In late Spring Melbourne’s streets and gardens are bathed in the intense lilac colour of flowering Jacaranda’s. The tree’s origin is South America, especially Brazil and Argentina but Jacarandas can now be found in subtropical and tropical countries across the world. The genus Jacaranda comprising of around 50 species is part of the Bignoniaceae plant family of […]
When I look at Pixie Mops (Petrophile linearis) I feel a warm embrace of my heart. Its downy flower curling around into a soft violet pink cocoon. When first seeing the flower this October at Perth’s Kings Park I was stuck in awe by its unusual form and colour highlighted by the bright midday sun. And indeed, […]
If you live in or around Melbourne you have the opportunity to see my flower photographs up close and framed in a show called Beyond the Seen at the Kallista Tearooms in the Dandenong Ranges during December. Many of the photos I selected for the show are from my recent visit to the Stirling Range in […]
In October, a long time wish came true to visit and walk the Stirling Range National Park which is located about 340 km south-east of Perth, Western Australia. The Aboriginal name for the range, Koi Kyenunu-ruff, means ‘mist moving around the mountains’. The Stirling Range is internationally recognised as one of the world’s 34 hotspots […]
On my recent visit to Kings Park in Perth I was excited to finally see Eucalyptus macrocarpa in bloom knowing it to have the largest flowers of all the eucalypts. I’ve read about the the bright red or pink flowers that can grow up to 10 cm in diameter when studying the Australian Bush Flower Essences. Eucalyptus macrocarpa […]
The Abbortsford Convent is perfect for spending a leisurely Sunday afternoon with friends sharing delicious Japanese treats at Kappaya, afternoon tea or a vegetarian meal at Lentil As Anything. At the banks of the Yarra and with the Collingwood Children’s Farm next door it feels just like being in the country, yet Abbotsford is a 4km […]
This week, a friend introduced me to the St Kilda Indigenous Nursery Co-operative in Port Melbourne. The nursery offers seedlings and plants of a wide range of coastal, heathland, woodland and grassland species that are native to the Melbourne area. The pictured boronia (Boronia muelleri) seedling greeted me with a cascade of pink and white […]
Impatiens is a flower essence to bring patience to our fast-paced lives. When we are rushing from place to place like a headless chicken, frenetic getting to work in the morning, the kettle takes ages to boil, … the driver in front is too slow; … irritable because the train’s running late … the microwave’s not […]
Blackberries are one of my favourite foods and on my recent visit to Germany it was just the beginning of the season for me to enjoy the first freshly picked berries from my mother’s garden. Apart from being delicious, blackberries are high in antioxidants such as anthocyanins and phenolics topping raspberries, blueberries, spinach or broccoli […]
‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.’ ~ Henry David Thoreau Silver Princess waves her languid branches, long silvery grey leaves and shining red flower heads in the breeze as if to gently guide us … “Over here dear traveller, this is your path, take this direction”. This […]