Welcome to Life Images by Jill

Welcome to Life Images by Jill.........Stepping into the light and bringing together the images and stories of our world. I am a photographer, writer and multi-media artist.
Focussing mainly on Western Australia and Australia, I am seeking to preserve images and memories of the beautiful world in which we live and the people in it.

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Monday 27 August 2018

The wildflowers are starting to pop at Crooked Brook

Spring was in the air this past weekend and the sunny morning beckoned me to be out bush walking with my camera, so we went out to the Crooked Brook Forest, located on the edge of the beautiful Ferguson Valley region only about 25 kilometre's or 20 minutes from our home in suburbia in the south west of Western Australia.  I've blogged about Crooked Brook before here on my blog.


 It is a great place for a stroll to see the spring wildflowers with 4 walks ranging from an easy wheelchair accessible sealed circuit pathway, the easy 1.5 kilometre Jarrah circuit walk, the moderate 3 kilometre wildflower walk and the 10 kiometre moderate Marri walk. 

Located in State forest, the area is managed by the WA Department of Parks and Wildlife and has been developed and maintained by the local community. As well as the walks there is a nature playground, gas barbecues and picnic shelters. 

Scattered along the walks there are sitting spots where you can stop awhile to enjoy the beauty of the bush and information plaques to help you identify some of the plants. 
Not only visited for picnicking, bushwalking and wildflowers, it is also a great place for birdwatchers. 


The wildflowers were only just starting to erupt but there was enough to keep me and my camera happy.  The wildflower above I think is one of the Hakeas or it could be a Grevillea - but like many of our wildflower bushes, very prickly!  

Please excuse my identifications, I am not a botanist, so I can't absolutely identify many plants, as Western Australia has thousands of varieties, so often I can only give you the family name, not the specifics.  Western Australia's wildflower collection is the largest on Earth, with more than 12,000 species, over 60% of which are found nowhere else.  

Flowering in Western Australia extends from July in the northern Kimberley region through to November/December on the south coast.  

Here are a few more from Crooked Brook - top left and right and centre are three of the native pea varieties,  centre top I think is Cockies Tongues - Templetonia retusa. Centre row left is one of the Claw flower varieties, centre right is Pink Fairy orchid - Caladenia latifolia, bottom left is Yellow Flag - Patersonia umbrosa, bottom centre is I think, Bush Boronia - Boronia fastigiata, and bottom right one of the wattle varieties. 
 

 The wattle is Australia's floral emblem, and one of Australia's most prolific flowering shrubs. It seems to be the first of the spring flowers to appear.  Great swathes of it sweep through the forest's under-storey in a blaze of glorious yellow.



Below you can see, top row from left - one of the Myrtles, a cone flower before the flower opens, one of the Dawinia family, middle row, Greenhood orchid, a sun dew, bottom row, one of the Synapheas, Jug Orchid - Pterostylis recurva, and far right I think is one of the Hakea family.



And new growth erupting from what looked like a dead tree. 



Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed looking at some of the early spring flowers to be found in the Crooked Brook Forest. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

 For more about exploring Western Australia's wildflowers - WA Wildflowers - Tourism Western Australia

You might also like:
Crooked Brook Forest - 2017
Hunting for wild orchids in Western Australia's mid west 
Photographing wildflowers

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
Life in Reflection

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.




34 comments:

  1. So many beautiful flowers, they don't grow in Europe. I like you made collage.

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  2. What beautiful spring shots.

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  3. We have the wattle growing here in Oregon I believe. There is an invasive species here that they are trying to get rid of which looks a lot like it. So many of your flowers are so unique and I have never seen anything like them before. So cool!!

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    1. Life Images by Jill29 August 2018 at 21:37

      Yes, I believe eucalyptus is invasive over there too, but our forest wouldn't be our forests without it.

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  4. Wow! So pretty :) Can't wait to get back and explore :)

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    1. Life Images by Jill29 August 2018 at 21:38

      luckily we have a long flowering period. The wildflowers were going strong down on the south coast last November.

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  5. Thank you for not making me feel guilty, for not being able to identify the flowers that I took pictures of in my local walkabout. In my first time taking amateur pictures of wildflowers in WA folks were really helpful with suggestions of where to look on walks with identifications. But still I had loads of pictures that I couldn't identify. Nothing like this in the States.

    Luckily, Carol and I found a local garden club show that not only had individual flowers in little bottles with labels, but also had knowledgeable personnel. I showed them my pictures and Carol took hand written notes on what they told us about the flowers! Great combination!!

