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 Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme,
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Sunrise on the Yarra River is always a beautiful time, especially if the weather is good and if there aren't too many people around.
This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
As the day draws to a close, so does our thought turn to the end of our life. Sunsets are beautiful as they concentrate in them al the memories of that day that is ending. As our life passes we move on to gentler, more meditative pursuits, such as admiring the sun setting. We watch the sun disappear and we think of our life's journey and its approaching end...
This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme,
and also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme.
On January 31, 2018, it was the first time in 35 years that a blue moon synced up with a super moon and a total lunar eclipse, or blood moon because of its red hue. A blue moon is a full moon that occurs a second time in the same calendar month, while blood moon is the name we give to the moon during an eclipse. The red /orange appearance is caused by the light filtering and bending properties of our atmosphere. The "super moon" applies when the moon appears bigger because it is closer than normal to the Earth. NASA is calling it a lunar trifecta: The first super blue blood moon since 1982. That combination won't happen again until 2037.
We had a cloudy day in Melbourne on the 31st, and people were disappointed that we would be unable to watch the eclipse. In the evening, however, the sky cleared and lo and behold, the super blue blood moon did indeed appear and it did not disappoint!
This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme,
and also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme.
The quietly flowing waters of the Yarra River provide marvellous opportunities for Melbourne's rowing enthusiasts to practice and enjoy the river. A number of rowing clubs with historic clubhouses can be found alongside the river, close to the City.
This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme,
and also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme.
Mesembryanthemum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterised by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of Mesembryanthemum protect their gametes from night-time dews or frosts but open in sunlight. There is an obvious evolutionary advantage to doing this; where sun, dew, frost, wind or predators are likely to damage exposed reproductive organs, closing may be advantageous during times when flowers are unlikely to attract pollinators.
It is indigenous to southern Africa. Many Mesembryanthemum species are known as ice plants because of the glistening globular bladder cells covering their stems, fruit and leaves, so that "they sparkle like ice crystals". In South Africa, Mesembryanthemum is known as "vygies" (from Afrikaans "vy"), although this term refers to many plants in the Aizoaceae family. Many species formerly placed in Mesembryanthemum, such as Dorotheanthus bellidiformis, Carpobrotus spp. and Sceletium spp. have since been moved into other genera.
Ground cover plants don’t come much tougher or lower maintenance than this plant. In its native land, pigface is used to growing in dry, rocky and sandy conditions which makes it very tolerant to drought, salt and wind. Its succulent foliage will form a dense and spreading mat, growing to no more than 15cm high and around 40cm wide. It’s prized of course for the spectacularly vibrant flowers that form all over the plant in early spring – electric shades of orange, pink, yellow and a crystal white that contrast beautifully with the foliage.
Choose a dry, sunny spot with good drainage, such as amongst rock. They will tolerate partial shade but you may find they produce less flowers. They have a tendency to trail slightly, so plant them at the edge of retaining walls or pots where they can artfully spill over the side. Pigface is unlikely to have problems with pests or disease, just ensure that your drainage is good to prevent root rot.
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