Australian Flowering Trees and a Fremontia

In my search for flowering trees to take pictures of for the July GGW photo competition I went to the University of Santa Cruz Arboretum. I was hoping for something native. But my favorite photo I think is the one above, of the fantastic eucalyptus trunks, with Leptospermum polygalifolium blossoms flowing over them.

There was a nice Fremontia but nothing else native was blooming, and the Fremontia was almost done.
So I wandered around the sections - South African, New Zealand, Australian - and found a lot of Australian trees in bloom. I'll relate these photos to the theme of native plant gardening by just saying that if you are choosing an accent plant that is not a California native, many plants from the Mediterranean climate zones - California being considered one, and others include Chile, the Mediterranean itself, South Africa, parts of Australia, and some other spots - are considered drought tolerant and suitable as long as they are not invasive.

So here followeth some of the photos I shot that didn't make the cut as the competition photo - I was weighting natives heavily over non-natives - but that I liked enough to hope you will enjoy them too.

The Eucalyptus trees were gorgeous. The trunks fantastic. The blossoms soft and feathery.

Below is Banksia grandis. Incredible leaves, wonderful sculptural form:


Next, Grevillea "Pink Surprise"


And this unknown tree, a cascade of delicate blossoms.


Finally, a magnolia. Reminds me of my first house in California - Two magnolia trees and three pepper trees on a small corner lot - they kept me busy enough!

Now - off to check out the competition!