Spring Loaded

You've Really Had A Growth Spurt

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

The Australian winter is almost over, with spring only a few days away. Our days are already noticeably longer - and the frosts have receded. It's been a while since we had ice, too.

But of course, because our weather is so unpredictable, we had sleet and hail in a storm on Tuesday night that left our gardens snowy white - a snap change in the weather that had 1400 calls to emergency crews in Melbourne alone.

This shot, taken in a friend's garden, is a simple depiction of new growth and natural regeneration. Come Tuesday and we'll be ushering in the first day of spring.

I shot three frames in this sequence, but I reckon the first one probably says it best, with the tender burgundy shoots appearing tall and proud from a pruned branch. I deliberately chose my angle, to make use of the subtle diagonals in the background and to include the fresh green of the diosma about two or three metres away.


Visit MamaGeek and Cecily, creators of Photo Story Friday.

After The Blessing Of Rain

Looks Like There's Been A Growth Spurt

Photographs copyright: DAVID MCMAHON

These photographs were talen a few hours ago, to show you a remarkable transformation. Through the long, hot, dry summer just past, our many roses continued to thrive. We had every colour imaginable, with a variety of scents. Maybe they were not as profuse as they have been in years where the drought has been tempered by some occasional rain, but there were roses on every bush nonetheless.


Then last month we had a three-day spell that was hotter than anything else in our history. Unrelentingly, the heat reached the 46C mark (almost 115 Fahrenheit and stayed there. On the first day, I showed the Authorbloglets several fresh blooms on the rose bushes across our property - and I pointed out that by midday they would all have withered.


Even the rose hips were burnt to a crisp. Normally, the hips form a beautiful head-tossing dance in a strong breeze, but few of them took on the orange-green hue that is common to their form. As you can see in this shot (above) taken a few hours ago, some of the rose hips in our garden looked like remnants in a fireplace.


At the end of that torturous hot spell, there were no flowers left in our garden. Then, last Saturday we had real rain. In a few days, the dun-coloured lawns and nature strips of Melbourne have turned green again. And sure enough, some of our rose bushes have burst into bloom once more.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.