Around the garden...

It's been a bit drier here in SE Queensland this year, but some good rain has fallen this month...it also actually rained in some of the rural areas that have been in drought. Winter hasn't really visited us this year and I'm sure the plants thought that we went straight from Autumn to Spring! I took a few photos a week or so ago...

Nasturtiums always remind me of my childhood...one of the few flowers growing in the garden that my mother would allow me to pick.

 I brought home these as self sown seedlings from my friend's garden and they have finally flowered...

 Since using the sprinkler once a week with tank water, the passionfruit vine has rewarded me by producing fruit that ripened and didn't just wither on the vine ;-(

 My mother's aloe vera plants have grow tall flower spikes in the last month or so...(I 'inherited' my mum's potted garden that she had in her later years)

 Some bromeliads that I 'cadged' from a friend...

 Some self sown Dietes...

A geranium grown from  a cutting...

 The NZ Christmas bush has been flowering all winter...

But I've kept the best thing I found in the garden till last...
Last year I wanted to trim the top of one of my bottle brush trees...but there was a little nest in it, right near the top. So no trimming and eventually a couple of chicks hatched out...squawking for their parents to feed them. In no time at all it seemed, the hatchlings flew and the nest lay empty. And I never did get around to trimming the top of the tree! Well a few weeks ago I noticed that there was a bird sitting in the nest...
Despite taking lots of photos...you can't really see much...

Then, 2 days ago I stood beneath the tree and looked up and I saw 3 open mouths!
DH took some photos with its special lens attached...

It looks like 'Daddy' bird is helping ...

I feel so proud that this little bird family have chosen my tree in which to bring up their chicks...