This week we celebrate Epiphany, the visit from the three Wise Men or Kings who came to see the Christ child.
My choir sang 'We Three Kings' on Sunday: I always enjoy that.
As is traditional here, I took down the Christmas tree and decorations on the Twelfth Day of Christmas: Epiphany.
When we travelled to Europe last Easter, we overnighted in Dubai. I found two little camels in the airport, and they are now part of my Christmas Nativity scene.
Our new house has an interesting garden, which was professionally landscaped in the past couple of years. There is only one tree (remember the jungle we used to have!). It is a mini Magnolia.
I have been watering it for weeks, only to have the buds die in the heat.
But at last today I found this:
So exciting to have these beautiful white floral giants to see in the back garden. There is another one just about to open too.
The garden has few blooms, and a lot of the above: native Australian grasses which are tough, but a bit boring.
We are removing a few of them and planting some flowers we have brought with us. We love roses and have added three new ones which are thriving, and have buds.
One flower which is dotted around is this unusual agapanthus, quite small and a variegated blue/white flower. It can stay!
We don't know what this tree in a pot is, and wondered if it was dead.
However, it had a couple of white blossoms last week, and has tiny shoots all over.
We have always liked to live in an elevated position, and our choice to move to a ground-level house with no steps brought us to a suburb with a plateau with a lot of level plots. And we still have elevation, high above local flooding and catching the breeze.
I passed these unusual trees today - I wonder what they are?
Today I was in a street which goes down hill from the plateau, and could see this mountain in the distance. I have enlarged so you can see the TV towers in the centre of the picture. This is in the view I saw up much closer from the back deck in our previous house, which has been in many blog posts. We have moved about 10km and several suburbs away, so we still live in the same general social and shopping areas.
This week I also saw a curlew, this strange Australian bird with very big eyes. It stands very still, hoping you can't see it. This one was in a small shopping centre. They are ground dwelling nocturnal birds, who in patches of long grasses and woodlands are active at night and their strange cry echos around the hills as they hunt for insects.
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Good morning, Patricia. Exploring your new garden sounds lovely and I know that you will make it as beautiful as you made your previous one. We live at the top of a street, not as high as your photos show, but I enjoy seeing the rooftops step down from my upper windows. That agapanthus is quite unique and very pretty.
ReplyDeleteAfter being in Mexico for a week after Christmas, we came home to take down the decorations. I took everything off the tree but the lights and left them until yesterday, Epiphany, to enjoy the glow for a bit longer.
Happy New Year!
Good morning Lorrie. We are celebrating Epiphany the same way, getting back to normal. I now enjoy getting the new house sorted. Hope to show more of the garden as time goes by.
DeleteThose little camels for your Nativity are perfect. You have such a beautiful Nativity. The Magnolia tree, one of my favorites. They have the biggest blooms and smell nicely too. We used to have one at our old house. The roses will be nice to see when you plant them. Roses need lots of sunlight, so I hope they do well there. It sounds like a charming neighborhood with shopping close by. I am glad you are enjoying your new home, Patricia.
ReplyDeleteAren't they great little camels, Sheri. I liked that they are richly ornamented, for Kings. We sure have lots of sunlight here, and the ground is well drained so the roses should be happy. It is a charming area, and I will show some views of our street soon.
DeleteHello dear Trish!
ReplyDeleteWe too, sang We Three Kings at our mass for Epiphany. :)
I love seeing how your native wildlife and grasses and flowers differ from the northwoods. It all seems so exotic compared to what we have up here. I love seeing your magnolia bloom - what a beautiful blessing! Wishing you a great day and wonderful rest of your week my Friend. 💗
Hello Carrie. So nice we sang the same hymn the same day. Although we only moved a short distance, I have been struck by the different plants here from our old area. It must be micro climates at work. The soil is definitely different. Won't it be great if we get magnolias all over that tree1. Have a good week xoxx
DeleteYou are in such a pretty area! I love your magnolia bloom! I dream of living in a house on one level, my knees are not getting younger. Happy 2026!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kay, we think it is very attractive here, and we are so pleased we found this street and house. Getting onto one level was our primary incentive, and it took from May to November to achieve it, with a lot of hard work. Knees definitely came into the decision :). I have never lived in a residence at ground level in my life before!
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