The easiest to grow have been the Golden Cane Palms (Dypsis Lutescens). These are clumping palms and keep on spreading unless you cut back the new small ones. Most of mine are now between 2-3 meters high.
The palm that I like the best is a beautiful silver green color (Bismarkia Noblis). It has a single trunk and can eventually grow to 12 meters. This was the most expensive palm to buy so I only have a few scattered around the garden.
The only problem with palms is that there are few things to attract the birds. The white Cockies (Sulphur Crested Cockatoos) are the exception as they come in and cling to the highest fronds and then proceed to tear them apart!
(If you expected to see some new and exciting bird photos - go somewhere else! I am going to post some from the archives! It is the story that is new and very different!)
Blue-faced Honeyeaters are regular visitors in my yard. They are noisy and inquisitive and occasionally quite aggressive. From the time I first came here they have chased - and ganged up! - on my cat. Late the other afternoon I heard a cat wail! which meant "Come and rescue me". I went out on to the back verandah and discovered the poor cat cringing against the house wall while Blue-faced Honeyeaters swooped at it. Nothing new in that but their loud cries brought all their family and friends to help. They were not worried about me - they just retreated to the guttering and screamed at me! By the time they decided to leave there were at least two dozen of them all lined up just above me and screaming! I have never seen so many of them all together before. Just imagine a line of these birds all eying you with those bright eyes! (Photos from the archives - who would have the presence of mind to grab a camera in a situation like this??)
For more scenery from around the world visit Our World Tuesday
and for more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday.
Dypsis Lutescens
Dypsis Lutescens
Dypsis Lutescens
Oh, I do love your beautiful birds, Mick, and such terrific captures!! Thanks for sharing, as always!! Hope you have a great week!!
ReplyDeleteSounds a bit like Hitchcock's film 'the Birds'.
ReplyDeletethe bird gangs would be tough to deal with! i like your palm oasis, though. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I am glad you came to the rescue of your kitty. The birds are beautiful,it is a shame they are so mean! I love the palms! Great photos, enjoy your new week!
ReplyDeleteWould love to be able to grow large palms like yours.
ReplyDeleteOne angry bird is enough! A few days ago a male Blackbird was chasing Penny round the back garden. There must have been a youngster nearby. The sight of a small bird chasing a large greyhound was funny to observe and unusual as Blackbirds normally just create a noisy fuss.
Great post, when all the birds make a lot of noise around here we look to see where the cat from next door is.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photography! Love the 'feathered friends' ~ beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHappy Week to you,
artmusedog and carol
I recognize some of those palms, we have then here on private properties but it's the birds I'm loving more than anything, is that a cockatoo?
ReplyDeleteWe have Blue Jays around here and they have been known to terrorise both of our dogs and the cat. Love your palm trees and the bird captures. I'm originally from NZ and have a few of our native trees growing in pots. Hoping I might be able to plant a little piece of home up here in the Great North West :-)
ReplyDeleteWow - that is an angry bird! Lovely shots!
ReplyDeleteWe do have a few palms growing here in Lancashire but only in the most sheltered spots from the west and north west winds.
ReplyDeleteBirds have to be good at spotting predators and although your cat might not be a bird killer lots are. Mostly I see birds ganging up on birds of prey and owls. While hawks and falcons tend to quickly fly off, owls have a habit of just sitting there while dozens of birds join in the mobbing.
Beautiful birds, but it does sound scary. It reminds me of Hitchcock's movie.
ReplyDeleteWow, I wouldn't want to mess that bird. Looks fierce.
ReplyDeleteyou are creating a wonderful garden. I hope to see more of it in the years to come :) We will be blogging a long time I hope. Thanks for the names of my trees :)
ReplyDeleteI loved this true story! And your yard must be wonderful. Poor kitty though! We used to have a Siamese who got tormented regularly by Scrub Jays, but they left when we hollered! I think your birds might very well have carried you off if there had been a few more of them! The palms look familiar.... The Sabal Palm is very common around here.
ReplyDeleteNow all that action between the birds and the cat would have been really great on video. Poor cat!
ReplyDeleteA lovely garden you are creating. Those Honeyeaters are handsome but rather fierce-looking.
ReplyDeleteAggressive little honeyeaters! Poor cat! Love your palm "hedges"!
ReplyDeleteArchives are fine when the birds look as cool as the last one!
ReplyDeleteSo NEAT, the difference between what you see in your yard, compared to what I see in my own. Lovely share Mick~
ReplyDeleteWe could do with your Blue-faced Honeyeaters to keep the neighbours dog out. We never see the S.C Cockies in our yard but we get the Y.T.B Cockies. They decimate the Proteas every year but they just grow back better than ever.
ReplyDeleteYour garden plants don't look much like mine! And I think I would have a yard full of birders if the honeyeater showed up!
ReplyDeleteTrying to catch up on visits and comment while I wait for a flight - one busy week to go and it's back to normal!
Cheers - Stewart M - Heathrow Airport UK (for the next couple of hours!)
You have a great yard. Beautiful birds!
ReplyDelete