Category: Native Flowers

Wild flowers growing on our property which are native and endemic to the area.

Vanilla Orchid (Thelymitra antennifera)

In researching this orchid I have discovered that it is also called the Lemon Orchid, Rabbit-ears or Rabbit’s Ears Orchid.  Looking at the photo on the guide, I can see that the dark marks in the centre do look like some flopsy ears.  These aren’t shown in my photos, so I will go back out … Continue reading Vanilla Orchid (Thelymitra antennifera)

Native Pea Flowers

In one vibrant corner of our bush we have Waxlip Orchids, Pink Eyes (coming soon!) and this glorious shrub covered in gold and red flowers.  So many of our native shrubs have flowers of this colour and shape, and my head is spinning from trying to identify this one correctly.  I believe it is probably … Continue reading Native Pea Flowers

Pink Fingers: Australian Native Orchid (Caladenia carnea)

Today I was finally able to go out looking for native flowers again.  I’ve had a busy few days, and when I was ready to take a break, it was raining. Over the three days, many more Waxlip Orchids have opened. I found these distributed throughout the bushland, with some patches and some solitary plants. … Continue reading Pink Fingers: Australian Native Orchid (Caladenia carnea)

Gnat Orchid

On the same day I photographed the Waxlip Orchid, I also managed to get some clearer photographs of the Gnat Orchid. This Orchid is so hard to see. It is so tiny, the stems are slimmer than a blade of grass, and brownish purple.  i was so lucky to be with people who knew what … Continue reading Gnat Orchid

The First Waxlip Orchid this Spring

Yesterday I spent an enjoyable morning searching for orchids with friends. We found many Greenhoods of varying types, and many more leaves or buds indicating that a number of species were about to burst into flower – Spider Orchid, Sun Orchid and Waxlip Orchid among them.  Try as we might, we didn’t find one of … Continue reading The First Waxlip Orchid this Spring

More orchids in flower

It is amazing how much more I can see when I have a knowledgeable guide to point out the tiny Australian Native Orchids in flower.  I must have walked past some of the tiny mosquito orchids hundreds of times without noticing they were in flower.  My friend B.J., who is an orchid enthusiast visited today, … Continue reading More orchids in flower

Beard-Heath and Sundews: Sizing them up

I’ve been trying to think of a clever way of showing the size of the beard-heath flowers, but in the end I resorted to a ruler. At least it is then a precise measurement rather than an approximation of size. The most tricky part was to position the ruler where it was visible, but not … Continue reading Beard-Heath and Sundews: Sizing them up

Common Beard-heath Leucopogon virgatus (Labill.) R. Br.

With tiny flowers, hardly more than 2 mm across when fully open, I was lucky to see the Common Beard-Heath, let alone photograph it clearly without a macro lens.  This is my first effort at capturing the fluffy petals (with the assistance of Photoshop to enlarge the flower).  Today is a clear sunny day, so … Continue reading Common Beard-heath Leucopogon virgatus (Labill.) R. Br.

Scented Sundew Part 2

A week ago I would have walked past hundreds of Scented Sundew plants, and not even noticed that they were there. Having found the first Scented Sundew on Saturday, I’ve had a heightened awareness of tiny leaves, looking for the telltale sticky hairs.  It turns out we have patches of Scented Sundews all over our … Continue reading Scented Sundew Part 2

Climbing Sundew Drosera macrantha Endl.

On Saturday, I posted two photos of the Scented Sundew an insectivorous plant.  I took these photos late in the afternoon, when the light was not good. They were quick photos, for identification of the flower. Heading back out on Sunday, in better light and with the aim of taking better photos, I discovered they were … Continue reading Climbing Sundew Drosera macrantha Endl.

