Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON
Our gardens are awash with colour now, as daylight bathes the shores of this nation-continent for what seems like most of the day. So while I shot these images, I imagined an invisible drill sergeant grilling these tall, proud stems ....
"Come on, you lot. Stand up straight down the back there, or I'll have you doing push-ups in the mud or doing an extra march with a full load just when you think you can't take another step. At least you look good, even if you can't march.
"You're in the army now, not on Civvy Street any more. Nice haircuts. Nice uniforms. The government pays for your food and your barracks and you'll do well to remember that.
"Who's the joker in the middle there? You think you're funny? What on earth possessed you to wear your yellow beret?"
Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.
