Day 341 - State of the garden

Things are blooming or promising to. The stephanotis is bursting with buds.

Look how big it's grown. Sorry about the sun-bleached photo but I couldn't block out the setting sun.

Both buddleia are blooming - the purple and the white. The white one is competing for space with the crab apple.

And that's it from our garden segment this week. How is your garden growing?

Day 278 - Lilac

I absolutely adore lilacs. Today I picked them for the first time and couldn't get enough of their fragrance. They always remind me of my first year of marriage in Jordanville, Upstate New York, where we lived on a road lined with lilacs. After the longest and most severe Winter I'd ever experienced, the lilac avenue was just magic.

Day 256 - The whole bloomin' lot!

Everything is either blooming or about to bloom. My absolute favourite time of the year - well, apart from Autumn when everything is changing colour. Pity it's a gloomy day and the colours have turned out dull.

The Crab Apple (Floribunda) is in full bloom now, and will probably lose its blossoms with a few more strong winds.

The Winter-flowering Quince has almost finished flowering.

These succulents always look the same.

Day 247 - Sunny day

Such a lovely sunny day this morning, the sun transforming everything and bringing out colours. The one pieris surviving in the garden is lovely at the moment. Without warning, the sky became dark and intense, and rain pelted down for a good soak. Our freshly mown grass looked thick and lush green. Love the contrasts.

Day 245 - This is how my day changed

Today I've been married 25 years. I'm at home, and a little concerned that I'm feeling so lousy and weak for the fifth day already. This was going to be the photo for the day.

What did I intend with this photo? Was I feeling reflective? Was I going to try a hackneyed angle and claim I was a shadow of my former self? Was I feeling a strange detachment from everything and everyone as you do when you feel so unwell that you lose interest in all things?

Unexpectedly, my husband came home during his lunch to bring me flowers. Fuscias are the flowers we chose for our wedding. Simple, cheerful fragrance. This is how my day changed.

Day 225 - Winter garden

The winter garden is surprisingly colourful. I took some photos in the late afternoon, with the sky darkening to an intensity which precedes heavy rain. Then I sat inside and watched the sheets of rain drench the grateful plants.

Day 204 - Daphne

More winter flowers. I've been at home today, feeling unwell, so the opportunity to search for a more distant photo has been foiled. I love daphne, sweet-smelling and not too showy. I have two but I'm aware that these plants are capable of dying suddenly and unexpectedly. I'll just enjoy them while they're still flowering.

Day 167 - In search of a gift

In search of a small gift for my mother today on my day off, I visited a favourite nursery, The Greenery, in Heidelberg. Winter doesn't have to be boring with these colourful blooms.

Day 148 - Home sick

At home with an inner ear thing. It's better not to move the head much. Thought I'd snap the last of these Stephanotis blooms. Soon everything will bare itself in the garden.

Day 142 - Hyacinths

The hyacinths I was given on Mother's Day are looking gorgeous at the moment. I wish I could bring them inside to enjoy their scent, but with the heater on they wouldn't have a chance at lasting beyond a day. Hang on - aren't hyacinths supposed to bloom in Spring?

Day 136 - Market flowers

As usual, Saturday morning is Victoria Market shopping day. I felt like buying flowers, and these proteas were unusual, in that they are usually pink. I cut back some very long stemmed pussy willow as an accompaniment. The day has been chilly with sun periodically surprising us in between gloomy clouds. We're waiting for the fence man to give us a quote on fixing the fence which is currently an issue of disagreement with our neighbours. I hope this gets solved without too much drama. Bad enough the neighbours on our other side dont' talk to us anymore since their giant gum fell into our yard, damaging our fence and trees, and we dared to ask them to pay half the cost of repair. Sigh, Maybe I wasn't meant to live amongst people.

Day 129 - Flower clock

As far as I can remember, this clock in the gardens on St Kilda Road, across the road from the Gallery of Victoria, has been an ever-changing flower display. At the moment, it's in between plantings, but I've always enjoyed looking at the different, coloured designs.

Day 104 - Friends for lunch

Well, obviously, this is not a photo of my friends. Would you believe, I had the camera ready to capture lunch with my dear friends, but they came and went, and the camera was left untouched. Put it down to engaging conversation with not a moment to think about anything else. After I had cleared the table, this was all that was left. Not to mention the memory of a lovely day.

Day 91 - Japanese wind flowers

I love Japanese wind flowers (Anemones).They wave about in the autumn breeze.

Day 90 - Beautiful day

My day off. It's been one of those days when you feel invigorated by the sunshine and happy to be alive. After my haircut, which always takes a ridiculous amount of time, considering my scant amount of hair, I decided to buy flowers. These remind me of my primary school years, walking home from school and looking into front yard gardens in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.

Day 68 - Heralding autumn

This bush always starts flowering at the beginning of autumn. Although it looks blue in the photo, the flowers are purple.