Helen Robertson

Check out these Spotted Lichen Moths (Asura cervicalis) enjoying my corymbia's flowers...

The first few sunflower heads hanging on the shed clothes line to dry

Almost all in...just a few late ones still maturing in the garden

My quinoa crop drying out on the shed table... next step hand threshing then winnowing.

Sunflower and quinoa crops in and drying :)

A full basket of dark red, juicy blood plums

Rows of vacola bottles stuffed full of summer goodness. Blood plums for the rest of the year!

Yum yum yum.... blood plums!

Zinneas in the renovated garden...a riot of colours. My view of Stanley's Nut in background.

Colourful zinneas.

Garden colours...

In the foreground are the bleached skeletal remains of the burnt Richea shrubs with the patch of remaining live ones in the centre in the wettest part of the vale. We saw many baby plants starting out but it will take over 100 years to recover....if it doesn't burn again!

The sad part...what we saw was a minuscule remainder of what was once an entire valley full of colour. Recent (20years ago) fire killed over 90% of all the Richea in this vale....it must have been amazing!!

A lovely mid pink...with bright tips

Pale creamy yellow Richea

Pure white Richea spike

A more distant shot showing the various Richea bushes covered in their colourful flower spikes

And some more colours....

Two pink Richea spikes sticking up in the middle of a bunch of pale yellow ones. Spikey green foliage below...very spikey!!

A hot pink Richea

Lovely golden yellow Richea

A darker golden yellow Richea

Today I walked from Lake Mackenzie to Parsons Track with a friend...to see the Richea scoparia. Such a variety of colours!

Sky Lily in a beautiful shade of sky blue!

Diuris monticola, commonly known as highland golden moths... a beautiful golden yellow.

A pine tree with flowers??? It's a native Daisy Bush Olearia pinifolia, commonly known as the pine-daisy :)

Beautiful Mountain Rocket... pink and creamy white spikes of flowers above the bushes. These are beautiful but in autumn these bushes will appear to be on fire with clusters of bright red seed capsules

And some more lovelies...

Mountain rocket pink and white in front of a rich orange Richea

The orange Richea up close

Small alpine Goodenia montana with bright yellow flowers clustered in the centre of a rosette of leaves

Purple Eyebright (Euphrasia collina) only this one is white lol....

Some alpine magic for you...from the Vale of Belvoir, Tasmania.

Thank you...its easy with such beauties!

Gorgeous red and yellow flowers and purple buds on a stem of Blandfordia punicea - Tasmanian Christmas Bells.

Gorgeous red and yellow flowers and purple buds on a stem of Blandfordia punicea - Tasmanian Christmas Bells.

Gorgeous red and yellow flowers and purple buds on a stem of Blandfordia punicea - Tasmanian Christmas Bells. This one was better with a few more flowers open :)

Looking east from Blandfordia Hill... way in the distance is Table Cape, closer the hill behind Sister's Beach, then the rocks in Anniversary Bay with stunning whispy clouds over a silvery sea

Some late Christmas Bells up on Blandfordia Hill...flowering much later this year due to the heat anomaly over Antarctica which is giving us a perpetual winter here in Tasmania

Those birds look amazing!!

Hahaha spot on...they work well as a team though!

Very gently "death-wish chickie" is herded back to the others.... this chick has been in so many scrapes...yesterday evening I found it cheeping in the centre of the paddock when its siblings & mother were all tucked up in the nest for the night! It does not think Mum's instructions apply to it!!!

Quinoa covered in gorgeous red raspberries.... and a couple of blueberries!

First berry breakfast bowl for the summer....even if it is just 5 degrees C!!!!

An unusual dark pink form of the lizard orchid or Burnettia cuneata. We saw thousands of these on a recently burned area.

The very sweet yellow- green Caladenia transitoria.

This robust bud probably belongs to Thelymitra aristata.

We could not find any of these large black Prasyphyllum buds open as yet.

And a selection of other interesting finds...

