Spring is in the air again here in Sydney and I have been rather busy. This is a good thing as when I’m one of those who needs to be busy at work-why bother having a job when you can’t be bothered working? Being a busy week hasn’t stopped me finding interesting features of plants while I’m out and about.
This is African wood-sorrel (Oxalis pes-caprae). It is a weed as it is growing through the juniper, but the yellow flowers are really lovely and cheerful.
Again, I have another weed that has pretty flowers. This is common vetch, or Vicia sativa. Again, this was growing through my junipers. Being a legume, it has the benefit of being able to add nitrogen to the soil, with the aid of some bacteria in special root nodules. Nature can be interesting-it has many different ways to function well and this is one example.
Camellias are always great in winter here in Australia-even though it feels like spring has started, it is still technically winter!
This is common juniper, or Juniperus communis. The form this has taken is a ground covering shrub, that looks really nice when it doesn’t have weeds growing through it! I prefer junipers in most cases when compared to other conifers, apart from those in the genus Araucaria, which contains the monkey puzzle tree of America and the bunya bunya tree of Australia.
I love the flowers on the jade plant (Crassula ovata), especially the smell. Close up, they are really delicate. Unfortunately, this one isn’t mine but still looks really good.
I include this photo as this included just because it is a great sign spring. I love it at this time of year as everything starts growing and coming back to life with the promise of flowers, fresh food and plenty of wildlife appearing-three of my favourite things.
Fringe flowers (Loropetalum chinense) are also a favourite of mine, just because the flowers are a little unusual.
Yellow isn’t usually a favourite colour of mine, but wattle flowers always make me smile. They are so vibrant and showy.
If you ever wondered what a camellia fruit looks like, here is an example.
Finally, just because I think eucalyptus trees look really good, here is a fine example.
