Late Summer blossoms in Sydney

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Being on the coast, Sydney has a completely different climate from where I live. Hot, humid Summer, glorious Autumn, not-very-cold Winter and Spring filled with every kind of flower. Almost anything can be grown in Sydney.

The inner suburbs of Sydney are amongst the oldest  in the city.  A great many of the dwellings are Victorian and Edwardian: a mix of workers' cottages and grand mansions. They're not so old when compared with houses in Europe, but Australia's European history didn't begin until 1788. I love to walk around these areas,  looking at the houses with their filigreed cast-iron decorations, quaint balconies and ornate architectural decorations.

Sydney has suffered from a lack of rain too, during the last few months, and gardens are looking rather dry.  But some plants do well  no matter what the weather throws at them. On a recent trip I took some photos of flowers in the gardens of some of these old houses.

Tibouchina
Frangipani
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Little shoots appear on the trunk of a very old buddleia
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I'm so fascinated by this buddleia that I had to post a second photo.  It's in the garden of a California bungalow (popular here from about 1913) and it looks as though it was planted when the house was built!  I've never seen a buddleia  with a trunk so thick and convoluted: maybe many trunks grew together to make one tortured elephantine  shape.

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When we lived in Sydney, we had a hibiscus exactly like this one growing in our garden.  Often our black cat took great delight in climbing the tree, 'picking' a flower and bringing it inside to us. He always let us know he was coming by giving out a hibiscus-adjusted blood-curdling miaow. Black cat and pink hibiscus: striking combination. But not in the middle of the night, which sometimes happened.

Cockspur Coral tree
Cockspur Coral tree
Ixora
Ixora
Crepe Myrtle
Crepe Myrtle

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Something to say?  Feel free to comment below. I love to hear from you.

24 Comments Add yours

  1. Christina says:

    I’ve never seen such a large flower covered Frangipani. Not something I can grow here. Thanks for the walk around Sidney.

    1. Jane says:

      That one was an especially good example, Christina.

  2. Tracy says:

    I love crepe myrtle. We have several. They are tough as old boots.

    1. Jane says:

      Yes, Tracy, they grow well here too, and are always good value.

  3. Beautiful photographs Jane. I had a Tibouchina in a pot on the terrace last summer-it didn’t flower until late October/November when it was covered with beautiful blue/purple flowers until the frosts. Unfortunately I didn’t have anywhere to bring it inside, but as it was a 50% price bargain I just enjoyed the weeks of flowers. I often see them in garden centres here in SW France, with the garden plants rather than house plants.
    How far from Sydney is your house?

    1. Jane says:

      We are nearly 300 km away, but as we have family and friends there, we visit quite often.

  4. Chloris says:

    What a joy to see all all these gorgeous tropical flowers. Of all of them I would so love to grow frangipani for its wonderful fragrance.

    1. Jane says:

      Yes it smells wonderful, but definitely a tropical tree Chloris.

  5. Chris Muller says:

    Enjoying your blogs Jane. The size of the front yard where the Tibouchina is grown is amazing. Our tree has borers but still flowerering. Not sure what to do about it.

    1. Jane says:

      Thanks Chris. What a shame you have borers in yours. Some people put Meths in the borer holes or gently dig with a wire and try to spear the borers.

  6. Trish Trent says:

    Lovely photos Jane. They remind me of our garden in Chatswood, particularly the hibiscus.

  7. Jane says:

    Hibiscus are such reliable plants in Sydney, flowering all summer. Glad you enjoyed the photos, Trish.

  8. Vicki says:

    Gorgeous colour captured here, Jane, and may I say that’s an excellent image of a Hibiscus flower.

    (I’ve never been able to achieve one like it, despite much practice over the years).

    Was it a slightly overcast day perhaps? Anyone who does flower photography will know it can be quite hard to get the individual petal details of some flowers.

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you Vicki. It must have been beginner’s luck because I took those photos with my very inexpensive phone. It was in the late afternnoon and may have been slightly overcast.

  9. Cathy Cooper says:

    Lovely photos, full of colour and life!

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you Cathy. I’m happy you enjoyed them.

  10. Jane I may “HAVE TO” come to Australia! We have added it and taken it off our itineraries so many times! The distance is always the killer! I may just have to suck it up and stay a while to get over the jet lag. Love those cottages, they are my passion AND the flowers too! Thanks for following me as well! I live in a cottage with three small gardens, but I love them!

    1. Jane says:

      Oh yes, that plane journey is a killer! I look forward to seeing post about your cottage and gardens.

  11. rita says:

    I went to see your blog and saw you live in Sydney so I guess you never get snow there ! What lovely pictures !!!! They make me feel better now !

    1. Jane says:

      I’m glad you enjoyed the photos, Rita. I live in a small town nearly 300 km away from Sydney. It doesn’t snow in either place, though it can get pretty cold in the winter where I live, with big frosts. It used to snow very occasionally In my town but that hasn’t happened for a long time.

  12. Those trees and flowers are enough to make me weep with joy Jane. They are also a reminder of how pathetic my attempts are to grow some of them in suboptimal conditions here in England!

    1. Jane says:

      Those pink frangipani flowers are really something aren’t they? If it’s any comfort, I can’t grow them here at all!

  13. macquie says:

    Have never seen Ixora. They look like hydrangea!

    1. Jane says:

      They do a bit,Makiko, I never thought about that before. They’re not related though.

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