The bleak orchid is a pale blue...sometimes very pale like this one.

Bleak orchid looking pale and bleak lol

This one is called the bleak orchid... Thelymitra aggericola.

So dark...and covered in soil from the downpour from the day before!

Closer up view of the dark form of Prasyphyllum brevilabre

Closer side on view of Prasyphyllum brevilabre

Prasyphyllum brevilabre

Prasyphyllum brevilabre - but different. A very dark, almost black, form...

Prasyphyllum brevilabre - such a pretty leek orchid with its pretty white ruffles

Prasyphyllum brevilabre

Prasyphyllum brevilabre bit closer - such a neat species!

A closer view of Prasyphyllum brevilabre

Next Prasyphyllum brevilabre...

Prasyphyllum pulchellum... the pretty leek orchid.

Prasyphyllum pulchellum... the pretty leek orchid.

Close up front of of Prasyphyllum pulchellum...

Closer side view of Prasyphyllum pulchellum.

Some lovelies from the west coast heathland of Tasmania.....
First: Prasyphyllum pulchellum

Green petals with a central maroon stripe a deep maroon labellum tip and the green comb either side of the labellum. Front on shot

Green petals with a central maroon stripe a deep maroon labellum tip and the green comb either side of the labellum. Side on shot

Green petals with a central maroon stripe a deep maroon labellum tip and the green comb either side of the labellum. A bit closer...

Yesterday's fabulous find made by friend on our walk in Rocky Cape National Park: Green Comb Spider Orchid (Caladenia dilatata)

Pale pink outer petals with a deep pink centre... huge dinner plate sized blooms!

Cream delight

A mid pink one...again huge blooms

This clear vibrant pinky orange one was a stunner!

A few more because they are so beautiful 😍

A wonderful dark red herbaceous peony called Old Faithful

Loved this pale apricot double peony

A different peony... a single row of dark pink petals with a mass of pale pink shredded petals within

This gorgeous bright pink caught my eye....

Stunning blossoms in every direction!

Peony decoration in pale pinks and cream...

A peony rainbow...

A peony decorated wagon wheel

A rather flowery looking Fergie tractor

Peonies in the Paddock...NW Tas

Shiny red Large Duck Orchid. The petals and labellum of this species are shaped like a duck in flight.

The Large Duch Orchid is not really all that big. Photographed here in front of my hand for size perspective

Went duck hunting today... got two ;)

A normal Caladenia transitoria with greenish yellow petals

A pink Caladenia transitoria

Pink Caladenia transitoria

The two different coloured Caladenia transitoria on either side of a flat grey rock. Pink on the kept, greenish yellow on the right

We found a different version of Caladenia transitoria yesterday in NW Tasmania... normally greenish yellow...we found a large colony containing both green-yellow ones and beautiful peachy pink ones!

A white Caladenia carnea - a small ground orchid.

A pale pink Caladenia vulgaris

A normal pink coloured Caladenia carnea or Pink Fingers

Close up shot of a lovely blue Thelymitra aristata

More lovely orchids from NW Tasmania

A beautiful red rosette of a pretty little sundew sending up a slender flower spike.

White flowers of Bauera rubioides with heavy dew drops.

Heading down to the shore you go past steep rocky cliffs

Our lunch spot - a pretty rocky cove. The best thing was the musical noise of the pebbles shifting as each wave retreated!

Rocky Cape National Park - Postman's Track was a lovely walk yesterday.

Thelymitra aristata the biggest of the sun orchids. Many were standing tall above the rest of the coastal heath plants.

Thelymitra flexuosa yellow with a twisted stem which gives it its name.

Thelymitra rubra held between my fingers because very strong wind blowing!

Blue with spots is Thelymitra ixioides

And lots of different sun orchids!!

Close shot of Caladenia patersonii with its maroon labelled and long cream coloured petals

A paler Caladenia patersonii. They vary quite a bit in colour

Another Caladenia patersonii this one with fine red stripes on the petals.

We found a couple of lovely spider orchids too...