Cooler, more autumnal days have finally arrived. Sweaters have been found, menus have turned to soup and warming dishes and candles are lit each evening. In terms of weather, this week we have had rain, sun, hailstones and on Wednesday, 9.4mm of rain in an hour. Nothing new to report this week…or is there? Anyway, thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations, for hosting Six on Saturday, whose knowledge of all things plants and gardening makes him an ideal host and move on to what can be see at the moment outside.
First up, while the white camellia bush is still covered with buds. this afternoon I spotted the first flower – not a particularly good picture but a lovely thing to see.
The camellia bush that we share with the neighbour is now full of flowers. Thanks to Jim, it is probably Camellia hiemalis ‘Kanjiro’
At number three, this lemonwood looked lovely in the sun today, leaves all shiny and crisp looking.
Two noisy tūī greeted us when we came back from grocery shopping today. Click on ‘adult song’ in this link to get an idea what we were listening to. In fact, there were four birds, with two sitting round the side of the house, and it seemed like they were having a serious conversation about something. I am nowhere nearly as good as taking birds photos as Mr Tootlepedal. but hopefully you get some idea.
As I said, not a lot new this week…more of the red flowers of the pineapple sage to help make up the six.
Finally, more camellias, this time the bush in front of the house, covered in buds…and a couple of flowers can also be seen at the top of the bush, contrasting beautifully against the sky.
Anyway, as usual, I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s beautiful gardens in other parts of the world. Hope you are all well and enjoying your gardens in whatever the season is with you.
Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com or lofgren@thistlesandkiwis.org
Thistles and Kiwis 
Looking splendid!
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Always thumbs up for pineapple sage! What a powerful colour! I didn’t know the common name “lemonwood” and so I had to google to see what it was (pittosporum): we also have this plant here.
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I know – that red is just so bright – almost dazzling.
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Lovely to see the native birds in the garden.
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We are lucky where we live to have a good number of native birds coming into the garden.
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I also enjoy the red of your pineapple sage! So eye catching!
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“Having come home to a parched brown garden after a week away, it is wonderful to be experiencing some rain at last – even though it is accompanied by very cold weather!
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Good to hear you are getting some rain!
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Lemonwood is such a lovely name, I was going to say it looks like Pittosporum and then I read Fred’s comment. Your Tui birds are rather lovely.
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I love tuis – so fun to watch them sing – they sort of put their heads back and raise their beaks to the sky.
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Fun to listen to those birds and their avant garde song.
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Yes it is very distinctive.
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The bird song does sound almost word-like in a strange way!
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Thank you for the bird song link.
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Thanks for sharing this. Anita
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So far this spring, I have only 3 tulips, 2wild violets, and a lot of dandelions. Lovely flowers, yours! Best wishes!
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It sound as if you are getting even more rain than usual….. 9.4 mm in an hour!
I guess that is autumn for you!
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It was quite incredible! And of course it happened just as I was going to Pilates…
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You can count on it!
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I loved hearing the tūī bird(s)! Thanks so much for the link. It is nice to see your different camellia blooming, and of course the pineapple sage.
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The tūī certainly make a special noise!
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Hi, Barbara – Your garden remains gorgeous despite your change in weather. Speaking of weather, ours in currently the polar opposite of yours. So much so, my opening paragraph would go like this:
“Warmer, more mid-summerlike days have finally arrived. Shorts have been found, menus have turned to salads and lighter dishes. Fans/Airconditioning are now going full blast!” 😀
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🙂
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Exquisite camellias and lovely birds! I follow the toothpedal blog, he does take exquisite photos! I expect he has some expensive cameras to do it with!
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