    Since I am now in Florida, I was looking for orchids, which I couldn't find, until someone told me that they didn't grow on trees, but on the ground! Once I "discovered" this I found all kinds of spider orchids and others more than I could count. I will have to come back in the Spring again.

    -Bunbury American Nana, Lucy

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    1. Life Images by Jill29 August 2018 at 21:40

      I love hunting for orchids. Many of our are so delicate and well hidden. I have lots of wildflower identification books but there are so many varieties of the various species it is hard for me to be accurate other than a family name.

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  6. How beautiful it all is. The colours and varieties are amazing. One is so used to what one expects from spring at home - it's stunning to see what comes up in a faraway part of the world!

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    1. Life Images by Jill29 August 2018 at 21:42

      Lovely to hear from you "Pondside". I find it fascinating that many of your wildflowers are garden flowers here!

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  7. Jesh - All Seasons28 August 2018 at 09:19

    hello Jill,
    I am like you Jill - only know a few flower names -and the names of wild flowers is even more out of my league - I love them though - they're so dainty and cute.
    I know how to solve Australia's problem with wattle (mimose) - haha:) They are very expensive when in Holland when we bought them in spring, because they were imported from France. All you have to solve is how to preserve the freshness of the flowers. Many thanks for your beautiful flower captures, and hope spring will break through soon in Australia:)
    cheers, Jesh

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    1. Life Images by Jill29 August 2018 at 21:43

      I don't think that wattle particularly likes to be picked and put in a vase. :)

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  8. Happy Spring! You must be so excited to be back out there with your camera, capturing all this fresh beauty for your friends around the globe. I am always so interested to see the wonderfully different plants that you have over there! Enjoy your week ahead, and all that spring has to offer.

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    1. Life Images by Jill29 August 2018 at 21:49

      Spring is my favourite time of year if you hadn't guessed!

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  9. Beautiful photos, would love to be there to see them in real life, but your photos are excellent. We saw the wildflowers on our trip over to WA in 2009 but it wasn't a good year for them but they were still beautiful.

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    1. Actually Western Australia has the biggest range of flowers in all of Australia.

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  10. I have loved being back in Australia to see the wattle in bloom. It's such a cheery Spring sight, like for me seeing English daffodils in March!
    Wren x

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    1. Life Images by Jill29 August 2018 at 21:54

      The wattle is beautiful isn't it spreading out through the bush.

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  11. Hi Jill,
    It feels so awkward - you are landing in spring, us in winter :) Each of your flower photos is a piece of art - and the collages are really beautiful. Wishing you lovely spring season, I think I’ll go winter dormant soon:)

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    1. Life Images by Jill29 August 2018 at 21:55

      The best thing about this upside down world is that I can see snow photos from the Northern hemisphere while we are in the hot summer. Thanks for stopping by Ritta. Back with more wildflower images soon!

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  12. So beautiful and so different from the wildflowers we have here in Oregon! I absolutely love hiking during wildflower season.

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    1. Life Images by Jill29 August 2018 at 21:56

      absolutely the best time of year for hiking.

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  13. The colors of the flowers are amazing!

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  14. Are they a bit early Jill? I thought they would all bloom in Spring. They are all so beautiful. #TeamLovinLife

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    1. Life Images by Jill31 August 2018 at 09:14

      Hi Kathy - no not early. Actually the flowering period in the West is from July in the north to November in the south.

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  15. I adore wattle but have somehow missed it this year. I recall seeing your pics of wildflowers last year (was it last year?) and these are just lovely. #teamlovinlife

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  16. Oh so fun to be able to watch spring appear in your part of the world when the slightest hints of autumn are beginning to remind us here of summer's soon passing.

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  17. Very beautiful images. Thanks for sharing. #TeamLovinLife

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  18. Wildflowers are the best! Nature is so beautiful.

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  19. Lovely Flowers captures . Keep commenting on my blog because I love your comments.

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  20. Oh wow! These are some really amazing flowers. I just love the little yellow ball ones-- wattle (right?!). They are so happy looking.

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  21. Beautiful captures. Have a happy Spring. We now head into Fall in Ohio. :( I love Fall but not what follows; especially as I age.

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  22. Wow, you've actually catalogued the flowers! They're so pretty!

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  23. That last flower you've got there next to the "linkies list" is my fave. How unique! Gorgeous. #teamlovinlife

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I hope you have enjoyed your visit to my blog. Thank you for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. I read and very much appreciate every comment and love hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return.