Scented Sundew: Drosera whittakeri ssp. aberrans

The wild flowers are just starting to emerge! How exciting!  This week, the Nodding Greenhoods began to show and today we noticed very tiny white flowers coming up in places on the recently mown grass behind our garden beds. Tell-tale sticky red hairs covering the leaves revealed it was an insectivorous plant, and further research … Continue reading Scented Sundew: Drosera whittakeri ssp. aberrans

Nodding Greenhoods Are Emerging

It’s fantastic to see the Nodding Greenhoods emerging again. This was the first species of Australian Native Orchid I had ever seen.   When we first moved in they were flowering, in large patches right across our property. Hopefully they will do the same this year, but so far we have a few scattered along … Continue reading Nodding Greenhoods Are Emerging

November Wildflowers: Part 1

The last month of Spring seems to be the peak flowering period for Australian native plants that grow around here. In November they were the most spectacular, as well as the most plentiful.  Leading into this month, rainfall had been good, the dam was full, and the ground moist. The late Spring sun shone down … Continue reading November Wildflowers: Part 1

October Wild Flowers – Part 3

Thank you to KMS who left a comment on my Cranberry Heath post, including a link to the VicVeg website. What a fantastic breakthrough. This wonderful website allows me to search by flower colour, location within Victoria, and type of plant (herb, tree, shrub etc) meaning, I have finally been able to put names to … Continue reading October Wild Flowers – Part 3

Stepping Outside the Boundary Fence

Apart from the occasional ‘self-sufficiency’ post, I try to keep the focus of my blog to the land outside our house, but inside the boundary fence.  However, the native heath flowering in the Enfield State Park is so beautiful, I thought I would share it with you.  We just happened to be driving past on … Continue reading Stepping Outside the Boundary Fence

Cranberry Heath

In between documenting the native flowers on the property month by month, I’m pausing to post a flower we have open right now.  It is a tiny plant – not much taller than lichen – and it is growing in only one spot on our dam bank, as far as I can tell.  I’ve looked … Continue reading Cranberry Heath

October Wildflowers: Part 2

I’m discovering that identifying wildflowers is very time-consuming. Our two field guides cover wildflowers from all over Australia, with multiple variations on most species. Looking at the small illustrations or photographs in the field guides, often nothing looks exactly the same as the wildflowers I have found.  However, by looking at locations they are found, … Continue reading October Wildflowers: Part 2

October Wildflowers – Part 1

Colourful flowers, including some  Native Orchids caught my uneducated eye in October, as I began to investigate the bushland a bit more closely. Wax-lip Orchid (Orcidaceae Glossodia Major) The beautiful colour and form of the Wax-lip Orchid made them highly visible against the greens, yellows and whites of almost everything surrounding them. Dillwynia Many different … Continue reading October Wildflowers – Part 1

September Wildflowers – A Beginning

Helen commented on A Family of Four, reflecting on the way kangaroos were affecting the number of wild flowers in South Australia.  This has inspired me to go back and keep a month by month record of the native flowers I have photographed since we moved in.  This will build into an index of flowers … Continue reading September Wildflowers – A Beginning

First Autumn Flower

Over Summer the ground has been so dry that we haven’t had any native flowers blooming.  This is the first one I’ve spotted in Autumn.  Although I’m sure it is some kind of pink heath, I can’t match it to any of the images in my field guides to Australian flowers.  Right now, it doesn’t … Continue reading First Autumn Flower

Tall Sundew – Carnivorous plant

I took this photo in November, and was unable to identify the name of the flower.  In my many Google searches to find the species of a caterpillar for a post, I came across a brochure called “Threatened Species of Central Victoria” designed for school children by the Koala Connect project, through the Australian Koala … Continue reading Tall Sundew – Carnivorous plant

Australian Native Flowers 2

The seasonal change has brought with it a new range of native flowers growing in the bushland on our property.   I am yet to buy a field guide to Australian Native Orchids and wild flowers, so the only one I can identify is Dillwynia Juniperina, which is a small shrub (1 to 2 metres high) … Continue reading Australian Native Flowers 2