SEARCHING FOR SPRING IN AUSTRALIA
By Frances Harris
I thought it was
time to go on a mission to find out if winter has finished its run and spring
is on the way. With the climate noticeably changing, the days are gone when the
month of the year can determine the season of the year. I see it in my apple
trees that seem to keep their leaves well into winter and sometimes they stay
like that all year. The down side is that the trees sometimes don’t go into
blossom when they are meant to, if at all. Spring is all about the flowers, and
the feeling of the warm glow from the sun on the skin, in between occasional
gusts of wind. I decided to go down the coast between Mornington to Dromana on
the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, and the trees I hope to find in
gardens and coastal foliage should give me some clues. Spring in the South East
of this country spring is usually heralded by great sprays of the golden wattle
flowers. The time to see them is short, and in a few days they could be
finished. I have included a few photos of the coastline where I travelled.
I found these brightly coloured flowers in a garden contrasting with a
sea of green.
The oxalis might
be a weed, but its bright little flowers can’t be ignored. We could expect them
to come out at the beginning of spring.
I was distracted
by the beauty of Fisherman’s Beach after Mount Eliza. After a short look
around, I moved on down the coast.
It’s interesting to
find that the temperature changes on the different bends and rises and falls along the
coast. Where it is cool, the wattle is in bud with a few days to wait for the
flowers and where it is warm, the flowers are finished. This one above was just
beginning its show.
This wattle tree
has come out in patches. The warm side has bloomed and the cool side is yet to
show.
I was happy to find this wattle tree well into its bloom.
I had to stop for a break at Dromana beach. These bathing boxes were
worth a photo.
This is the first Coastal Banksia tree I have seen in flower this
season.
I don’t know the
name of this wattle but it is a beautiful example of what our nature can do.
I think this is an even better wattle display than the one before.
When the
temperature climbs, the green Pigface changes its colours from green to these
beautiful colours
Further down the beach, this Pigface has its own version of sun
related beautiful colours.
We have a little
pea shaped flower just about to launch into bloom. It is difficult to find this
one.
I had another
break to look around at Dromana. There was heavy rain last night. Shortly after
this photo was taken the sun shone brightly for hours.
This tree was so spectacular I had to take a vertical photo.
Finally to seal the deal, when the fruit
blossoms begin to show their heads, we must have spring weather.
This wattle was
not so obvious when I started out, but on the way back, within a few hours this
what happened with some warm sun.
