Thursday 2 January 2014

Wafting perfume of the city at dusk

My younger brother and his wife gave me a frangipani for my birthday this year. Ross has long been a devotee of this variety of the plumeria family, and everytime he sees a broken stem - which is often - he takes it home and strikes it. In the last years of her life, when our grandmother lived in North Bondi, she had a magnificent frangipani tree in her yard, and a glorious hedge of hydrangea down her side path. Now, I have both in my own garden.

4 comments:

Kay L. Davies said...

What a wonderful gift for an avid gardener like you, and what a beautiful photo.
Love, K

Joe said...

I love the contrast of this flowering tree against the vivid, blue sky Julie. We have never had much luck with Frangipani down south. Probably to cold for them.

Joan Elizabeth said...

My Melbourne grandmother was very fond of frangipani but could not grow it there. On special occasions mum ordered for flowers to be shipped to her.

I noticed they were in flower in Sydney last time I was down there. Too cold to grow them here. I remember my Mums ill fated attempts to grow them in inland Queensland. No sooner had she got it going than the frost would knock it back. She covered it when frost was expected but inevitably she would miss it one night and it was done for another year.

Hydrangeas however are very happy in this climate. Mine is in flower right now. I cut some flowers for the hallway vase today.

diane b said...

keeping up the tradition. I love the smell of frangipani but not the mess the leaves make.