This week has been rather busy. We finally had a decent amount of rain last weekend, meaning many plants have started growing more (they hadn’t been doing much growing due to the warm dry spell we have had). Of course, this means I have more work to do to keep everything looking good. Despite this, I have managed to get some photos, plus some from my trip into Sydney CBD a few weeks ago.

Firstly, it’s the start of the Agapanthus spp. flowering season. When they are mass planted, I think they look fantastic-it’s the removal of the spent flowers that takes an annoying amount of time! While they are flowering, I’ll enjoy them while I can, like with the one below just opening up.

I still love the Lilly pilly flowers below, even though I’m not a huge fan of this species overall. I think this is because it is often used as a hedge, but because it has fairly large leaves it never makes a good, neat hedge-it’s always a bit sparse looking.

I saw this flower below and really liked the bright red colour, which is why it’s here. As I didn’t know what this was, I had to try and find out what it was. It is Malvaviscus arboreus, often known as Turkcap, and many other names, depending on where you live. It is a native of Central America.

Every week, I am in the rose garden at work. I like taking photos of the best flowers every time I’m there. Each week, I end up with a new favourite as some of the roses have flowers change colour as they age and I find that really pretty. Other times, I find that a straight coloured red, yellow or white rose looks fantastic. It all depends on the day! It has also been nice to see bees enjoying the flowers as you can see on the yellow rose below. I also see lots of ladybirds around, who are thankfully keeping the aphids at bay!

Below are examples of what are commonly known as ‘grass trees’, with the genus name of Xanthorrhoea. They are yet another quirky looking Australian native plant that I often see when I go on my bush walks. In this instance, they are used in a more ornamental setting outside my local swimming pool. I thought I’d grab some photos while the flower stalks are still present.

Below are some of the flower displays located around Sydney CBD when I went for a trip out a couple of weeks ago. The council in this area always has flower displays dotted around, with the displays that I liked shown below.