SUMMER SUNRISE

Another hot day begins. Our temperature in Melbourne climbed up to 44˚C today!

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SUNFLOWER

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #154 - SOUTH WHARF

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:

1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;

2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;

3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;

\4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity! Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!

The theme is of your own choosing, so post on any subject you desire.

South Wharf is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government areas are the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip. At the 2011 Census, South Wharf had a population of 66. South Wharf is a small inner suburb south west from Melbourne's CBD.

Its borders are the Yarra River to the north, Wurundjeri Way to the west, the West Gate Freeway and a small private car park bordering Ford Street and Munro Street, which is part of the City of Port Phillip, to the south and the former Port Melbourne railway line and Clarendon Street to the east.

Gazetted in 2008 and formerly part of the industrial and shipping area of Southbank, the renaming is part of a wider urban renewal strategy to link Southbank with the Melbourne Docklands.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

Last week, Klara in Poland posted some lovely photos of rose hips, the one below being my favourite. Please visit her blog for more beautiful photos.

ICEBERG ROSE

'Iceberg' is a floribunda rose cultivar that was bred in Germany in 1958. It is also known by the names 'Korbin' (the registered cultivar name), Fée des Neiges and Schneewittchen. It is among the world's best known roses. Iceberg is a modern cluster-flowered floribunda rose cultivar. The cultivar is commercially available in two main forms. These are as a tall bush and a standard rose produced by grafting. Weeping and climbing forms are also available. Shrub forms of the cultivar have an upright habit and are 75 to 150 cm wide high and 60 cm wide. Leaves are light green and glossy. Blooms are about 5 cm in diameter and have 25 to 35 petals. Buds are long and pointed. The subtly fragrant flowers usually appear throughout the year.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #153 - ROSE HIPS

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:

1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;

2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;

3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;

4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!

The theme is of your own choosing, so post on any subject you desire.

Rose hips reddening on wild rose bushes can only mean that Summer is advancing and Autumn is on its way...

Last week, Klara in Poland posted some lovely photos of ducks, the one below being my favourite. Please visit her blog for more beautiful photos.

BIKE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

LOROPETALUM

Loropetalum is a genus of three species of shrubs or small trees in the witch-hazel family, Hamamelidaceae, native to China, Japan, and south-eastern Asia. The name Loropetalum refers to the shape of the flowers and comes from the Greek loros meaning strap and petalon meaning petal.

Flowers are produced in clusters during spring and are similar to those of the closely related witch-hazel. Each flower consists of four to six (depending on species) slender strap shaped petals 1-2 cm long. Illustrated here is Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum, often called "Chinese Fringe Flower". If you want it in your garden, plan your colours to begin with. This particular loropetalum looks great in a black pot for an oriental feel or try a bright contrasting colour for a real statement. As it’s low growing, plant it at the front of garden beds for maximum impact.

Loropetalums in general prefer moist but well drained soils but are quite adaptable to less than ideal conditions. Pruning is generally not required, however, you can give a light trim after flowering to help keep them in your preferred shape. A feed with a slow release fertiliser in early spring is beneficial. They are ideal for low maintenance areas, rockeries and garden edges.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #152 - DUCK

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!

The theme is of your own choosing, so post on any subject you desire.

This post is also part of the Weekend in Black & White meme.


This week my fav photo comes from Jesh in the USA. Please visit her blog for more beautiful images.

PANORAMIC SKY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

AGAPANTHUS

Agapanthus is the only genus in the subfamily Agapanthoideae of the flowering plant family Amaryllidaceae. The family is in the monocot order Asparagales. The name is derived from scientific Greek: αγάπη (agape) = love, άνθος (anthos) = flower. Some species of Agapanthus are commonly known as lily of the Nile (or African lily in the UK), although they are not lilies and all of the species are native to Southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique) though some have become naturalised in scattered places around the world (Australia, Great Britain, Mexico, Ethiopia, Jamaica, etc.).

Species boundaries are not clear in the genus, and in spite of having been intensively studied, the number of species recognised by different authorities varies from 6 to 10. The type species for the genus is Agapanthus africanus shown here. A great many hybrids and cultivars have been produced and they are cultivated throughout warm areas of the world.

