Mother and child

This mother koala and her baby have been around the vicinity for a few weeks now.  Before Christmas I mentioned to a neighbour that the pair had been in a river red gum down our driveway and the neighbour said that their family had seen the mother with baby on her back walking down their driveway a few days earlier.  Last week when it was in the forties I saw the mother (with baby on her back) trying to scale a tree with far too much creeper on it to accommodate her.  Then in the past couple of days they've been in the huge river red gum by the carport.  We watched in horror last evening as the baby swayed in quite a strong wind at the top of the tree.  He/she must have realised the peril and carefully crawled backwards down to mamma, clinging on for dear life!  Whew!  This afternoon mother and child were on the very lowest branch so I grabbed my camera and started clicking.  The mother had to size me up as I clicked away and eventually must have thought I was no threat.  She made her way down to the ground (baby on her back) and walked towards me, then circled me and headed for a gate that she clearly wanted to go through (but it was shut).  She waited while I opened it, walked through, sniffed at a few things on the way and finally climbed up a plum tree onto one of our rainwater tanks.  From there she jumped onto the roof of the shed (not easy with a baby on your back and I thought I might have had to help her up at one point).  From there she got onto a Melaleuca and at the moment mother and child are sleeping in that.  This photo was taken just as she was contemplating the leap from tank to shed roof!

Solanum melongena (Eggplant 'Listada Di Gandia')

I found this eggplant in the wicking bed hiding under its foliage.  Eggplants or Aubergines are a member of the Solanaceae family.  Solanaceae is a diverse and interesting family because it includes such a wide range of well known plants including potato, tomato, eggplant, tobacco, cape gooseberry, capsicum and chilli, goji berry, cestrum and even petunia.  But it also includes the poisonous deadly nightshade and mandrake!

First sunflower of 2015

Not fully out yet but this is the first sunflower to actually flower this year.

Gift from a friend

Many South Australians might recognise this plant as the State's floral emblem, Swainsona formosa or Sturt's Desert Pea.  It thrives over much of outback Australia in arid, hot conditions. My task will be to keep it alive.  Apparently they like a coarse, sandy, well-drained soil, lots of sun and they tend to suffer Fusarium wilt if watered from above.  Conversely they also like a lot of fertiliser (slow release).  So this will be  a challenge!

Pears (Pyrus communis)

In 2009 we planted a number of fruit trees in the garden - 2 cherries,  2 or 3 apples, 2 plums, a nectarine and a peach as well as 2 pears (one a pollinator for the other). All the other fruit trees have fruited over the past 3 or 4 years but this is the first year we have had any pears (there were a couple that set last year but they dropped off early on).  The good thing about pears is that they can be picked when still hard and will after-ripen.  This one is a Williams Bon Chretien (usually just called "Williams" or "Bartlett") which is self fertile but also a pollinator for our Lemon Bergamot pear (which also has its first pears).

Amaranths

Amaranthus has about 60 species, some of which have edible leaves or edible seeds and some are just grown for their floral display.

Dianella tasmanica (Blue Flax Lily)

There are about 40 species of Dianella and almost half of them are native to Australia.  Dianella tasmanica is found in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania and almost extends to South Australia.  In general Australian Dianellas have smallish flowers that tend to not be particularly showy or long lived but many produce bright berries which stand out in shady areas.  A few varieties of Dianella have edible berries but those of Dianella tasmanica are not - they are indeed poisonous.

Buddleia davidii 'Ile de France'

Buddleias (sometimes spelt "buddleja) are often called "butterfly bushes" because they have a reputation for attracting butterflies with their often abundant sprays of flowers.  Buddleia davidii 'Ile de France' is an old variety introduced about 1930.  Buddleias are generally perennial plants that usually benefit from pruning after flowering.

Life is just a bowl of cherries!

There are two young "Stella" cherry trees in the garden which started bearing about 3 or 4 years ago.  Last year rats, possums, birds and insects snaffled crops off both trees before we could pick any so this year we invested in serious bird netting and piping to protect all the fruit trees.  The result was 1.3kg of cherries off one tree and 1.5kg off the other (this bowlfull). I reckon that with the cost of watering, fertilising plus the netting and piping each kilo has cost us about $150!  But they are very tasty.

First tomato

I noticed this ripe on one of our tomato plants a couple of days ago.  I suppose it's an indication of the warmer than average weather we've been experiencing which is not a good omen for the coming summer.  The creek by our place stopped flowing at the beginning of December.  In previous years that hasn't happened until January.