moonvoice | Photo/s of the day. Koondoola.

It's definitely spring,
but early spring. In a couple of weeks,
it'll be pretty incredible.
As it is
Koondoola is always pretty incredible.
It's obvious to see why.

Donkey orchid. Diurnis magnifica

Astrolobium xerophyllum. Beautiful. But damn if they aren't super prickly. The flowers are really robust too, not soft, despite the way they look.

Calectasia grandiflora. Yay! This one has a common name! Which is the Blue Tinsel Lily. The flower with the yellow stamen on the right is new, the flowers with the red stamens are old. It's not uncommon for Western Australian flowers (particularly stamens) to age to a vivid red as the flower ages. This is to attract different animals over a period of time.

Cat's Paw. These are, of course, related to Kangaroo Paws, except they grow much lower to the ground, and have this lovely yellow-to-red gradation. They are as fuzzy as they look. And it's a lovely soft-fuzzy, instead of prickly-fuzzy. Like velvet.

Cat's Paw

Conostylis. Conostylis are also related to Kangaroo Paws. However, unlike the cat's paw, there are so many different species - particularly in kwongan bushland - that they can be difficult to identify specifically.

Another species of conostylis. Both this, and the one above, are not yet in full flower. These are the yellow buds, and they will open in about a week.

Milkweed

Cowslip orchid. I have never, in over 10 years of visiting Koondoola, seen as many cowslip orchids as there were this year. Usually they're only in one spot, but you have a fairly decent chance of seeing them pretty much along any of the northern / centre paths (if you keep your eyes open, that is).

Cowslip orchids

Donkey Orchid. Diurnis magnifica

Kangaroo Paw. Anigozanthus menziesii; Western Australia's national flower. Yes, just as fuzzy as it looks. Popular in gardens because they're so hardy, drought resistant, and produce beautiful flowers. But get really straggly after two years, and need to be split (they're rhizome based) and whipper-snippered or hacked down to ground level.

Blue Lechenaultia - Too lazy to find the species for you.

Native violets.

West heading East

A different West heading East

North heading South

A member of the pea family. That's probably not specific enough for you guys though, is it? Here, have a scientific name: Daviesia incrassata. My favourite Daviesia. These things look SO AMAZING.

Don't believe me?

Still don't believe me?

Now I'm just wallowing in pretty.

Yet another member of the pea family. Easily a Daviesia (and most likely closely related to Daviesia costata, but with 90 species of Daviesia in Western Australia alone, all my 'wildflowers of South Western Australia' still don't have enough space to cover all the variations. So, 'just a species of Daviesia' will have to do.

This one's easy. Swan River Myrtle. Very common.

The Yellow-Throated Miner we saw. Taking a breather, after duking it out with two red wattlebirds. Resting in a Menzie's banksia.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

perzephone

I'm noticing that many of your flowering plants have waxy flowers. I dunno why, but I've always liked waxy flowers, maybe because they are tougher than the temperate species, but just as beautiful. I <3 desert flora so hard :)

From:

moonvoice

Waxiness helps to keep the water in. :) I really like waxy flowers too, they last a long time, and are durable. Such great cut flowers!

From:

feralkiss

I looove your pictures of the bushland.

Also your Daviesia incrassata reminded me a little of our Ulex parviflorus somehow (because then the flowers open like this and I love seeing how similar-yet-different our climates and lands can be. ^^

Edited Date: 2011-08-30 10:19 am (UTC)

From:

moonvoice

Ooo, that Ulex parviflorus is really pretty!

From:

toeknuckles

Holy shit I want to visit WA!

From:

moonvoice

YES PLEASE!

From:

azhure

Gah, I *love* the two West Facing East photos. I am such a sucker for any photo or picture with a pathway in it :)

From:

moonvoice

The pathways in Koondoola are pretty charming too. Unless of course you turn off onto one of the ones that's still sand. And then it's like 'UGH. SAND.'

From:

skyfiery

The astrolobium xerophyllum flower actually looks very much like some hoya flowers. I like!

The Blue Tinsel Lily and the Cat's/Kangaroo Paws are my favorites because the latter two are FUUUUUZZZZEEEEEHHHH and the former's color is just amazing. :D

From:

moonvoice

Yeah, blue tinsel lilies are really amazing; small too! More of a herbaceous habit than anything. :D

From:

redsixwing

Wow, even more pea relatives! Those Daviesia incrassata are amazing. That huge clump of them, I just don't even. *sputter*

Swan River Myrtle is really pretty, too. Ooh.

From:

moonvoice

They grow in a shrub that's about 1 metre by 1 metre (sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less), and flowers all at once, so if you imagine a shrub that big, flowering like that, in the bushland it's kind of amazing. They're like little fiery beacons.

