Sandstone Sanctuary

The sandstone rock platform that runs along one side of our property is proving to be a wondrously diverse and relatively undisturbed piece of habitat. As the weather warms up, I'm discovering increasing numbers of plant species, which is such a joy. This is where I found the Cryptostylis subulata I recently blogged about, and there are also Lomandra longifolia, Lomandra filiformis, Lomandra obliqua, Gahnia sp., and a range of monocots I'm yet to identify.

Yesterday, looking out the bathroom window, I noticed a Stylidium productum in flower!



Some while back, when we were still living in Turramurra, I had the same species growing in a pot. It resulted in a far better photo (which was published on Botany Photo of the Day), but having it growing wild is much more satisfying.


An utter favourite of mine is Caustis flexuosa, also known, appropriately enough, as Curly Wigs. I'd love to try propagating it, although I hear it's not an easy task.


(Of course, instead of taking photos and blogging, right now I should be studying for a uni exam on Monday, but to be honest, my brain is in a state of jangling anticipation: today is election day. I've been out to vote and there is nothing to do but wait now to see what the rest of Australia's decided. The tension is excruciating! Please, please, please, let this be the last day of the wretched Howard Government....)

Small things.

I've been pottering about the garden, taking advantage of my camera's lovely macro facility. I know I keep banging on about Lomandra obliqua, but it just captivates me. Click on these images to see larger versions--they look much better big.

Viola hederacea

And what better way to celebrate my new job with the bryophytes than to take a photo of moss?


This moss is growing on the rocks above the pond. And speaking of the pond, take a look at what we got up to today! (If you've a burning desire to learn how to glue PVC sheeting to fibreglass--and let's be honest, who doesn't?--it's very much in your interests to read it.)

There are more photos of small things on my website.

Flora Rolecall

Many of the plants I've put in since we moved here have died or failed to thrive. There are a few reasons for this: the dogs wee on them; the huge downpours we've had have drowned the smaller tube-stock plants; and my dear friends, the rock wallabies, have been having a banquet.

As a result, I've had to take firm action, fencing off some garden beds and putting protection around some young shrubs and saplings. Not pretty, but I hope it'll help deter the mammals. (Why don't they kill the bloody agapanthus, I ask myself.)

The fenced-off beds have a few additions, mainly ground-covers:

Rhodanthe anthemoides
Dampiera diversifolia
Scaevola humilis
Dryandra nivea
Hibbertia vestita (My spell check just suggested that should be "libertine transvestite", by the way. Novel.)
Chrysocephalum apiculatum
Crowea exalta
Chorizema cordatum x varium



You can see the poor old Corymbia in the foreground, with all its soft new growth chewed off. I don't think there'll be flowers this year.

Elsewhere in the garden I've planted:

Melaleuca bracteata
Eucalyptus cladocalyx
Cassinia denticulatum
Podocarpus spinulosa
Acacia floribunda
Stenocarpus sinuata
Syzygium australe

Some of these will grow to very large trees, and no, they're not near the house!

I've removed the rampant fish-bone fern from the fernery by the side of the house and put in a few other indigenous ferns:

Asplenium bulbifera (Hen and Chicken Fern)
Adiantum aethiopicum (Common Maidenhair) (Or, as the spell check would have it, "Quantum Ethiopian".)
Doodia aspera (Prickly Rasp Fern)
Cyathea australis (Tree Fern)



Erosion is a bit of an issue around the pond at this point, so I hope some of the plants I've put on the pond banks will help with that.



Asplenium australasicum (Birds Nest Fern)
Myoporum parvifolium
Viola hederacea (Ivy-Leafed Violet--almost a weed around here, but it's great for stabilising soil)
Lomandra confertifolia
Doodia aspera
Doryanthes excelsa
Baloskion tetraphyllum subsp. tetraphyllum (still in pots)
Gleichenia dicarpa

The latter, also known as Pouched Coral Fern and Tangle Fern, grows in a lot of the garden and in the adjacent park. It's so pretty and delicate, I really want to encourage it.




This is Lomandra obliqua, which is growing over the rocks above the ponds.



Finally, I came upon this, growing on the sandstone shelf above the fernery. I don't know what it is, but it certainly seems to be insectivorous. I'll send photos off to the Herbarium next week to get an ID, but in the meantime if anyone knows, please, post!



Who am I?