geese named Honky-tonk and Lucy. Together with the wild Ducks and other Native birds within and visiting our garden they are a constant source of delight and provide us with a most contented lifestyle.

Here's mr. davi, my greatest encourager throughout this little adventure of mine into cyberspace. He's the hard worker in our garden (davi just supervises!) and I thank him for his sheer enthusiasm and devotion to all aspects of our little bit o' dirt!

As the seasons change, or even when our camera captures different aspects of our garden, I will be keeping this website growing. It's a lot of fun for me and I certainly hope you're enjoying your visit.