Flowers

There are some interesting flowers blooming in my garden at present.
This tree has been growing for nearly 6 years but up till now has not flowered properly. It is a Golden Myrtle or Metrosideros queenslandica. Although it is now about 3-4 meters tall it may eventually grow 4-8 meters.
This is a large shrub or small tree -whichever you wish! It is a Blueberry Ash or Elaeocarpus reticulatus and occurs naturally in the bush around here. The birds don't seem to take much notice of the flowers but the blue berries which come on later are a favorite source of food. It is a dense and compact shrub at present.
This is a grass tree which I saw growing out of the rocky hillside above Lake Somerset on the way up to Esk. I was on the look-out for tall growing specimens after reading the blog Denis posted about the ones he found. I estimated the main plant here to be at least 2 meters tall plus the flower stalks above. There is also new growth at the very base of the plant - a new plant or is it shooting out again from down there?
This is one of the common grass trees from around here - Zanthorrhoea fulva - and would not be more than about a meter and a half including the flower stem.
I found this NASTY creature - a Cane Toad - while I was out in the garden yesterday. For those who don't know - they were an introduced species that has been a disaster for Australia. Read about them here. My cat has been too sensible to ever get near them but I have had a couple of nasty episodes when the dog was young. I was lucky not to loose the dog to a small dose of poison from a toad.