A number of plants growing on our Western Australian bush block are native to South Africa.    Many believe they should be eradicated entirely.  I’m not so sure.

It’s true that they tend to be too successful for the good of some natives but if we remove them all are we also removing some of the history and evolution of Australian flora?  How far back do we go to determine what is truly native?  What would we have left on our block in a changing climate?

I think I’ll just aim to keep the ‘garden escapees’, that were here when we arrived, well under control and continue to enjoy their beauty too.

Bird Of Paradise (Strelitzia)

We enjoy our colourful Birds of Paradise.  The Strelitzias inspired me to paint a series of gouache paintings to reflect their eye-catching colours and attitudes.  To me, the flower heads seem to yearn to fly like their feathered friends.  The paintings also reflect challenges of my life at the time and the difference the support of others can make.

An OK Day

A Troubled Day

A Trouble Shared

If you’d like to see some Birds of Paradise of the feathered kind there’s an excellent article here that includes an amazing 2 minute video of a mating dance narrated by David Attenborough.

Enjoy!
🙂
Helen