Macleays Honeyeater (Xanthotis macleayanus) is a charming and friendly little bird endemic to the Wet Tropics and a common visitor to feed tables in Paluma. They are not shy and at places they visit regularly may perch on a hand that offers something to eat.
Text & Photo by Peter Cooke
The Red-Backed Button Quail (Turnix maculosis) is a regular resident in the Paluma Village but is secretive, and most commonly observed exploding from cover and flying rapidly away.
This female was with a juvenile in tow across the road from the Community Hall in March, but scurried off down the back of Cooke’s place. She next appeared walking away by herself. It seems she planted the youngster under a bush and stayed in plain sight walking away to lead interest away from the bub.
Text & Photo by Peter Cooke
This rather skinny python was spotted recently by Lynda Radbone on the back verandah of a residence at the western end of Paluma Village. The poor python was a bit lethargic and quite reluctant to move from the deck. It certainly looks like this snake could do with a good feed of scrub turkey or perhaps a rainforest rodent. We hope it has made its way back into the forest and has found something nourishing to eat.
If anyone knows a wildlife carer who might be able to assist with regard to the welfare of this poor python, please contact Lynda for the location of the recent sighting of this snake. It retreated under the house so perhaps it is still there and in need of care. It’s times like this that we miss our resident wildlife expert and herpetologist Roy Mackay who would have known exactly what to do!
Photos courtesy of Lynda Radbone.
If you have visited the Rainforest Inn recently you will have noticed the impressive Banskia flowering in the garden at the front of the building. It’s hard to miss, given the very large and striking deep orange to bronze coloured blooms.
Jennie says that she planted the Banksia about 6 years ago and while it has grown into a sizeable bushy shrub standing to about 2.5 m in height, this is the first time it has flowered. Jennie purchased the plant from a nursery in Ingham and she is unsure of its exact identification. We think it is most likely Banksia ‘Giant Candles’ which is a registered cultivar and a hybrid between Banksia ericifolia and Banksia spinulosa.
The flower spikes are at least 25 cm in size and they can reach up to 40 cm. Flowering time is late Autumn through winter. Banksia ‘Giant Candles’ is described as an adaptable large shrub that can grow up to 5 m in height if left unpruned. It likes a sunny and well-drained position, flowering best in full sun.
If you are looking for a stunning plant to bring birds to your garden then this is a great option. Several times over the past weekend we noticed the local honeyeaters visiting the giant candle flowers. Lewins’ honeyeaters and eastern spinebills were eager feeders on the nectar laden flowers in the early morning and late afternoon.
Text & Photos by Michele Bird & Jennie Robinson
Over the last month or so, one of the consistently flowering plants in my garden, as well as other gardens in the village has been bromeliads.
Broms belong to the family Bromeliacea which includes “air plants” in the genus Tillandsia. They come in an amazing range of colours (on both the flowers and leaves) and flower shapes. They can grow anywhere from full sun to deep shade and in wet and dry habitats.
In Paluma they are great plants for “mature” gardens with a full shady canopy that restricts the number of brightly flowering plants that can grow in the gloom. Currently one of my favourite broms is blooming throughout the village. Bilbergia pyramidalis, like most bromeliads, comes from South America. Its common names (flaming torch and foolproof plant) are certainly apt. It has a stunning large red and purple flower and it tends (at least in my garden to bloom during only a short few days in March when the effect in mass plantings is quite spectacular.
This year the blooming period seems to be less synchronous and more prolonged, perhaps due to the lack of a “proper” wet season.
This species grows prolifically in semi-shaded to fully shaded areas and it is dead-easy (fool proof) to grow and propagate. I have created a living boundary “fence” along one side of my garden by heaping up my endless supply of branch timings and then just tossing B. pyramidalis onto the top of the pile. Three to six months later it formed a living cover and a spectacle of colour once a year thereafter.
A living and flowering border fence
Another stunning relative of the bromeliad that has just finished flowering is the Pink quill (Tillandsia cyanea).
Tillandsias are also called air plants since they can grow epiphytically on tree trunks or rocks without any soil. T. cyanea is different in that it prefers to grow in a small pot of well drained soil. It produces 2-4 “pups” each year so it doesn’t take long to get a row of these delightful plants lined up on a ledge in your garden (see the header for this post).
Some of the other broms that have been flowering, or showing off their colours are also shown below, together with any names I have been able to attribute to them (this is still a work in progress). If you are interested in long-lived flowers then Guzmania conifer and Achmea fasciata keep their blooms for up to 6 months or more!
Text and photos by Jamie Oliver
Great weather for butterflies at Paluma right now with Cairns Birdwings and Ulysses Blues in abundance.
This Ulysses Blue (Papilio Ulysses) was very happy at Jan Cooke’s pink pentax and yellow dahlia flowers this week.
