Cloudehill Gardens & Seasons Restaurant - Olinda

Gardens in the Dandenong's

This time of the year is a good time to check some of the garden in the Dandenong's, one we visited recently was Cloudehill. Cloudehill gardens can be found at 89 Olinda-Monbulk Road, Olinda (WWW.cloudehill.com.au) As well as the beautiful gardens there is also the Seasons Restaurant and Nursery, so plenty to see and do over several hours.
Although the day we went was not perfect we did have a good day and did manage to get some nice photos of the gardens and nursery. Come and take a walk through the gardens with me...

After walking around the gardens and exploring them from one end to the other, it was time to wonder around the nursery and see what that had to offer... And there were many lovely things to see.

Mt Cannibal

Mt Cannibal is a 53 hectare Flora and Fauna Reserve and is located on the Garfield North Road in the shire of Cardinia. The self-guided nature walk takes approximately 50 minutes to walk 2.2 kilometre loop track. It should be noted the the walk is very steep in some sections and may be difficult for some who visit the reserve. The views from the two lookout points are worth the walk around the reserve. Unfortunately the day yesterday when we did the walk was a very calm day and there was a lot of smoke in the air from recent burning off in the surrounding area. This did not make for good photo opportunity of the views from the lookouts but will include a couple.

While on a bush-walking visit to Mt Cannibal in West Gippsland today, we happened upon David and Paul Piko who were there gathering photos of Australian Greenhood Orchids which grow on the 53 hectare Nature Reserve. There most recent find is the Red Lipped Greenhood Orchid, which they were photographing when we met them.

David is a professional Photographer and both he and Paul are members of the Australian Orchid Society and are constantly in the field looking for specimens to take photos of. We had a browse as we walked but didn't see any other orchids until we met up again with David and Paul and were shown some of the resident Parson's Band Orchids (Eriochilus cucullatus).

Why not take a look at some of David's work with the orchids on Mt Cannibal and visit his web page.
http://www.mountcannibal.com

Volunteers Ferns On The Wind

I'm not sure what it is about this pot it seems to be a breading pot for ferns, for the third time I have have had volunteer ferns sprout in it. It is situated at the far end of the ferny and is the furthermost pot from the ferns and has a chain of hearts growing in it. There appears to be at least five different fern types including maidenhair fern now growing in the pot this time. This pot is the only pot in the ferny that has a cover of moss also growing in it. About six months ago I emptied this pot washed all the old potting mix and moss off the chain of heart bulbs and re-potted the bulbs back into the same pot. Once sprouted I lift the ferns out and plant in the garden where they thrive. Go figure!!!!

What a bounty is little 10 inch pot yielded five different fern types and a total of 14 baby ferns. All now picked out and re-planted into separate pots.

Hibiscus heterophyllus

Hibiscus heterophyllus

Last year while in Adelaide I fell in love with the Hibiscus plant, as they were in full flower in many parts of Adelaide we visited. There seemed to be a large variety of colours and the fact that they seemed to thrive in the heat of Adelaide with there dry hot climate was good to see. On my return home while out walking I began to notice Hibiscus plants around my neighbourhood growing equally as good as they did in Adelaide. This spurred me on to see if I could fined one for my garden. And find one I did, and when I looked at the label and it said Australian Native, I knew that this plant was the one for me. I found the ideal spot for it in the garden and watched it grow, until the frost of spring hit. How disappointing it was to find all the new growth on my Hibiscus burnt by the frost, when the label had stated that this plant was frost tolerant. Never one to give up on a plant, I covered it from further frost and waited to see just how bad the damage would be. DH took one look at the plant and advised me to pull it up and throw it in the bin. But this I could not do, I carefully trimmed all the burnt foliage from the plant, fed it and kept it watered and it has come back. Still only a small plant less than a metre in height I had not expected it to flower this year, but while out in the garden picking tomato's I saw my first flower. What a pleasant surprise this flower was, it was worth all the effort I went to trying to keep this little hibiscus alive. Here is a photo of my first flower, I just love it.
P.S Update this bush as of the 8.3.2010 is now growing and flowering well and stands more than a metre high.

Fairy Garden

Fairy Garden

Recently little miss grand daughter (seven years) came to visit, as always she must check out her fairy garden to see she what has changed since her last visit. So out we went camera in my hand to see what the fairies had been up to while see had been gone. This is her favorite place in the garden and she will sit and play here as often as she can. After re-arranging some of the fairy ornaments, she asked if she could take some photos. So I handed over the digital camera after setting it up for her and here are the photos she took. It was wonderful to watch this little pro at work, getting up and down checking the angles to get the shot just right. Check out some of the pics she took, I was a very proud Nan.

Summer colour in the garden

There is always so much colour in the the garden over summer, this is a wonderful time of the year as the weather allows us to get out and enjoy our gardens. I love this time of the year the sights, sounds and smell of the garden can not be beaten.