Garland Lily

It's been a good day.

This afternoon I went to the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Belair National Park, on a simply gorgeous sunny day. Not too hot - just perfect. And the Rower is gong to be so proud of me. I didn't put my hand up to volunteer for anything.

And I did so want to go on the Committee. I really did. But I sat on my hands and winced a lot, and took solace in the fact that I can be co-opted through the year if necessary.

After the meeting I went for a little walk, along a new track, Rower, just behind the Volunteer Centre, and it was absolutely delightful. You are going to really enjoy this one.

I glanced to the side, and saw this beautiful flower half way up the slope, and I scrambled up to get an image. I'm so happy with this - it's backlit and the centre just glows with the sun. It's not cropped or anything, it is just as it is. Of course when I'd got what I wanted and walked on a little further, there was a whole meadow of them. They are Garland Lilies, and this is what Mr. Wiki says:

Calostemma purpureum, known by its common name of Garland Lily, is a long-lived perennial flowering plant that is native to Southern Australia. Related to the common daffodil, Garland Lilies were once common in large colonies in grassy areas, in particular the plain on which the city of Adelaide now stands. Due to urbanisation and grazing, the Garland Lily is now rare, only occurring in small pockets in parks on the outskirts of the city.

Leaves form from the bulb during winter, and die off during spring. The plant flowers during summer when there are no leaves. Calostemma purpureum bursts into flower in the midst of the heat of an Australian summer, when most other plants are not flowering. The flowers are purple-pink in colour forming in an umbel of 5-10 showy flowers. They appear on a stalk around 30 centimetres long. The flowers are replaced in autumn by clusters of large, berry-like seeds. The seeds may germinate while still on the plant. They germinate very readily but it may take three or four years before the new plant first flowers.

Give yourself a treat.

I'm so happy - I never saw these before - and now I know why. They are rare, but so very beautiful.

And now to finish the day off with a bang, I'm going to cook my self a piece of fillet steak for tea - and believe me, that's a real treat.