Text& Photos by Peter Cooke
Whilst gardening at her Smith Crescent property last weekend, Jodie came across this beautiful Ocellated Velvet Gecko (or OVG for short!). Scientific name Oedura monilis.
These relatively large geckos are found in north eastern Australia from near Townsville, south to the New South Wales border. They are common in forested areas, sheltering by day in crevices of rock outcrops, in tree hollows or beneath loose bark.
My research suggests that Jodie’s specimen is a sub-adult due to the bright yellow dorsal markings. In adult geckoes these markings are said to be variable, but they tend to be darker brown to grey in colour. Individuals usually dwell on a home tree from which they forage widely in search of food. References indicate that these geckoes prefer dry woodland and dry sclerophyll forests rather than high altitude rainforest.
Has anyone else spotted these stunning geckoes in and around the Paluma village?
References: Stephen Swanson – Field Guide to Australian Reptiles and Stephen Wilson & David Knowles – Australia’s Reptiles: A Photographic Reference to the Terrestrial Reptiles of Australia.
Photos by Jodie Pace & Text by Michele Bird
Last Saturday night (11 December) the residents of Paluma celebrated the last Social Event for 2021 with the annual Tropical BBQ held at the Community Hall. The event was well attended with locals catching up for a yarn and a beverage before the Christmas period. Everyone bought along their own meat for the BBQ which was expertly cooked by the King of the BBQ – Don Battersby. Paluma’s cooks put on a splendid buffet with an impressive array of fine salads and other delicious foods. A special treat was a platter of fresh prawns compliments of ‘yours truly’ who happened to win a $50.00 voucher from Cleveland Bay Seafoods, courtesy of a Lions Club raffle ticket sold by the one and only Les Hyland. The dessert bar was astounding with cheesecake, pavlovas, chocolate tart, mangoes and ice-cream. I think everyone ate way too much, but who’s counting calories. It’s Christmas time!!
The attire for the night was definitely ‘tropical flair’. It was great to see everyone embracing the theme with their loud tropical and Hawaiian shirts, sarongs, thongs and Santa shirts. Tropical flowers adorned the tables and one attendee decided to wear her tropical garden on her head!
Speaking of flowers, the other important theme for the evening was all things gardening. Lynn announced the winners of the Paluma Annual Garden Competition which was held in late November and judged by two members of Bunnings staff. Congratulations go to Nick and Glenda for again taking out the Championship Trophy Prize of Best Residential Garden. The competition winners are outlined below, courtesy of Lynn Hyland.
1. Best Residential Garden in the Village – Glenda and Nick Van Rynswoud. Perpetual Trophy winner. The Judges enjoyed immensely the guided tour of such an impressive garden.
2. Best Non-Residential Garden in the Village – Gumburu. A well planned environment with some rare species to be found in the garden.
3. Best Acreage Garden – Bobbie and Glen Parker. Such a serene ambience and they loved the collection of miniature potted gardens.
4. Highly Recommended Village Garden – Michele Bird. The atmosphere created by the hanging baskets looking out onto the garden was wonderful.
5. Most Unusual Plant Specimen – Anne Bruyere’s “ Rainbow Gum“. Such a wonderful specimen of such a rare tree. The bark was highly coloured on the day of the judging.
Bunnings donated $200 in Vouchers and the ‘Alison Evans Trophy’ was engraved with the winners name for 2021 which was the 25th year since the Garden Competition first started in Paluma.
Here are some selected photos from the evening, with apologies from this author for not getting around to everyone on the night.
Text by Michele Bird & Lynn Hyland. Photos by Michele Bird.
The judging for the Paluma Garden Competition will take place this coming Wednesday 1st December 2021.
Two staff members from Bunnings will be escorted by members of the PDCA and will be visiting the gardens of Paluma to decide on the winners in the Annual Garden Competition.
Should you not wish to have your property entered, please contact Lynn Hyland before Wednesday (Phone: 4770 8681).
The winners of the Competition will be announced at the PDCA ‘Tropical BBQ’ to be held on Saturday 11 December at the Community Hall.
Lynn Hyland
We have previously posted on the beautiful Tibouchina’s growing in many of the village gardens, but it is hard not to mention the current spectacle of the Tibouchina Chameleon in gardens along Mount Spec Road.
The Venn’s large shrub at the eastern end of the village is a show-stopper and I saw many visitors stopping to photograph it over last weekend – just as I did!. It seems just about every second garden has a ‘Chameleon’ and why not, when they thrive with very little care in our mountain climate. Other good specimens are located towards the central and western end of the village at Nick and Glenda’s place and at Neil and Jennies at Cloud Cottage.
Tibouchina Chameleon is a dense and fast growing evergreen shrub. At Paluma it seems to flower at least twice a year. The flowers open white in colour and then change to mauve and pink as they age over several days. If you are looking for a hardy, colourful and rather special plant for your garden, you can’t go past one of these beauties.
Text & Photos by Michele Bird