From:

herlander_refugee

Those ARE beautiful shots! I have a potted kangaroo paws....got just this year because it was so nifty-new.

Now...how do I keep it alive, lol?

From:

moonvoice

Potted kangaroo paws? Pretty easy really; a slow release, low-phosphorus fertiliser specifically for Australian natives applied once a year; and if you can't find that - nothing. Don't worry about it. (Nitrogen based fertilisers can be a bit much for kangaroo paws). Not too much watering (if you see black spots occurring on the leaves, step back on the watering a bit and clean them off gently with a dry tissue), and loves full sun once it's established. You can dig in and split it into new pots after about two years. :)

From:

herlander_refugee

Will I need to bring it indoors to protect it from freezing?
They sell it as an annual here...so I suspect it is not cold hardy.

From:

moonvoice

Ah yeah, if it's sold as an annual, it might not do so well through the Winters. It generally prefers full sunlight, and has a very low tolerance for frost; prolonged frost / snow will kill it. So that might be why it's sold as an annual? Taking it inside might help if you can still get it exposed to sunlight (I'm not sure how much sunlight you get during your Winter). :)

From:

herlander_refugee

Formerly, I would have said it could have lived happily in my south window. But since we put new windows in about four years ago...I dont' know. They have a heat blocker in them, some of my other plants have died and I suspect it is because the windows block some bit of the spectrum that they need! They don't tell you THAT when they sell the windows...perhaps in my almost done bathroom with glass blocks for a large opening? No special coating there, but also the not so bright north side.

From:

ariestess

These are all gorgeous, but I am particularly enamored of the Donkey Orchid and the native Violets.

From:

moonvoice

I love donkey orchids so much. The violets are really fragile, and don't last that long, but so pretty! And often on the edges of paths, so hard to miss.

From:

ariestess

*nods* Violets are some of my favorite flowers period.

From:

jensurvivor

I BELIEVE YOU!!

They sell the cat's paws up here as a cut flower for florists. Very beautiful landscapes!

@perzephone, I believe the waxy flowers preserve moisture inside their tissues from evaporation

From:

moonvoice

I had no idea that they sold cat's paws as cut flowers for florists, how awesome!!! :D Although, now you say it, it makes total sense.

From:

jensurvivor

I think what you call milkweed is very different from what we call milkweed up here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milkweed

From:

moonvoice

Ooo, that Asclepias family is so pretty! Thank you for the link!

I think that's the problem with common names; that different countries will appropriate the same ones to mean often different things. I looked at the Milkweed (Disambiguation) bit and it had yet another link to another different type of milkweed. Maybe people just like the name. :D

From:

jensurvivor

yes, I've taken to learning latin names in spite of myself.
The Asclepias family has a milky sap. It is one of the only foods of the larvae of monarch butterflies.

From:

jaspenelle

Oooo peas! My favorite species of plant. Those are STUNNING! I do not suppose you could be talked into posting a 1280x768 (my computer wallpaper size) photo of one of those peas (peafamily03.) So so so so pretty and (favorite colour alert) ORANGE! Love love love. (Asking because I understand completely if it is no, but you never ever get a yes if you don't ask. ^^)

That Donkey Orchid is simply stunning too. I'll never understand why people always go for the non-natives, so much beauty in the local flora and fauna.

From:

moonvoice

I don't know if I really have the time at the moment, but, that being said, is there any particular pea photo you'd like as a wallpaper the most? And I'll see what I can do. :)

From:

jaspenelle

The file name is 08282011-peafamily03.jpg (the one with a whole tangle of peas.) I understand if you don't have time but thank you for considering it. ^^

From:

jensurvivor

oh, I'd like one too please!

From:

silverjackal

Oh this was a charming glimpse into your home! Thank you! :)

My favorite, I must confess, is still the Blue Lechenaultia (because I love blue, and they are beautiful), but I also really like the Milkweed (which is entirely different from our milkweed here), and of course the Calectasia grandiflora (also blue, but the relatively simple flower shape also appeals to me). I also particularly enjoyed the bird photo -- a very striking species with that yellow ring around the eye.

From:

moonvoice

There aren't that many blue flowers in proportion to all the yellows, oranges, reds and whites here (to do with what pollinators they're trying to attract), but we do have our blues! :) I love the Blue Tinsel Lilies, I came a bit late to really get them fully in flower, but when they are - very nice. They're quite small, never get higher than about 30 centimetres, I'm hoping to get some for our garden eventually.

I've been walking Koondoola for 10 years, have always known that those birds are there, and have never actually seen one. And then I went the other day and it posed for me! I knew exactly what it was, because I've been attempting to see one in Koondoola for such a long time. Heh.

From:

spider_fox

The talking flowers from "Alice in Wonderland" (Disney version) keep coming to mind when looking at these photos. Especially the donkey ears and pea plants.