In an uncustomary May I was absolutely delighted to poke my head out of our backdoor and see a lovely little white blossom greeting me. The flower was on our melaleuca linariifolia, a tree generally known as the snow in the summer. It gets that name because it blooms when the sun shines hardest, so my astonishment arose as this month has been dark and wet for the most part, as it is again today. The weather’s been so bad I wouldn’t be surprised to see us get a fair dinkum dose of snow.
The melaleuca are part of the mrytle family, and we have another tree in the garden that flourished this year. The melaleuca quinquenervia, commonly known as the white paperbark teatree, grew thicker and bloomed more this year than it has ever done before. It’s brush-like blossoms complement the deep scarlet of the callistemon.
Our kangaroo paw are also slowly taking shape. It’s supposed to warm and lighten up over the next few days. If it actually does so, I’m hoping it will stimulate the plants to grow and flower. We may even have a red flower this year; it’s a bit too early to tell yet, though.
