From the Botanic Gardens

Jock and I went walking in the Botanic Gardens yesterday.  This hibiscus insularis is flowering again - I think it is my favourite of all the hibiscus shrubs in the Gardens.  It is a native of Philip Island, a small island off Norfok Island and is critically endangered there.  We have them growing profusely in several spots here, so they obviously like our conditions.

These melaleuca flowers are so pretty, click on the images to see them in more detail.  They are local the the area around Mackay and have the red and green forms, as well as a pinkish form which is not yet in flower.

I don't know what order these photos will end up when the blog is published, but I wanted to show our overseas readers the start of the bark peeling away.  These trees have only been in the ground for a couple of years, so there is not a lot of paper bark yet, but as they mature, there are great slabs of bark peel off, it makes fabulous fibre to work with.

This pyrostegia grows in a garden we pass, it will keep its brilliant colour for a couple of months now, they are spectacular in sunny spots around Mackay all through the winter months, though you could hardly call our weather winter at present, maximums of around 22-23 degrees is definitely not cold.

I had better go, Bill has had his carpal tunnel surgery this morning and it is nearly time to collect him.  If it has gone as well as the previous one, he will come home, have some lunch and go straight back to work on the computer!!