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Australia
I ran away from teaching to the country to grow veggies. There are also some chooks and a pair of troublesome goats who were so much trouble they had to go! My simple green life isn't always as simple or as green as I'd like...but I keep trying!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Winter Wednesday # 12

Although other bloggers have mentioned Wattles
in their Winter Wednesdays, I couldn't resist
having my own Wattley Wintery Wednesday.

After all one acacia (Acacia pycnantha) is our national floral emblem.
Australia also has 1000 of the world's 1350 species of acacia.


This first one is commonly known as the black wattle 
and is everywhere around here.  
The globular flowers are small...
about 3 mm/quarter inch in diameter. 
In fact each of those little balls is a group of flowers.




 When you put a lot of those flowers together you get this!









The Cootamundra wattle 
-  indigenous to the Cootamundra area in New South Wales, 
also does well in Victoria.  
It has bluey green ferny foliage and is just finishing flowering.



 This one has flat leaf like structures known as phyllodes (actually just flattened stems) rather than leaves and its flowers are pale cream.  Did you know there was a purple and a red acacia?



Some acacias have their flowers arranged in cylinders.

Although it is hard to tell from these photos, 
these globular flowers are a good centimetre/half inch 
in diameter and, as you can see are 
on quite a small scrubby little plant. 



Acacias make great garden plants 
as they come in a wide range of forms 
from low growing plants to shrubs and trees.  
They grow quickly but their life span is also limited, 
in most cases, to about 15 years.  

They are now being grown commercially 
to provide wood for furniture making and as fire wood.

Aborigines traditionally used the wood for 
boomerangs, clubs, spears and shields.
They also used extracts from the leaves 
to relieve toothache and for applying
to wounds and burns.

Wattles germinate well after fire
and are often among the first to regenerate.



Some contented Herefords (above) 
and Black Angus (below) 
enjoying the winter sunshine 
with their calves...
with wattle as a backdrop.


Now, you don't have many chances left to join in Winter Wednesdays...in fact only today and next week!
So please write a post about what you enjoy about Winter (no whinging!) with a link to this post.


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22 comments:

  1. MichelleAugust 17, 2011 at 10:09 AM

    Beautiful pics of the wattles. We have black angus, but I would love some of those herefords.

    ReplyDelete
  2. KristiAugust 17, 2011 at 10:10 AM

    I would love to have deep gold wattle tree in my yard but hubby gets bad hay fever so its a no go!
    Link up to my winter wednesday:
    http://we-make-it-work.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. AndreaAugust 17, 2011 at 10:11 AM

    Hi there,what a winter's day!! Wattles certainly brighten a grey day and your photos have captured them beautifully.Rains set in for the day here so im having a declutter day,hope you to have a good day. Ciao dream of a getaway visit http://harvestwithglee.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Enchanted MomentsAugust 17, 2011 at 10:35 AM

    Thanks Hazel, just very sodden here again...makes things a bit difficult...I love the Wattle, lovely pics.....

    ReplyDelete
  5. littlekarstarAugust 17, 2011 at 12:08 PM

    I joined you early this morning beforey you'd even posted!

    I adore wattle, the fragrance is gorgeous and it's so darn cheerful.

    ReplyDelete
  6. xo.sorcha.oxAugust 17, 2011 at 1:55 PM

    I nearly posted about wattles! The Flinders are bright yellow with the blooming acacias at the moment, which always help brighten the morning. Only downside is that they also bring on the hayfever - achoo!
    After having taken a week plus off from blogging, I have returned today to join in with Winter Wednesday: http://sorcha-sidhe.blogspot.com/2011/08/winter-wednesday-red-sky-at-morning.html.
    ~S.

    ReplyDelete
  7. LizAugust 17, 2011 at 1:56 PM

    I love acacia's, fabulous photos - I am particularly enjoying my Acacia glaucoptera at the moment - I love the architectural look of its foliage. I also have a Winter Wednesday post for you at: http://suburbantomato.com/2011/08/winter-wednesday-tomatoes/.

