Lonicera nidita is a type of honeysuckle used in topiary and hedging. It’s often known as box honeysuckle. Tiny birds such as blue wrens love to hop about in it…… and on it, searching for bugs. It will cope with frequent, light clipping and becomes dense and
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In a now famous reference to Queen Elizabeth; ‘I did but see her passing by, and yet I’ll love her until I die.’ Prime Minister of Australia R.M. Menzies. (1963) Early in February 1954, a group of WWI diggers travelled down to Sydney to see the young
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I can’t say that I like spiders, but I have become quite fascinated with the ones I see in my garden here in the Blue Mountains. Of course most of them I don’t actually see….only their intricate webs. People on an Australian spider ID site told me the
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In Sydney’s Botanic Gardens there is a very special Norfolk Island pine known as The Wishing Tree. It is a replacement of the original, which was planted in the early days of the colony. A sign explains its history, and its association with Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s wife,
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Specimens of of the Australian native Banksia serrata were collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770 and later named for him. They are funny, gnarled trees that look ancient long before their time (rather like weather beaten Australian gardeners). Serrata refers to the tough, saw edged leaves; Their knobbled
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A favourite shrub in my woodland garden is the spikey Australian native shrub Lambertia Formosa. It was once known as the honey flower, but today is more usually called Mountain Devil. It is related to the proteas. The shrubs grow to about 2 metres. They are great
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Engineer George Morris arrived in Australia in the 1890s. He settled in Sydney, marrying Priscilla Walker in 1903. The couple then moved to Lithgow, in the Blue Mountains, where George was initially employed at the town’s blast furnace. In 1910 he left, to open a foundry in
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Some years ago I had to spend a few weeks in a major Sydney hospital. I didn’t actually feel sick, and since I was editing a book at the time I took along my notebooks and computer. There was no restriction at all on visitors. In fact,
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It’s easy to forget just how concerned ordinary Australians were for their safety during World War II. This was not without reason, given the bombing of Darwin and the arrival of Japanese midget submarines in Sydney Harbour. A giant metal boom was suspended across the harbour
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TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING OK, all packed for our trip across the Nullarbor on the Indian Pacific, It’s a VERY long train. Had to catch the train to Sydney first. For heavens sake…..why couldn’t it pick us up on the way???? Pretty poor service considering my status.
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