Winter Colour

Winter Colour

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There is such an explosion of colour on the farm at this time of year.  As the weather gets colder, the colours seem to get brighter.  "Natives" are such great winter flowers with a surprising variety of colours and textures.

Leucadendrons change colour as they come into "flower" which is often over winter and spring.  While some are a rich deep maroon or red throughout the rest of the year, in winter they change colours.  Safari Sunset lives up to its name and changes to a vivid pink with creamy yellow inside.  And Red Gem, one of my favourites, changes from maroon to a buttery yellow with peachy tones.  I just love it!

Red Gem in July

Front - Safari Sunset, Middle Right - Red Gem, Back Left - Inca Gold

Other Leucadednrons that are green for most of the year, start to "glow" yellow.  Inca gold has a rich yellow colour highlighted with red tips.  I'm still looking forward to the Leucadendon Gandogerii and Goldstrike - fabulous spring yellows.

Inca Gold

There's so much gorgeous texture about too.

I love playing with colours and textures at this time of the year.  

It's heartening, on cold wintery days to be playing with such cheery colours too.

And there has been some cold weather lately - snow and hail and bitter winds.  

When you're out in the fields picking in the wind and the rain, with tingling cheeks and numb fingers, what keeps you going are the gorgeous colours that are filling the basket.

Winter is so pretty!

Hello Winter

Hello Winter

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Winter is here.  There is always just a little sadness heading into winter.  I find myself almost grieving  at the turning of the season.  Autumn has its beauty and in Tasmania, I think its possibly the best season.  (So difficult to pick!)  But prior to the solstice, the onset of winter can make me feel a little sad, with no apparent reason.  

And then, like waking from a dream, I remember its charms!  There are misty, foggy days that make you feel like you're the only person on the planet. 

The rain is so refreshing, so life-giving.  The plants drink it up and seem so full of life.  

The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos that live around the Tasman Peninsula are more often about, singing their raucous songs.

Winter has its own beauty.  And I remember that I love it!  I love the short days and warm fires, the crisp morning air,  the moss,  the rain, the mist, and I LOVE the colour!! Although this is my sixth winter at Swallows Nest, I still am surprised by the intensity of the winter colour that our plants produce.  Yellow that seems to trap the sunlight and glow, startling pink and red, lime green, and pale buttery yellow, peach, and white.  

And then there are those euphoric blue-sky days that have such clarity as you look up that you feel as if there is nothing but sunlight between you and the rest of the universe.  

Winter is also a busy time with planting, clearing, pruning and picking.  So forgive the recent lack of blog posts!  In the next few days I will catch you up on the flowers that are making winter so colourful here at the moment.  

What's your favourite thing about winter? ....

Cheery Winter Colour

Cheery Winter Colour

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Winter can be a little dreary, especially when you get days and days of rain.  In Tasmania, the sun rises late and sets early, and tracks lower across the sky than in summer.   Sunshine is sometimes scarce.  But  just as winter is really setting in, there are a number of plants that begin to bloom in that sunshine yellow that you really crave on a grey day.  The daffodils and jonquils start to pop up, and the masses of wattle brighten up the landscape.  Leucadendrons are wonderfully colourful in winter too.  Inca Gold are a well known hybrid that have been grown commercially for many years.  As the weather gets colder, they get brighter, until the yellow becomes almost creamy.   They glow on a grey day, seeming to promise that warmer weather is coming.

These Inca Gold are fabulous in a seasonal bunch.  Their colour coincides with the flowering of Safari Sunset which, whilst beautifully rich red at other times of the year, turn pink and cream with central cones covered in yellow pollen.  It's such a pretty and cheery midwinter colour combination.

These bunches of mid-winter cheer are off to a local shop, ready to bring some sunshine to someone's grey day!