Eastern Rosella

Introduced to New Zealand from Australia, these noisy bright intruders are fun to try and spot. Usually I can't see them or only get brief glimpses because they typically fly around high in the canopy. I grew up in the Far North and saw them regularly in that much warmer region. We rarely come across...

Applause for Paws

There's a variety of kangaroo paw plants grown in the Australia plant collection at Dunedin Botanic Garden, New Zealand. Some fairly large beds are in close proximity to the bird aviaries and put on a great show when in flower. I took these photos on 29 April 2021, same visit as the plant and bird...

Evergreen

The bird aviaries and the Australia plant collection share the same general area at Dunedin Botanic Garden, they're always fun to visit. Among the bird mix are various Australian cockatoos, and macaws; the noise can be pretty raucous! Dunedin, New Zealand. Visited 29 A

Gum Trees

By gum trees I'm referring to Eucalypts or Eucalyptus species, generally from Australia. There's a fair few planted here in New Zealand, in plantations and on farms. We see them all the time and 'blue gum' is always on offer among the types of firewood for sale. The first three photos are of a single...

Rainbow Gum

Tonight a spectacular photo arrived in my Twitter feed via Dr. Dean Nicolle whose Twitter bio reads: Eucalyptologist (gum nut). Botanist, arborist, ecologist & author, specialising in the eucalypts. Creator & curator of Currency Creek Arboretum. Adelaide, Australia. Website: Calyptra Twitter: @DeanNicolle1 This bright colourful tree trunk is a rainbow gum (Eucalyptus deglupta). The large...

Blue Butterflies of Happiness

I'm indebted to Jane from Australia who this afternoon tweeted these beautiful Blue Tigers and shared briefly on her current situation and how "the bombardment of blue butterflies of happiness lifted my blues" - quoted from Jane's reply when I asked to share some of the photos and her tweet. There's understandably a lot of...

Weird Little Beast

JML297 (Blue Mountains, Australia) posted this fun photo taken in a cafe in Five Dock, Sydney - the side of a cold drinks fridge.

Mystery Trees at Gore

So, one day we were in Gore (Southland) and I was in the car waiting for Nigel. I suddenly realised the little trees I could see in front of me were really interesting so I hopped out and started taking photos with my cellphone camera. This was at the brightest time of day so I've...

Tomato Festival

Another colourful beauty in my Twitter feed Monday morning, again from Australia. This Mandala design from Jimmy Turner, Director of Horticulture for Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: "The @RBGSydney Horticulture staff did an amazing job interpreting my coloured drawing into a masterpiece." The vibrant vegetable Mandala was created for the Tomato Festival Sydney 2020 held on...

Flying In The Rain

Brightly coloured Australian parrot flying in the rain, what a great wealth of beautiful birds they have in Australia! The photo appeared in my Twitter feed this morning and it was love at first sight! Photo credit:   twitter a/c Angry Magpie   @karenagold Image used with permission. Link to tweet: https://twitter.com/karenagold/status/1228476819147378689 Posted by Liz, Exploring...

Grevillea Ground-Cover

Grevillea sp. Beautiful ground-cover in the Australian area at Dunedin Botanic Garden, New Zealand. Distinctive 'toothbrush' flowers. Liz, 25 Dec 2019.

Bottlebrush Flowers

These are Australian flowers (Callistemon species) but so familiar to New Zealanders too, and perhaps to most the rest of the world - it's not unusual to see them in photos on other people's blogs, normally the standard red-flowered species. I've been familiar with bottlebrush flowers since I was a kid growing up in Northland...