Magnolia Grandiflora Flowers

If only you could smell this. The most fabulous fragrance in the world - Magnolia grandiflora flowers. And I have a tree outside my office in full flower, so there are plenty to spare to pick and bring inside. What a treat to arrive at my office and have this permeating the air. Delicious.

Incidently - this species is one of my favourite trees. Perfect as a lawn specimen in a formal garden, or mixed in with Totara Trees and NZ natives for a more informal look. Evergreen, with big olive green and russet leaves - and then this flower in summer and autumn. Just beautiful. x

JANUARY IN MY HOME GARDENS

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Well 2014 is now done and dusted! Was a goodie - and now looking forward to seeing what 2015 has to bring to the table. Since Christmas we have been at the beach with my family, doing a bit of gardening, (although the 28+ degrees celsius days have been a bit trying), and just generally catching up with friends, family, and jobs at home. Not quite ready to come back to my office full time. Too hot to work!

Here's a snapshot of summer in the baking heat of January.....

ORANGE AND PURPLE GARDEN
This month is definitely my favourite in this garden - the orange dahlias have started, along with the verbena and salvias, but still lots of green foliage amongst it all. Something new comes up every day - especially the lilies at the moment. Love them.

FRONT GARDEN - THE REDS!
This garden is based around the topiary cones, and many colourful perennials swing through the seasons to keep colour going. Reds are the base colour - including scarlets, burgundy and dark reds - don't know how to describe the range! Red Alstromeria are the mainstay for 12 months of the year, with others coming and going, particularly lilies, daylilies and dahlias. They all love the heat - and it is VERY hot in this garden.

Amazing new lily near the burgundy flax. Love this combo.

The Tui are captivating. They land next to us, while we are sitting out on the front porch now.
They have been coming to visit the flax in this front garden for about 2 months now. They
still have the power to stop me in my tracks to watch them.