Flowers to come home to

The weather was cold and windy, but Melbourne’s weather is lovely today. There was no wind so I managed to take some photos.

These plants have been left to fend for themselves over Melbourne’s winter while I was away, with a dripper that feeds water once a week. It was nice to come home to see some flowers :)

 

These plants have been untouched, so here are some blooms with spider webs.

This is the first time I am seeing so many of these Kalanchoe blooms. Maybe I should go away more often.

The Crassula Diane is a very hardy variety, and may have taken over some pots…

 

The Jade Plant is also quite hardy

Succulents all squished together – it’s survival of the fittest

If you can, grow tall – I’ve got to do something about these

And these…

There are lots to do… Happy gardening.

A few more photos…

I am getting confused with names of succulents. They are either Sedeverias, Sedums, Graptoverias, Aloes, Crassulas, Kalanchoes, Aeoniums  or some other “similar” sounding names…

Whatever they are called, I love them. Here are a few more from the balcony.

This photo prompted me to write the opening paragraph. I love this baby… but I cannot tell you the name unless I hunt for its tag…

Sometimes I come across Blue Chalk Stick as the name of this lovely plant. I think it’s easier to remember than Senecio…

 

Kalanchoe… I think this specie is easier to recognised by the shape of its leaves.

Echeveria and sedum… someone asked if this blue grey bloom was a ghost plant in an earlier post.  That would be an easier name to remember…

Sedum (probably)… wearing my Learner Gardener’s hat, this plant should not be classified as a succulent. Unlike the others, it loves water, so it messes up my watering routine. 

Visit Teri’s Painted Daisies on Monday for Cactus Monday links.

Vegetables

are less confusing, I think...

There truth is I’ve given up on vegetables. They also mess up my watering routine and I don’t cook enough… These are my last few photos.

Have you seen a lonelier chilli?

Vietnamese mint makes me feel good as a gardener, like I’ve done something right. It just grows and grows and keep growing….

Oregano is also a happy plant on my balcony.

I love the smell of Rosemary. I cannot help but touch it.

Happy Gardening!

I’ll be taking a break for a little while. Please visit my other blog, as I will still be Enjoying the Good Life.

Succulents pots

Happy weekend. 

Today I am sharing a couple of photos of my potted plants and one on my sempervivum.

A few kalanchoe flapjacks in the middle surrounded by crassula with yellow flowers, echeveria with buds on the right and Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana with red blooms.

 

A mixture of aeoniums and sempevivum in a shallow pot

 

And finally, zooming in to the sempervivum.

Have a nice weekend.

Agave Sketch and succulent blooms

 

Happy Cactus Monday.

House cleaning and watercolour painting go very well together. Today, I painted with watercolour. I am usually impatient when I have to wait for the paint to dry, so I went to and fro between painting and cleaning. That worked really well; I managed to let my paint dry and also cleaned the house :).

Here are a few photos from my balcony for Cactus Monday:

Red Kalanchoe

Echeveria - almost there...

Another red Kalanchoe

Sedum Gold Mound

Visit Teri’s Painted Daisies for more Cactus Monday links.

Have a nice week.

Colours

Happy Cactus Monday.

I am noticing some lovely colours on my succulent leaves recently.

I have never seen the leaves of my Jade Plant turn yellow and red before. I could never get excited about Jade Plants before, but now I am liking it a little more.

Lovely red around this leaf

And more…

 

Sedeveria Pats Pink will turn more pinkish when I take it outside the house….

Kalanchoe Flapjack in green and red

Can anyone id this?

A friend gave me this succulent a while ago, and I have no idea what it is. It started flowering recently. The flowers are quite sweet.

Here is a photo of the leaves… The plant is small (about 6 inches tall) and when the branches grow long, they fall over the side of the pot.

Is anyone able to id this succulent (See update below)? Would appreciate your response. Thanks.

Update: Thanks to Marianne, I am quite sure the above succulent is Kalanchoe Uniflora. I am really excited, having seen some amazing photos on the web. This plant has a prostate habit, thus is suitable for hanging baskets. It flowers in winter (which is right – it was winter in Australia a few weeks ago), and needs to be cut back in Spring. Fantastic to have flowers to brighten up winter.

Hope you have a nice week.

Thanks Teri for hosting Cactus Monday.

Do check out Teri’s Painted Daisies for more Cactus Monday links.

Spring flowers

It’s Springtime in Australia and a few flowers have bloomed and more are on the way…

Tiny Crassula Anomala flower

Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana with it’s silvery green neighbour Eremophila Glabra. This is an Australian native which flowered a few weeks ago (during winter).

 

Poor Graptoveria Debbie has suffered in the recent hailstorm… it’s scarred but it will look better when the flowers bloom

 

It’s neighbour is slightly ahead… surrounded by jelly beans.

Have a nice weekend.

Succulent and flowers

Happy Cactus Monday.

I am sharing a few photos I took at a restaurant. Hope you enjoy these.

And a few more, these are taken on my balcony (below). 

  

 

Have a nice week. Visit Teri’s Painted Daisies for more Cactus Monday links.

Silvery bushes

Happy Fertilizer Friday. It has been raining the past two days, so I had to find some photos from my archive. Today’s post is on two silvery plants that I love.

Fabulous as a contrast plant for the garden…

The silvery plant in the photo is called Cushion Bush (Leucophyta brownii), an Australian native plant. The foliage makes the cushion bush a great contrast shrub for the garden. It likes a sunny position and good drainage. A drought and salt tolerant plant, it requires low maintenance and is suitable for coastal gardens. The plant caught my eye when I saw it along the beach, growing amongst succulents. 

  
Cushion Bush and succulents by the beach 

I have bought a little Cushion Bush plant, and I’m still thinking how best to work with it. Temporarily, it’s planted with my kalanchoe (below) and a few other succulents.

Kalanchoe and Cushion Bush

 

Hardy, pretty and smells sweet

Another lovely silvery plant is the Powis Castle. It would make a good companion plant for succulents. They need  little water, full sun and well-drained soil. The Powis Castle can be planted by the sea. And a plus for me is that they smell nice.

I had three, now I have none unfortunately. I made the mistake of throwing them away when they got windblown and grew crooked. What was I thinking! Actually I wasn’t and that was the problem. I might get one when I go to the garden centre… This photo was taken a few months ago.

Powis Castle

 

 

Have a fantastic weekend.

Please visit Fertilizer Friday to see what’s happening in other gardens.