Sydney is not known for its autumn colours – and for very good reason – there aren’t any native deciduous trees here so we don’t get leaves turning red and gold before dropping. Of course Aussies have introduced any number of deciduous trees and so we can get glimpses of leaf-changing-beauty. But this year even that has failed to impress. The autumn has been too mild and, no cold snap, no colours.
On the left is my Japanese Maple – it should be a gorgeous red by now. The leaf litter is from my flowering fruit (apricot?) tree. The leaves didn’t even turn yellow, they just fell off and withered on the ground.
However, I don’t want to imply that my garden is totally lacking in colour. Here are a few snaps I took this morning of some of the bright spots surrounding my house.
Shrimp Plant
Not the burnt red of a maple leaf, but some of the flowers in my garden are sporting their own fiery colours.
Cosmos
Nasturtium
Reds and Pinks abound as well.
Poinsettia
Rose
Trees and smaller flowers.
Camellia
Geranium
Edibles and bulbs.
Chilli
Daffodils
And a magnificent “weed”. At least it just appeared on its own and my half-hearted attempts at eradicating it from my agave plants have proven a waste of time.
It’s pretty hard to complain about the lack of colour in my suburban Sydney garden when this isn’t the full complement of blooms and showy-leaved plants I can see out of every window. Who needs the fresh green of spring and the dramatic displays of maples in autumn when you have this kind of show all year round?
Laura Rittenhouse's Gardening Journal 
That’s quite the rainbow of colors that your yard displays. To have so much beauty right outside your window has to be a nice start to the day. Great photos.
It’s a nice start to the day and a nice break in the middle as well.
I confess that a large percentage of the flowering plants in the garden were here when we bought the house. I think the couple that we bought it from knew enough about plants to make sure something was in bloom all year long. I thank them for that all the time. I’m too busy looking at what food my garden can produce to spend much time thinking about making space for beauty but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating it.
I just turned my head to look out the office window and saw my Bird of Paradise – 3 blooms and about 4 or 5 shoots that will be flowers in a couple of weeks. It just doesn’t stop!