grevillea

  • Wattle On The Way Back Heralds Health

    Our wattle is blooming gorgeously at the moment, bringing back a healthy feel to our garden. When I broke my leg early last November, I didn’t really understand the consequences, and have since had a series of unexpected events that I’ve gotten to deal with. Unfortunately, one of those was the realization that the cold of winter had killed off a lot of our Aussie plants in the garden. It had been a relatively mild winter, but there were also some bitterly cold mornings when the temperature dropped well below zero. And I reckon some of these killed off out hardenbergia, kangaroo paw and grevillea, all of which I had…

  • Bloody Great Year To Have Been Alive In ’25

    Not much went right in 2025, but more than enough to have made it a bloody great year to have been alive. Apart from my relationships with Mrs. Kangaeroo, friends, family and dinosaurs, work provided me with an immense amount of joy. I threw everything I could at my job, and was happy to do so. But it turns out that I’m maybe not very good at it. At least that recognition provides a basis to make myself better in 2026. I don’t really have a great recollection of the year as it progressed, continuing my long-term pattern of short-term memory loss. I started the year with the aim of…

  • An Aussie Garden In Japan Is Bloomin’ Hard Work

    After months of pretty much neglect, it was time to get back into the garden with the gifts of a long weekend and the presence of Mrs. Kangaeroo. I’m pretty sure our little haven will end up appreciating us for doing so. Summer ravaged our lawn for the third consecutive year. I’d planned on re-laying the grass using a Japanese seed in the spring, but as it was flourishing then, I decided to try using the North American grasses one more time but cutting higher. I shouldn’t have bothered. But August, the grass had nearly all died and we had a dustbowl. This year was also a great one to…

  • Behind The Great Green Wall

    It was a blistering hot summer in Tokyo this year–the third year in a row to have the highest temperatures on record–and that had a mixed effect on our garden. One aspect of that heat was to great a great green wall. Our wattles, tea trees, grevilleas, and jacaranda all grew thick and fast over the summer, providing some shade, which was greatly appreciated by the tree fern I’m sure, but robbing other plants of light. Combined with the relentless heat that obliterated the lawn, our proteas have both withered away and many other plants are struggling. Only the big trees have loved the summer, but shown that largely with…

  • Crickey! Plugging The Fountain Of Strewth

    One of the things that gardening has taught me is just how pleasing tiny little events can be, and few items have brought joy as great as the Fountain of Strewth has done. When first setting up the garden, I noticed many experts spoke about encouraging pollinators and how water features could achieve this. I bought a cheap bird bath and solar-powered water sprayer from a shonky Chinese e-commerce site, and the Fountain of Strewth was born. I’d never imagined the sheer joy it could bring as it attracted birds to our garden, who loved drinking and bathing in its waters, which I made sure to change daily to avoid…

  • Squeezing In More Than I Thought

    When I started writing the title, my intention was to talk about how I am getting more done day-to-day than I expected, but I realized it was also just as apt as my daily battle with clothes. I’ve struggled all my life in a battle against weight, but have been on the losing end of that conflict over the past few years, gaining about 30 kilograms and no longer fitting in the vast bulk of my clothes because of my, well, vast bulk. But I’ve been working on weight loss a bit more seriously the past few weeks and fit into clothes I’d worn before. Still a long way to…

  • Browbeat By Bugs And Feeling The Heat, Yet Still Done To A Tea(tree)

    All sorts of life events have come into play to prevent complete dedication to loves like cycling and gardening, but I have neglected the latter in particular over the past year. Nonetheless, despite the garden being beset by bugs and another blistering summer, pockets are thriving including the cute blossoms on the teatree. The teatree is a little special, as along with the silver wattle, it’s the first Aussie native plant we bought. It has thrived since we planted it in the ground about three-and-a-half years ago. But not quite as well as other trees, notably the two wattles–one golden and the other silver–that stand either side of it. So…

  • ‘Pterror’ Trauma Transforms Into A Tantalizing Turn

    Dino, our modern pterodactyl–or “pterror-dactyl” as I prefer to call her for her innate ability to traumatize–has been crook for a while without showing signs of a complete recovery. I would give anything for her to resume her reign of pterror. The rosy faced lovebird who rules our roost has an infection after eating too much human food. Poor Mrs. Kangaeroo has for months been finishing grueling nightshifts and taking the bird on a draining journey to the avian vet. Mrs. Kangaeroo has also overseen the bird’s strict diet and medicine administration. Dino is better than her worst state, but is not her aggressive, dominating self. Dino continues to struggle…

  • Paws For A Moment To Enjoy The Beauty

    Not much is happening because too much mundanity is happening, but our garden is blessing us with glorious sights every day even as the dreaded summer heat sets in. Our kangaroo paws are providing particular joy at the moment. I’m a bit worried about how the hot summer will affect the garden. The past two summers have been long and blisteringly hot with barely any semblance of a rainy season. This year, May was a washout, but we are hitting the high 30s daily now. And the forecast is for much of the same over the next couple of weeks. And the grevillea are continuing their amazing blooms.

  • Woozy Weather Threatens To Turn Paw Show Into Poor Performance

    Our kangaroo paw are starting to bloom, but they’re coming into their own just as the rainy season starts, hinting that we might not get a grand show. Kangaroo paw are Western Australian plants, so like bright, dry and sunny conditions. We have had a cool, dark and wet spring and early summer. This time last year, our kangaroo paw were resplendant. They’re only just making their way now. The flowers don’t like humidity, and the Tokyo summer is known for its steamy conditions, which is about as bad as it gets for kangaoo paw. We’ll just have to wait and hope for the best. In the meantime, we’re getting…