Yesterday’s post was all about my veg garden so I thought I would share one of the things that are growing in the bit of the garden that does its own thing.
I have done posts about the sundews in the garden before but I never tire of looking at them so I am going to force them on you again. 😀
A wander up the hill the other day revealed that in some sunny places there are groups of sundews growing together like tiny, sticky, forests. Usually they are quite spread out but each year they are growing more densely.
Judging by the amount of bug corpses trapped in their sticky tentacles they are all eating extremely well too. Some of the spots were growing so thickly they had even managed to catch leaves that had fallen from the gum trees!
If I can just keep The Man from mowing up there for a few more weeks they will get to finish their season unmolested, and who knows what next year might bring!
Sticky death….
What amazing looking plants, glad I’m not a small fly though. xxx Hugs xxx
They don’t have much hope once they get stuck on those sticky leaves, that’s for sure. 🙂
What a unusual plant, looks really nice, hope they grow again next year!
I’m sure they will. Well, as long as The Man doesn’t mow too early! 🙂
I am really puzzled by your garden Metan. It seems to contain all sorts of plants I’ve never heard of, almost like a little time capsule. Is this particular little plant common in the Yarra Valley? Or anywhere for that matter?
Sundews are quite common plants in Australia so really, they should be everywhere around here!
I guess that most people do everything they can to make their garden fertile and green but apparently these guys like acidic soil, sun, and damp. (No wonder nothing else grows without intervention!)
Our sundews grow best out in the open with no overhanging trees, in clay on exposed parts of the hill and with very thin ground cover. They don’t grow close to the house and I guess that is because of the heavy traffic, real soil and grass. I expect that is why the tiny native orchids grow on the hill and not near the house too.
We are in the lucky position of having two parts to the garden. Our block of land is the width of a normal block of land but 100m long. The front two thirds are house, sheds and normal suburban garden and the back third, on the hill, we have left to do its own thing. We keep on top of the weeds (although very few can survive up there) and mow every few months when the grasses get too long but generally we leave it to its own devices.
I think the occasional mowing is one of the key things as it isn’t natural for plants to be left completely alone, they will always be eaten or burnt. I look at mowing as though some plant-eating critter has grazed its way through! Next door never mow and their block has been taken over by large clumps of grasses. All the places where the orchids etc used to live there are being swallowed up. A real pity.
We’ve got lots of clay but nowhere you’d call damp, plus I guess the land was grazed for too long so anything edible would have been gobbled up long ago.
I like your theory about the mowing – a little is helpful, a lot is deadly. I guess fire is the same. Trust us humans to put our houses where cool burns aren’t an option. 🙂
When we first moved in it was nothing but rabbits, rabbits, rabbits, so anything green was quickly munched. Now they are (mainly) gone I am amazed at what has come back. You never know what might start growing if it is given the chance. 🙂
Wow – rabbits are worse than any big grazer so you’d think we should have something. Maybe I’m not looking closely enough in any of the right corners. To be honest I don’t get right down to the bottom of block as it’s seriously steep coming back up! Might see if there’s anything down there on Thursdayl
That is probably one reason why ours grow happily, the hill is too steep to disturb them on a daily basis! 😀
lol – I’m glad I’m not the only one!
I’ll be interested to hear what you find. 🙂
I need to ask – just exactly how small are these weird little plants? As in should I wear my reading glasses?
I just got out the ruler and I estimate they are about 20cm high, just one stalk with the tentacly leaves up and down the stem.
I was out in the garden today and took a photo of a section of garden when they all had their flowers open. I might have to post it for you tomorrow. 😀
20 cm? That’s bigger than I thought but still very small in comparison to your average clump of grass. And yes please on the pics.
I’ve never seen or heard of sundews either. I do wonder if your house is a little bit of a extinct planet that fell to earth in Victoria 😉 Keep the man away, if only for his own safety…
😀 He has been know to sneak up the hill with the mower, trying not to attract attention, knowing full well life will be over when he’s caught. 😀
The sundews are so small and well disguised that I have had to point them out to people who are standing right on top of them. I guess it is all about looking in the right place with the right eyes. Most of the things I love in the garden are ankle height and below. I don’t think I have ever done a post about the gum trees! 🙂
Lovely picture! We have sundews here in west Wales too although the leaves tend to grow in rosettes near the ground – in comparison yours are quite statuesque!
Thank you. 🙂 We have those rosette kind too, they carpet parts of the garden and that means nobody is brave enough to walk near those spots for fear of being caught squashing one. 😀
I have seen lots of sundews in the Grampians — but my photos were not nearly as good as yours. Apparently the sticky ‘shields’ as actually modified leaves. With that many bug eating plants you shouldn’t have a problem with flies!
This photo was all about being completely undignified and crawling about at ground level! 😀
I’m sure the Grampians are a perfect place for them, lots of rockiness and exposed hillsides… lovely.
I love the way the leaves look like tiny buds before they unfurl and the sticky tentacles spring out to wait for an unsuspecting fly. If only they were tall enough to make a dent in the mozzies! It is a real pity they aren’t in season when fly season is at its worst isn’t it?