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When I was a kid, Cannas (or Canna Lilies) seemed to only come in rather drab and scruffy red and oranges. Obviously, much propagation of new variants has occurred since with not only a much larger range of pretty colours, but stronger flowers and much nicer foliage. This bed was in the City Botanic Gardens in Brisbane during autumn.
The Gardens Cafe in the City Botanic Gardens in Brisbane has been there for many years. It was doing a roaring trade with a great menu when we dropped by several months ago.
It's a quiet corner for a nice meal.
In the City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane.
A rather mysterious contraption by Dr. Cornelius Dempster in the 19th century is The Apparatus for Germination of Achaemienis Ambulatii (Pony Plant). The germinator is the last remnant of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Achaemienus Ambulatii Germination and Research Facility. Built in 1872, it hoped to bring the Pony Plant, a terrestrial bromeliad and the world’s only known walking plant back from the brink of extinction.
The robust, ambulatory ‘flowers’ could support the weight of a small child. It is perhaps unsurprising that its popularity in gardens and sideshows around the world lead to its eventual demise.
Ok, and it seems like my Drop Bears, all that is quite a hoax also and correct attribution is as follows -
"Apparatus for Germination of Achaemienis Ambulatii (Pony Plant) in the City Botanic Gardens, is a sculpture in my "imagined history" series according to Brisbane sculptor and artist Russell Anderson in 2014".
Biblical Sycamore in the City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane.
steppesoffaith-56895.medium.com/the-symbolic-meanings-of-...(and%20sycamore)%20trees%20always,%2C%20and%20Israel's%20well%2Dbeing.
A beautiful Canna in the City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane. They seem to grow very profusely in our climate but this was a new colour on me.
Back in March, we had a wander through the City Botanic Gardens in Brisbane and saw more Bush Stone-Curlews than ever before. As you can see, these amazing birds are seriously camouflaged for the surrounds they are usually found in. So too are their eggs, this one had stood up while we were watching and it was quite hard to see her little clutch of beautiful eggs. Except one, a rejected white one. She quickly sat back down on the good ones again.
Birders may be able to tell me what has likely happened here. Was it non-viable or a plant? Well may you ask why I make that suggestion but I do remember when I was young, my Dad used to place fake white plastic eggs in the hen's nests to help the process along!
A cloudy old day yesterday for our journey into "downtown" Brisbane. I wanted to have a look at progress on the new Kangaroo Point Green Bridge (a fairly uninspiring name) which runs across the river from the bottom of Edward Street up to Kangaroo Point on the other (i.e. south side). So this is a low shot from the City Botanical Gardens looking downstream.
It's quite an impressive structure, looking currently like it is having a restaurant deck half way up but the mid-structure is temporary and will be removed. One sad thing about its positioning is that from the Gardens point of view, it interrupts the very traditional view of Eagle Street precinct (on the left behind the trees) and in particular Brisbane's iconic Story Bridge which you can see partly poking out above the white and angled deck of the new bridge.
I hope they come up with a new name that commemorates something more deserving, not that I don't have sympathy with the concept of a bridge that is not only pretty good looking but designed for foot and other "green" non-road traffic.
The Brisbane City Council is behind this new bridge and has also recently opened a new one across Breakfast Creek (at its confluence with the river) at Newstead for similar traffic. I understand that a further green bridge at yet another location was shelved in 2023 budget cuts.
A better view of the whole area can be had from the top of the Kangaroo Point cliffs but that is a project for a finer day and perhaps when the bridge is complete.
As an aside, the other recently completed Sir Neville Bonner Bridge around the Gardens Point bend upstream which is also a green bridge and links Southbank Parklands with the new Queens Wharf project (six months until the whole project is complete) has of course not yet been opened. Once completed and opened, the Brisbane River within the city and suburbs will have six green bridges which include the Eleanor Schonell Bridge at the Uni of Qld which takes pedestrians and other green transport but not cars etc.. (of any type)!
www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-and-transport/roads-infra...
We were feeling a bit down in the dumps today so decided to take a bus into the city centre of Brisbane to see what turned up for the camera...and lunch. We took a walk down to the Brisbane River and the City Botanic Gardens to see how the rather spectacular new green pedestrian bridge was coming along (photo another day).
One major surprise in the Gardens was the proliferation of Bush Stone-Curlews which were everywhere. Unusually many were quite active instead of being stock still, blending in as they do so well with the mulch surrounding the trees and gardens.
And then we found this parent who was keeping a close eye on two fairly new additions to the family. Aren't they gorgeous, sticking fairly close to Mum or Dad. Hopefully they will fit right in with the bigger family currently resident in unusually large numbers in the Gardens. We saw another sitting on two very well camouflaged eggs so the additions haven't ended yet.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_stone-curlew
Dusky Moorhen in the City Botanic Gardens in Brisbane.
One of a series of fountains in the City Botanic Gardens in Alice Street, Brisbane.
Beautiful water lily flowers in one of the ponds at the City Botanic Gardens in Brisbane.
The City Botanic Gardens in Brisbane, Queensland is currently overlooked by a rather large crane working on refurbishment of what is called the Parliamentary Annex, a high rise building adjoining Queensland's heritage listed Parliament House. The Annex is a home away from home for members of Queensland's single house Parliament (we have no Upper House!) Government and Opposition party members have to live up to thousands of miles from home while Parliament is in session because of Queensland's large and very decentralised state. They need some comfort!
The Annex (a rather mundane name) is the building with scaffolding on the right. A small portion of Parliament House (part of the roof) can be seen at the base of the crane. The gardens form a quiet oasis surrounded by the roar of the city and the languid waters of the Brisbane River.
Glossy Acronychia
Rutaceae
Broad leaved Palm Lily
Asparagaceae
Green tree snake
Blue Flax-lily
Hemerocallidaceae
Firecracker flower
Orchid Swallowtail (Papilio aegeus) having a drink
Acanthaceae
Grey Milkwood
Apocynaceae
Bloodhorn plays host to Parotis marginata lavae
Apocynaceae