Plant Hunting

It was a cool and misty morning as I set off to get to the Friends of the Botanic Gardens Autumn Plant Sale before all the good stuff was sold!

By the time I arrived the sun had banished the mist, and streams of people were leaving the sale with trolleys, boxes and bags full of plants. Fortunately there were still a few plants left, and I bought myself three new vireyas.

Afterwards this was a nice spot to sit and enjoy the peace of the gardens.

I was fascinated to see the pink tree, as I've never seen it in flower here before. The label says it is a Chorisia insignis, (although that is supposed to have white flowers, and the Chorisia speciosa have pink ones). It's probably not a particularly noticeable tree until it flowers unless the trunk is swollen and covered in spines, which this one's isn't yet.

The tree is originally from Brazil and Argentina, but the first one I ever saw was in Amritsar in November 2007:

And then I saw another in Lodhi Gardens in Delhi just a few days later:

So it was nice to see one right here in Melbourne.