A Seaforth walk again

Ugh. It’s boiling hot. And the heatwave is set to continue. This feels so surreal to be in December and needing to stay cool.

But no rest for the dutiful – I was out with the secateurs early this morning hacking back the undergrowth.

The weeds of choice here in the Seaforth garden are ginger, morning glory (ipomea) and birds of paradise (strelitzia).  And everything is of a prodigious size.  I was swinging off the morning glory vines to reach the ginger plants to cut them back. Well, tame them. Briefly.

Loads of fun. Except I picked up a tick on my neck and almost died of shock when I scared a water dragon. Here he is grubbing up the pebbles on the lower terrace.  The size of the dragon is about one foot in length (30cm).

Huge lizard, lurking in the undergrowth. I tell you, who needs coffee when when you can get an adrenalin surge from the shock of seeing a dragon first thing?

Needless to say, I didn’t take a photo. It all happened all too quickly.

Now, on with the walk.

There is jacaranda flowering; and it’s scented too. I never noticed. But it was a walk where I was getting up nice and close to any bloom I could reach.

I still have a soft spot for Australian native callistemons.  They aren’t the most common plant in these gardens on this street. You are more likely to find the frangipane shrubs. And gardenias. Gorgeous scent.

It’s so hard not to pluck them from the plant and sniff while you walk. But look at those gorgeous dietes plants around the tree.  It looked like an iris – perhaps of the iris family. I must inspect my books.

Yep. A member of the iris family. Actually native to Africa, but there is a native plant from Lord Howe Island (dietes robinsonia). I wonder if these are from there. It’s an island off the east of Australia.

They certainly are popular.  As are agapanthus. Another African import. They self seed so successfully here that they are weeds.  Oh for that problem in my French garden.

I must say I felt right at  home when I came across this landscape feature. Stone terraces. Bliss. These are Sydney sandstone. A bit more porous than our granite, but fetching.

Okay, time to go and attend. I think I have another tick on the back of my neck; and it can’t wait. Itchy and hard to reach.