Hello, this is Cindy Strickland. I wanted to share a few scenes from an October 2017 trip I took to the area around Sydney, Australia.
I enjoyed walking in and around the historic Vaucluse House and its garden.
This is the fountain garden at the Vaucluse House.
And here is the enclosed cool and shaded area adjacent to the house dominated by the tree fern and tower.
The texture and patterns of the Australian straw tree fern (Cyathea cooperi) are remarkable.
The Alloxylon flammeum (its common names are red silky oak or tree waratah) has magnificent red flowers and is often cultivated as a small tree.
Outside a florist shop in the city there were buckets filled with bouquets of these flowers. I believe some of them are Protea, which are in the same family as the Alloxylon.
On a visit to Leura, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, I encountered this post box surrounded by gorgeous blooms.
On one of the harbor paths to the Opera House, this mass of flowers with the stone wall made a lovely vignette.
Finally, a colorful display of Australia seed packets
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