Colours of summer…

Summer is vibrant. This year we are not in drought. The occasional shower passes over, enough to give the plants a welcome boost of moisture to temper the heat of the sun. Being on the coast the gentle afternoon sea breezes drift in keeping the temperature to a pleasant 28-30 degrees. So I’m actually enjoying this season.

But there are 2 months of summer still left. Things may change. So I potter around in the garden appreciating the beauty around me.

The Crepe Myrtle has just burst into an exuberant display of candy pink flowers with a background of the clear summer blue sky.

Or later in the afternoon, with the golden light turning it to a dusky display.The jaunty bromeliad and the Heliconia both love the heat and thrive for weeks They flare and burst into a blaze of red and say “look at me”.

This year I have been falling in love with annuals, creating a cottage style garden now that the palms have gone and the garden is flooded with light. Zinnias love this heat and the colours are so diverse

The delicate cosmos sways in the wind, but such a tough survivor. I planted them to remind me of the swathes of pink, white and purple lining the roads everywhere in South Korea and spilling into every spare gap.

I am also spreading Australian natives around and this Kangaroo Paw is making it’s mark. Behind it the new Grevillea “Peaches and Cream” is slowly establishing itself.Other natives are also filling gaps, but they mainly flower in winter and spring, so more of those in another post. I’m hoping they will eventually spread and fill the spaces that at the moment are covered by the annuals. There are 4 native shrubs tucked in this bed.But there is something else bobbing around here…

Jack has caught me unawares. Yes there I am like a busy bee keeping the weeds under control…

Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh, how beautiful,’ and sitting in the shade.

Rudyard Kipling

Jack’s creatures are keeping an eye on things too…

The gorgeous Poinciana and frangipani  are still flowering.

To finish on a more subdued note the white Peace Lily gleams among the dark green foliage.

“I grow plants for many reasons: to please my soul, to challenge the elements or to challenge my patience, for novelty, or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy in seeing them grow.” -David Hobson

There was a shower last night and I lay in bed rejoicing in the fact that I had just put in some dwarf marigold seedlings to replace the phlox that gave such a splendid show through spring. Now it is late afternoon time to go out into the garden and wander around, maybe some flowers need dead heading, maybe a stray weed or two will need pulling, maybe some rampant plants will need restraining, but mainly the garden needs to be admired and loved. Then sit awhile with a glass of wine as the sun goes down.