Spring Abundance

Tamarillo

 Mid or late Spring, in this Coffs Coast, NSW, subtropical climate zone, and we there is an abundance of flowers and fruit.

Heritage Rose

Louisiana Iris

Salvia

Salvia

Nasturtium

Begonia

New shoots of Stevia

Red Russian Kale

Lipstick Bromeliad

Lychee Flowers

Black Mulberry

Persimmon Flowers

White Peach

White Mulberry

Grumichama

Gulf Gold Japanese Plum

Black Sapote

New leaves on Amla

Natal Plum

Brazil (Surinam) Cherry

Illawarra Flame Tree flower buds

New leaves on Grape

Macadamia Nut

Pecan Nut Flowers

Kiwi Fruit Flowers

Flowers and immature Jaboticaba fruit

Passionfruit

Kumquats

New Banana leaves with Dorrigo Tree Waratah

Retention Pond

Cranberry Hibiscus flower

Cordyline flower

Pear flower

Louisiana Iris

Arum Lilies

Wendy's Wish Salvia

Louisiana Iris

Miniature Zygocactus

Orange Browallia

Blueberry and variegated Hibiscus

Mid Spring Flowers

Salvias and Walking Iris are not to be despised. Easy care and self renewing and loved by insect controlling birds. Carol had fun taking these picks.

Midsummer in the Fernmount Food Forest

Temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsious have burnt off a few leaves but generally the plants are growing strongly.

Our three year old, perennial capsicum, a capsicum with a bite, provides sufficient chili flavour for our meals.

Perennial Capsicum

Ornamentals in our Fernmount Food Forest

Ornamentals ensure the Fernmount Food Forest is not just an unattractive, utilitarian source of food.
Of course many food producing plants are also ornamental and many plants we consider only as ornamentals are also edible. Ornamentals also attract bees and other beneficial insects and of course many birds, especially small insect eaters. There is no reason that a food producing garden can't also be attractive and a delight to explore.

In our climate foliage provides much colour so gold, yellow, orange, copper, silver and bronze foliage plants feature. The advantage is that foliage colour is so easy to provide compared to the work and time required to grow annual flowers. Trees and bushes also contribute many flowers and contrasting leaf shapes also contribute to visual interest.

Large Bromeliad

This Bromeliad looks green now but will turn gold again once gradually exposed to more sun.

Morning Autumn Walk

8.30 AM and its time for a stroll with Nick's dog. Down the central path from the house at the front of the block to these indigenous Tree Ferns midway and at a small culvert bridge over a stream bed. We have massive storm events and Easterly Lows can dump a couple of metres of rain over a few days. This bridge has been replaced twice and finally with larger 30cm diameter pipes.

The Tree Ferns are self seeded and I must keep pruning the roots out of the nearby storm-water drain to keep the water flowing.