At first glance you might well think this was an image of bunched up electrical wires, the type with
LED lights on the ends used for Christmas (too soon?) trees, when in fact it is one of those rather strange flowers that you quite often find on trees and bushes here in Australia, this one belongs to the
Red Flowering Gum tree which can grow up to 9 metres high. I'm sure everyone who writes a blog will every now and then have friends say "I saw something today that would be great for the blog"..well this is one of those occasions. My friend Bob, a retired but still active photographer himself spotted this typically Oz tree just over the road from his house and gave me a call. These gum nut flowers always make me think of the illustrations in
May Gibbs' delightful series of childrens books about the
Gumnut Babies. I can honestly say TGIF this week, it's been an exhausting week weather wise, cooler days ahead! Take care, and stay safe.....
The wonderful land of OZ!
ReplyDeleteAloha
What a beautiful tree and blossoms!! I love your capture with your wonderful blue skies as a backdrop!! Terrific!! Sleep well and have a great tomorrow!!
ReplyDeleteLovely blossom....never seen this before Grace
ReplyDeleteGreetings, Joop
What a beautiful and unusual blossom. I've never heard of a red flowering gum tree before. You can see the green cap of the bud bursting open and the red blossom peeking out -- cool. Hope it cools off for you soon.
ReplyDeleteI read a book ( The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles) to my third graders. They used the phrase, "Up a gum tree". Now I see there really is one!
ReplyDeleteV
What beautiful flowers! so strange..
ReplyDeleteWe saw horrible fires in Australia on TV. I hope you and family are safe, and that you'll get soon cooler weather.
Bright and beautiful images Grace
ReplyDeleteA real beauty.
ReplyDeletePhotography is a wonder.
Hugs to Australia from Spain.
beautiful .. the flowers, the way those little 'wires' stick out, reminds of this plant called Pixie Duster that a saw/took a photo of in the Nevada desert
ReplyDeleteGreat macro! I love this nuance of colour! Arianna
ReplyDeleteWow, Grace, fabulous!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful tree and photographs! Oh that bright pink, I wish we had such lovely gum trees growing here. I was reading an article about the record heat in Australia, TGIF indeed and hope you stay cool for the weekend!
ReplyDeleteHow 'cool' is that.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, that's exactly what it looks like! How absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI love these trees!! In fact, so do several bees:) Only a few of these trees grow around different areas of Arizona. But they can get so big and love the sewers....so they've been outlawed in several places:)
ReplyDeleteWe could grow many Australian plants when we lived down in San Diego, but here in the desert were basically stuck with low water things that can take the freeze (almost everything can take the heat given enough water). Very pretty.
ReplyDeleteA piece of art indeed.
ReplyDeletePlease have a good Friday.
H e was right! So very very pretty!
ReplyDeleteThat is peculiar... but I like it!
ReplyDeleteThis is a truly impressive and unusual tree. I have never seen one. Those hot pink fibers are amazing. Why do you think it evolved that way?
ReplyDeleteLove gum trees. Enjoy the W/E - great weather!!
ReplyDeleteThese are so nice.
ReplyDeleteOh Grace, I have adored these trees forever! I tried THREE times in Tas to grow them and failed completely. They are stunning, the red is my fav but there's gorgeous apricot? one too! And def reminiscent of Gumnut Babies.
ReplyDeletex
What a beautiful bloom.
ReplyDeleteWOW !!! That`s beautiful !!
ReplyDeleteHave a nice weekend :)
I did think it was LED's! Ha! but this is SO much better.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful and perfect macro!Thanks for the sequence of pictures, the tree is wonderful as well! :)
ReplyDeleteLéia
Flowers are so varied and full of colour.
ReplyDeleteWhat colour- you lifted a cold Friday Grace ;-)
ReplyDeleteNever seen something like this before, beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe flowering gums have been magnificent this year, we have many different colours that have been planted in the suburbs.So wonderful for attracting the birds.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful tree. The blooms are very unusual and the color is wonderful. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful flowering tree! I love that shade of pink. :)
ReplyDeleteThat is a fun tree.
ReplyDeleteFabulous blooms!
ReplyDeleteLooks great.
ReplyDeleteLove the color too.
Strange-looking flower, but fascinating. They remind me of the fruit rambutan.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a more relaxed week ahead.
Howdy! This post couldn't be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
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