Thursday 7 March 2013

First gum blossom

When we moved into our house almost 27 years ago, we had a gorgeous iron bark tree in the garden. When it flowered, the bees could be heard buzzing for hours in the tree, and after awhile, they would appear drunk from the nectar and on the ground. The poor dogs could not leave them alone, and often got stung by the bees. Last year, out of the blue, the tree just died.

So recently, we went to the nursery to get a new eucalypt for the garden. We planted it and nurtured it, but weren't prepared for the burning heat we got in January. We came home to find the few leaves on the plant burnt. Despite that, the bunch of buds on the tree continued to grow-- albeit slowly, but surely. The nurseryman advised us to cut the buds off to give the tree a helping hand, but we just could not cut the buds off. Finally, one of the buds has opened.
 

1st gum blossom
 
 
2nd bud about to open-- it has a tiny cap on it that is about to pop off and the blossom spikes are all neatly tucked inside it ready to unfold. The burnt leaf can be seen in the background.
 
 
 
We are hoping that the poor tree will recover from the damage caused by the hot January weather. We have since bought a different eucalypt to add to the garden as well. So in a few years, we will get shade again in our backyard.
 
 



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

such a pretty blossom Yvonne,wonder what happen to the other tree.xx

Koala said...

Hi Yvonne, I still cannot get used to the beauty of native Australian trees and flowers, they are gorgeous. Hopefully your tree will grow strong :-)

Queen Of The Armchair aka Dzintra Stitcheries said...

Gorgeous gum blossoms Yvonne...hopefully now the trees will get some respite now that the searing heat is over!

Tatkis said...

Such beautiful flowers! Good luck to your little tree :) I'm sure it will be fine!

Hugs,
Tatyana

Houseelf said...

Oh wow amazing. They say that when plants are under stress they start to flower so seeds can be taken to a better location. I hope your little tree recovers well. Here we are having the opposite problem- frost damage where Spring keeps trying to come and being frozen out. Snow at the moment.

Solstitches said...

What a glorious colour those flowers are.
I think your new tree is determined to survive the extreme weather.
Margaret