It is meant to be winter here in NZ. This post was inspired when on finishing our coffee in Havelock on Wednesday we spotted, instead of (or in addition to) the sorts of flowers we would expect of this season…
camelias
Violas
and Snowdrops,
yes, we spotted a gerbera (a Transvaal Daisy)
That was a surprise for a frosty morning, so we looked around and found…
yes, we spotted a gerbera (a Transvaal Daisy)
Nile lilies
Osteospermum (Cape Daisies) - August here would be equivalent of February in Pireaus and I'm sure they never flowered on my Piraeus balcony in early February
There were also early violets
and periwinkle (which probably flowers in every season) - hardy but rather old-fashioned
BTW - authors who describe someone as having periwinkle blue eyes have clearly never seen periwinkle (that would be a truly unusual human eye colour)
Bonus shots of daisies and Tibouchina (a Brasilian beauty)
The juxtaposition here of periwinkle and Tibouchina suggests (to me anyway) that maybe we shouldn't be quite so dismissive of common old periwinkle.
I have periwinkle in my garden in France - why not, it’s no effort and it’s a splash of colour that brightens the day.
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteA veritable bouquet your bring us today!!! I would quibble a little at your "violas"... the four petals up and one down tell me these are Pansies, the bigger cousin. As seen by the Violets, Violas have three petals down and two up... All one family of course and perhaps NZ has that slight difference in name useage. Like what you call Nile Lily... I know as Agapanthus and have never heard it called that before. I like it though. I love Tibouchina and Gerberas but never managed to grow them successfully in my Sydney garden. I know you are a little further south, but I would expect all these to be blooming in August, albeit perhaps more toward the end of the month. Sign of changing climate, or over-enthusiastic cultivation? YAM xx
A sight to gladden the heart in any season.
ReplyDeleteIsn't Agapanthus considered one of the Dirty Dozen weeds?
ReplyDeleteIt's pollen wreaks havoc in my sinuses...just like another one, the privet flower.
Beautiful flowers though...seasons gone crackers... everywhere...18⁰ yesterday....here...and in Whanganui!
Lovely selection of flowers, more than enough to gladden the heart.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, so many beautiful flowers! Nile lilies always amazed me when we lived in Northern California as they bloomed at the weirdest times!
ReplyDelete