Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris)

Eastern Spinebills are small Australian birds that survive on nectar and small insects (unusual for honeyeaters). Acanthorhynchus literally means "spine bill" whilst tenuirostris translates as "narrow billed".  The bill is especially designed for extracting nectar from "throated" flowers such as correas, eremophilas and grevilleas and they have adapted to feed from non-native plants such as salvias and abutilons.  Their range is described as "south eastern Australia" stretching from northern Queensland to Adelaide (there's also a Western Spinebill confined to West Australia). Eastern Spinebills generally move very rapidly when feeding from flower to flower and they also flutter (like hummingbirds) on occasion whilst feeding.

I was fortunate to be able to get a few reasonable shots of this Eastern Spinebill yesterday feeding in a large abutilon. Interestingly it inserts its long bill between the interleaved petals near the base rather than from the front of the large flower. There's further information about Eastern Spinebills on the Birds In Backyards website including a recording of their very tuneful piping call.

Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans)

Pineapple sage has these bright red flowers which are attractive to many humans I suspect but even more so to honey eaters and butterflies.  The added bonus for humans is the pineapple scented leaves (I've not heard of non-human animals that deliberately rub leaves just for the fragrance!). In hotter parts of Australia pineapple sage prefers a semi-shaded position.  It's quite drought hardy.  When the leaves droop is the time to give it some water.  According to a Wikipedia article the leaves are edible (but I've never tried them) and they also have medicinal uses.

Autumn

Our first Fig!

I planted the tree this fig grew on almost 5 years ago but I've moved the tree twice in an effort to give it as much light as possible.  So this was the first fig on it and it was delicious.  I think it's a black genoa fig but I lost the label in one of the transplantings!

Autumn crocus

Earlier this week I found this poking up underneath a pelargonium.  Autumn crocus or Colchicum autumnale is not a true crocus and all parts of the plant are poisonous.  The active ingredient is colchicine which actually has medical uses in the treatment of gout, some fevers and in the treatment of cancer but don't try it at home!!

Correa eburnea (Deep Creek Correa)

I was delighted to find this correa in flower today.  Correa eburnea or Deep Creek Correa is a threatened species which grows in the Fleurieu region of South Australia.  It is associated with rivers, creeks, streams and waterfalls so it can probably tolerate some flooding but it is also drought hardy when established (South Australia has few rivers that flow all year).  I planted this in winter 2013 in a shady location so it's likely that Deep Creek Correa can tolerate quite a bit of shade.  Like all correas, it is attractive to small honey-eaters and like most correas it flowers from autumn to spring when many other native nectar plants are dormant.

Correa calycina (Hindmarsh Correa)

Correa calycina is a South Australian correa which grows on Fleurieu Peninsula and is sometimes called Hindmarsh Correa.  It forms a very neat bush up to about a metre high and wide, with lemony coloured flowers and it is attractive to small honey eaters.  This is a newly planted one but it's already flowering which is quite gratifying (especially for the birds).  Correa calycina is a rare species which is considered to be threatened in the wild.

Enchylaena tomentosa (Ruby saltbush)

Ruby saltbush is a very adaptable native groundcover which grows in tropical, subtropical and temperate areas of Australia, in full sun and partial shade and, being a saltbush, it's very drought tolerant.  It has also been shown to attract beneficial predators and for that reason it's grown in market gardens which has resulted in reduced use of pesticides (see Gardening Australia 13/10/2012).  Ruby saltbush also has small orangey-yellow berries which are edible, although having tried them myself I can say they don't have much flavour!  It seeds quite readily so, in time, you can have quite an area covered by them if you wish.  Or give plants to friends for their vegetable gardens.

More Bromeliads

Autumn seems to be a good time to have bromeliads flower in the garden.  Here are three examples.

Bromeliad

Bromeliads are generally easy to grow as long as they have shade and occasional watering.  Most of them are easy care plants.