DESKTOP 3330 - SPRING SKY

A camellia blooming under a bright blue Spring sky.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3329 - EXIT WINTER, ENTER SPRING

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

DESKTOP 3323 - SPRING SKY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3315 - EVERLASTING DAISY

Helichrysum ‘Silvery Rose’. This hybrid can  be grown in a variety of garden situations from the perennial to dry garden or a flower meadow. The long flowering performer is an excellent cut flower and the ultimate dried flower which holds the intense colour for long-lasting beauty.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

DESKTOP 3305 - WONDERBOX

A little box where I've assembled some treasures. Each one has a story, each has lots to tell, each lovely to hold, wonderful to look at...

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3294 - CAMELLIAS

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

DESKTOP 3291 - DREAM OF THE TROPICS

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3288 - SUNRISE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3286 - STIRRINGS OF SPRING

Stirrings of Spring are making themselves felt in the Southern Hemisphere. We have been enjoying a few sunny, fine days in wintry Melbourne with the sun making us cast off a few layers of clothes. Perfect weather for a walk, during which one discovers that nature has awakened from its Winter slumber.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 3277 - PIANOFORTE

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3261 - MYSTERIOUS

Is it a dog? Maybe a rabbit! Or is it a bilby? Perhaps a joey... Could even be a straying juvenile bunyip? ;-)

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

DESKTOP 3219 - YELLOW GUM

Eucalyptus leucoxylon  or 'Yellow Gum' is a medium-sized Eucalyptus tree which reaches 10-30 metres in height. The bark is retained on the lower trunk but the upper trunk and branches are smooth-barked and cream to grey in colour. The adult leaves are lance-shaped to about 200 mm long. The flowers are usually seen in autumn and winter and may be white, cream, pink or red. 

This is a popular tree in cultivation, particularly subsp. megalocarpa which often has red or pink flowers (often called 'Rosea'). It is generally regarded as a more reliable red-flowered species for humid climates than Corymbia ficifolia, the Western Australian red flowering gum. However, as it is native to a dry-summer climate, it is not reliable in tropical areas. It performs best in well-drained, moist soils but, once established is tolerant of extended dry conditions.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 3207 - BUSY BEE

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

DESKTOP 3205 - KING PROTEA

The king protea (Protea cynaroides) is a flowering plant. It is a distinctive member of the Proteas, having the largest flower head in the genus. The species is also known as giant protea, honeypot or king sugar bush. It is widely distributed in the southwestern and southern parts of South Africa in the fynbos region.  The king protea is the national flower of South Africa. It also is the flagship of the The Protea Atlas Project, run by the South African National Botanical Institute.

The king protea has several colour forms and horticulturists have recognised 81 garden varieties, some of which have injudiciously been planted in its natural range. In some varieties the pink of the flower and red borders of leaves are replaced by a creamy yellow. This unusual flower has a long vase life in flower arrangements, and makes for an excellent dried flower.  Protea cynaroides is adapted to survive wildfires by its thick underground stem, which contains many dormant buds; these will produce the new growth after the fire. The plant has adapted well to growth in Australia. 

It is a woody shrub with thick stems and large dark green, glossy leaves. Most plants are one metre in height when mature, but may vary according to locality and habitat from 0.35 m to 2 metres in height. The "flowers" of Protea cynaroides are actually composite flower heads (termed an inflorescence) with a collection of flowers in the centre, surrounded by large colourful bracts. The flowerheads vary in size, from about 120 mm to 300 mm in diameter. Large, vigorous plants produce six to ten flower heads in one season, although some exceptional plants can produce up to forty flower heads on one plant. The colour of the bracts varies from a creamy white to a deep crimson, but the soft pale pink bracts with a silvery sheen are the most prized. 

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 3203 - BURANO, ITALY

Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy; like Venice itself, it could more correctly be called an archipelago of four islands linked by bridges. It is situated near Torcello at the northern end of the Lagoon, and is widely known for its fine lace work, which is very expensive because it is extremely time-consuming to make. 

Burano is also known for its small, brightly painted houses, which are popular with photographers and artists. The colours of the houses follow a specific system originating from the golden age of its development. If someone wishes to paint their home, one must send a request to the local government authority, which will respond by making notice of the certain colours permitted for that lot.

Other attractions include the Church of San Martino, with a leaning campanile and a painting by Giambattista Tiepolo (Crufixion, 1727), the Oratorio di Santa Barbara and the Museum and School of Lacemaking.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

DESKTOP 3194 - GLASSY

Decorative sculpted glass with backlighting.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 3192 - SUNRISE SONG

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3191 - FRENCH LAVENDER

Lavandula stoechas (French lavender, Spanish lavender, or topped lavender) is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, occurring naturally in Mediterranean countries. It is an evergreen shrub, usually growing to 30–100 cm tall and occasionally up to 2 m high in the subspecies luisieri.

The leaves are 1–4 cm long, greyish and tomentose. The flowers, which appear in late spring and early summer, are pink to purple, produced on spikes 2 cm long at the top of slender, leafless stems 10–30 cm long; each flower is subtended by a bract 4–8 mm long. At the top of the spike are a number of much larger, sterile bracts (no flowers between them), 10–50 mm long and bright lavender purple (rarely white).

This species is more fragile than common English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), as it is less winter hardy; but harsher and more resinous in its oils. Like other lavenders, it is associated with hot, dry, sunny conditions in alkaline soils. However, it tolerates a range of situations, though it may be short-lived. Selected forms are grown as ornamental plants. The cultivar 'Willow Vale' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 3178 - GOOD FRIDAY SKY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

DESKTOP 3177 - JAPANESE ANEMONES

Anemone hupehensis, Anemone hupehensis var. japonica, and Anemone × hybrida (commonly known as the Chinese anemone or Japanese anemone, thimbleweed, or windflower) are species of flowering herbaceous perennials in the Ranunculaceae family. A. hupehensis is native to central China, though it has been naturalised in Japan for hundreds of years.

The species was first named and described in Flora Japonica (1784), by Carl Thunberg. Thunberg had collected dried specimens while working as a doctor for the Dutch East Indies Company. In 1844, Robert Fortune brought the plant to England from China, where he found it often planted about graves.

Height is 1–1.5 m and the leaves have three leaflets. Flowers are 40–60 mm across, with 5-6 (or up to 20 in double forms) sculpted pink or white petals and prominent yellow stamens, blooming from midsummer to autumn. These plants thrive best in shady areas and under protection of larger plants. They are especially sensitive to drought or overwatering. They can be invasive or weedy in some areas, throwing out suckers from the fibrous rootstock, to rapidly colonise an area. Once established they can be extremely difficult to eradicate. On the other hand, they can take some time to become established.

 This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.