Branching out

This week, with the help of Tony Davies, I created a Flickr account and joined a Flickr group. The group is called Australian flowers - plants - trees and it has some gorgeous photos of Australian native plants.

My picture is from the cover of Australian Plants. It is a photo of some flannel flowers whose botanical name is Actinotus helianthi. Although they are not bright, showy flowers I think the arrangement of the grey and green-tipped velvety sepals is exquisite. I haven't been successful in growing this plant in the garden but have seen it flowering in a fairly dry location in NSW where masses of plants covered a stony roadside embankment.

Moving along

Eucalypts are my favourite trees. They can be majestic, tall trees or dwarf, many-trunked mallees with brilliantly coloured flowers. The trunks can be rough or smooth, twisted or straight, tidy or untidy. The eucalypt forests of temporate Australia provide food and shelter for a myriad of animals. Possums, gliders, and koalas live and feed in these trees. Bees and other insects depend on the trees for nectar and pollen from the flowers, and ants gather the seeds which have fallen from the gumnuts. Spiders find homes under the bark. Reptiles, like small skinks and the larger goanna, use the trees and the dead branches on the ground under the trees as foraging sites and hiding places. Small and large birds find food, shelter, and nesting sites in the eucalypt trees. Humans are greatly dependent on these forests for timber, firewood, recreation, and spiritual nourishment.

Progress

After a temporary set back my 23 Things blog is now on the road and my journey into blogland has begun. These magnificent eucalypt trees are found in the forests of Central Victoria. The tall, straight trunks and colourful ribbons of bark are quite wonderful. Unfortunately eucalypt forests like these are being extensively logged throughout Australia. As a result water catchment areas are being damaged and degraded, native plants are disappearing, and native animals are under threat of extinction. We need to do everything we can to protect these unique forests.

In the beginning

Hi All

This is my first blog in 23 things. It has been a rather inauspicious start as I have failed to add a picture to my blog and have now decided to leave it until another day.