    ReplyDelete
  8. angelaAugust 17, 2011 at 2:40 PM

    wow I have one like the pic of the cream flowers in my front yard. All these years I didnt know what it was.
    we just planted wattles last year, and they are going gangbusters with all this rain.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousAugust 17, 2011 at 2:41 PM

    Beautiful shots Hazel, I'm a bit of a cattle fan (my family have been stock agents for four generations, mostly dealing in cattle) so I love these photos.

    Here is my edition of the Winter Wednesday theme. http://thenewgoodlife.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/winter-wednesday-a-day-with-the-literary-greats/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gooseberry JamAugust 17, 2011 at 3:15 PM

    I Love Wattle, Sp pretty, So Aussie! If I had a wattle tree I would have fresh wattle on my table everyday, I occasionally pinch a few twigs from a nearby roadside tree!! Pollen everywhere of course, but it looks very pretty in a vase for a day or two...

    I am sharing another Qld Winter Joy today: http://gooseberryjamman.blogspot.com/2011/08/winter-wednesday.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousAugust 17, 2011 at 3:40 PM

    Oops! I now have a golden car - shouldn't have parked under that wattle tree.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mark WillisAugust 17, 2011 at 3:49 PM

    You must have enjoyed the research for this post, Hazel. You have taken some stunning photos. It's interesting to hear about a tree with such a short life-span; trees normally live much longer.

    ReplyDelete
  13. RoseAugust 17, 2011 at 4:19 PM

    Hazel I've just had the nicest time visiting everyone's WWs, thanks for making it happen. One more to go.



    Yippee!! ;)


    Now, what are we gonna do in the spring?

    ReplyDelete
  14. KelliAugust 17, 2011 at 6:12 PM

    What striking colour and fab photos of tree and countryside. The yellow is so pretty! Enjoyed your post, kelli

    ReplyDelete
  15. Ruth @ Camellia RoseAugust 17, 2011 at 6:31 PM

    Winter flowers are the best! I haven't done Winter Wednesdays for a while... I better try and think of something good for next week!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Kirsty @ Bowerbird BlueAugust 17, 2011 at 10:19 PM

    I love wattles too and think its unfairly blamed for hay fever, it's more grasses pollen that get me and you don't really see it floating around. Wattles fix nitrogen in the soil - they're in the pea family - so great as a pioneer for getting the ground ready for other plants. My favourite in our garden is Golden Dust Wattle. The 1st of September is Wattle Day which is a very cool thing http://wattleday.com/1stwattleday.php. I've done lots of tree planting with school kids on Wattle Day. A very late winter Wednesday post from me -
    http://landcare.blogspot.com/2011/08/winter-wednesday.html.

    ReplyDelete
  17. ChrisAugust 17, 2011 at 10:20 PM

    Beautiful and so cheerful. We only have one wattle growing here, I should really plant a few more! Fuzzy, yellow happiness on a trunk.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Katie MAugust 17, 2011 at 11:18 PM

    Hehe, a post after my own heart! I am waiting impatiently for the red-flowered cultivar to flower at work, I've seen pictures but never seen the real thing. I think it would be pretty cool.

    ReplyDelete
  19. MoAugust 18, 2011 at 1:18 AM

    I knew nothing about wattles,but now I do - thanks! Very interestingm and wonderful photo's :) Mo

    ReplyDelete
  20. Staci@LifeAtCobbleHillFarmAugust 18, 2011 at 7:54 AM

    The photos are stunning!!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. gullygunyahAugust 18, 2011 at 8:04 AM

    Loved the herefords and angus pics. I didn't know wattles only lived 15 years. A lot of them die from being eaten out by white ants too.
    I've heard some say they attract them.

    ReplyDelete
  22. ClaireAugust 18, 2011 at 8:07 PM

    Love, love, love Wattles and not just the ones you find on chooks.........

    Gotta pick bunches of the stuff and bring it indoors........ so bright and cheery.

    Claire :}

    ReplyDelete

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