• Daily Life

    Breaking The Banksia

    It’s becoming increasingly obvious that we’re finally going to get a banksia flower in the garden. We’ve had a banksia in the garden from the outset, but yet to get a flower some three years down the track. And we’ve had plenty of troubles along the way. In addition to the coastal banksia we started with, we also bought a hairpin banksia last year. It was a ripper and we grew it in a pot. It withstood the blistering heat of the summer of 2023, but I planted it too early into the autumn and it withered and died. We…

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    Tea-ing Off for the Hot Stuff

    Yesterday gave me an absolutely delightful surprise that I am now hoping will be a tee off toward better things as our tea tree bloomed as we hit the heat of early summer, long after I had given up hope of it doing so this year. I was thrilled to see the tiny white flowers appear. As I’ve mentioned often previously, this year had a darker than normal winter, which is usually bright and sunny in Tokyo, and even though it has been warmer, it has had an impact on blossoming. But our tea tree has clearly joined the party…

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    Fantastic Flora

    Slowly but surely the flowers in Kangaeroo Corner are putting on an increasingly delightful show. It was a sodden start to what is likely to be a demanding week or so as the company’s sole native English speaker in the office and the busy season well underway. But the flowers made a beautiful start as our bottlebrush continued to thrive and the grevillea starting to move into full bloom. Kangaroo paw buds are also evident, but the full flower is still some time away. And the other plants are enjoying the growing season by reaching skyward and looking great. I…

  • Daily Life

    Laughing All the Way to the Banksia

    After worrying for literally months, maybe even years, banksia are finally giving me a great boost as they showed signs of thriving now that spring has sprung in earnest. It’s hard to tell which banksia is bringing the most delight. The main hairpin banksia, intended to be a centerpiece of the garden, has finally showed clear and pleasing signs that it is growing with new shoots sprouting in a manner detectable by the naked eye after having appeared to be dormant and not taking root months after it was planted in the ground. Then there’s the little hairpin banksia bought…

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    Budding

    Spring has well and truly hit and an unexpectedly wonderful day full of sunshine has the Kangaeroo Corner garden and its Aussie plants poised to explode into color as one tree after another buds. Jacaranda leaves are sprouting. And the native hops are ready to show their funny flowers. At least the most fragile hairpin banksia is growing for sure. I suspect the more settled hairpin banksia is growing, too. I wish this would grow faster and give me greater confidence that it is, in fact, growing. The coastal banksia is also growing, albeit with some disconcerting yellowing of its…

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    Seeding is Believing!

    For me, no flower better symbolizes Australian native plants than a banksia, and even though they have a reputation for being relatively easy to grow and maintain, that hasn’t been my experience in my two years of having an Aussie garden, but I’ve finally got a seed of hope….literally! Banksia seeds I planted in growth pods a couple of months ago and had basically given up on because they appeared unresponsive have started to sprout. Only two seedlings have appeared, but it was unexpected and a great delight. I tried growing heath banksia from seed last year and only one…

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    Garden of Weedin’

    Spring has sprung (for today) at least, and the garden at Kangaeroo Corner looks resplendent thanks to early morning weeding, a mow and planting plenty of new plants. Weather helped, too, with delightful sunshine and warmth as the temperature topped 20 for the first time this year. I had planned to transplant some plants bought over the winter next week, when we have a holiday, but circumstances conspired against me and I won’t be able to do it that day, so things turned out perfectly by forcing me outside from just after dawn. With last year’s lawn woes in mind,…

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    Banking On Banksia

    Having caught the propagating bug last year, I’ve decided to try my hand at growing my own plants again in 2024, this time turning to the difficult proposition of raising banksias, the flower that most symbolizes Australian flora in my eyes. So far, my luck with banksias hasn’t been great, mainly thanks to ignorance and ill preparation to be fair. And impatience, perhaps? Kangaeroo Corner has a banksia that has grown well since it’s initial planting almost two years ago, but it has yet to flower for us. I expect it will do so one day. But I still want…

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    Welcoming In Winter

    Like it or not, and I’m firmly in the “not” camp on this one, winter is here again, but I’ve been kind’ve happy to see how well Kangaeroo Corner has held up this year as the cold sets in. This year is the second year of our garden and for the most part it has thrived. That’s especially fantastic considering the harsh summer we went through, followed by an Indian summer that extended deeply into the autumn. I’ve previously experienced summers in Japan as hot as those of 2023, but none as dry. The lack of rain might have been…

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    Of Banksia and Birdies

    It’s the most glorious day of the year so far in terms of weather and I am sitting in my back office, stuffing myself full of chocolate and lollies and preoccupied with bloody banksia and birds. I’m stuck here because I’m waiting on delivery of the newest member of Kangaeroo Corner, a hairpin banksia that I am positive is going to be worth the wait. For me, no flower is more iconic of Australia than the banksia. And it holds a place in Australian folklore, named after Sir Joseph Banks, an 18th-century British naturalist who accompanied Capt. James Cook on…