In Melbourne, these are planted widely in gardens, parks but also median strips of roads and nature strips. As they bloom around the time of Christmas, most Melburnians associate this flower with the Festive Season.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

ELEPHANT ROCKS, WA

The Elephant Rocks are a well known landmark of the dramatic Denmark coastline on Western Australia’s south coast, located in the William Bay National Park about 15km west of the Denmark town centre. With a small stretch of the imagination, these tall rounded granite boulders resemble a herd of elephants bathing in the cold Southern Ocean waters.

A short walk trail from the carpark takes you to a lookout over Elephant Rocks. The trail then descends between the rocks to a sheltered cove. This is a lovely place for a swim but be aware that strong currents sometimes run through this cove. Providing a stark contrast to the granite that dominates this section of coast, a strip of black dolerite lines the eastern edge of the bay. You can walk from Elephant Rocks around the rocky headland to Greens Pool. As well as enjoying the marvellous views, you can also do snorkelling, swimming, fishing and bushwalking there. Not forgetting of course your camera to take some stunning photos of this amazing place.

Denmark is a coastal town located on Wilson Inlet in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, 423 kilometres south-south-east of the state capital of Perth. At the 2016 census, Denmark had a population of 2,558; however, the population can be several times the base population during tourist seasons.

Denmark is a rural town with timber milling, orcharding, beef cattle and dairy farming as its primary industries. Excellent soil and climate attract wine growers, with tourism being the fastest growing business in Denmark. There is limited commercial fishing in Wilson Inlet. Denmark has no harbour. The town is home to the Western Australian College of Agriculture – Denmark, a 560 hectare working farm and educational facility for Year 10, 11 and 12 students providing specialist education in farming and farm-related studies. Denmark was awarded the title of Australia's Tidiest Town in 1998.

On the Denmark River near Wilson Inlet there is a wooden Heritage Railway bridge where several walking trails come together including the Bibbulmun Track, which runs from the Perth region to Albany, and the “Denmark–Nornalup Heritage Trail”. Denmark is on the South Coast Highway, and is serviced by the TransWA public transport system. The town has an airstrip for small planes.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #151 - LIGHT

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:

1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;

2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;

3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;

4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!

The theme is of your own choosing, so post on any subject you desire.

This post is also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

Last week, Betty in New Zealand showed us a photo of a lovely beach in her neck of the woods. I loved this photo. Please visit her blog for more beautiful images.

KEW BOATHOUSE

Historic Studley Park Boathouse, Kew, is only 10 minutes from the Melbourne city centre and offers visitors the opportunity to dine in the restaurant, relax over a lighter meal in the indoor/outdoor café, or have a light snack from the kiosk while enjoying sweeping views of the Yarra River and natural bushland.

You can also hire row boats, canoes and kayaks from the oldest operating boathouse in Australia. Open every day of the year except Christmas Day. Kids love the place as there are activities, animals and wide open spaces to play in.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

SMOKY SUNSET

Currently in Melbourne, we are experiencing very bad air quality, and there is a choking smell of burning with widespread hazy conditions as the smoke from the devastating East Gippsland bushfires drifts across hundreds of kilometres to reach the City.

You can help the thousands of victims who have lost loved ones, property and the roofs over their heads, here.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

LITHODORA

Lithodora diffusa ‘Grace Ward’ (also called blue lithospermum, USDA Zone: 5-9) in the Boraginaceae family is a choice ground-cover or rock garden plant, making an unforgettable display when grown well. Plants form a low, creeping mat of hairy dark-green leaves, studded with sapphire-blue star flowers from late spring through summer.

The Greek lithodora literally means "stone gifts", referring to their preferred rocky habitats. Plants must have a well-drained, acidic soil in order to thrive. Heavy clay soils are sure death. In colder regions this plant will benefit from a light covering of evergreen boughs as soon as the soil is frozen in late Autumn. Combines well with heaths and heathers, since plants have similar requirements. Evergreen where hardy. Not especially vigorous.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.