Grevillia

Went for a short walk this afternoon, with the Rower and Mishka - this grevillia was growing at the side of the road.

it's a tiny flower - maybe a couple of centimeters across, but it's full beauty and vibrant colour can really be appreciated in close-up. I used the macro function on the 100D, and it didn't a half bad job.

I've settled on using Firefox for Blip, and so far it's working really well. I'm not a fan of Safari I'm afraid, nor of I.E. if it comes to that.

Here's some info on Grevillias for you gardeners out there who fancy trying it in the garden.

Mostly confined to Australia except for a few Melanesian natives, the 340-odd species of this genus belong to the protea (Proteaceae) family and range from small shrubs to large trees. They are evergreen plants, with needle-like to fern-like foliage and distinctive flowers. They are valued not only for their great beauty, but also for the timber of several species.

Many have nectar-rich flowers that attract insects, birds, or animals all of which are pollinators. Most of the hybrids fall into 3 groups, each derived from a limited range of parent species, but with none shared between the groups. The groups are: the Banksia Group, the Rosmarinifolia Group, and the Toothbrush Group, while a few hybrids can be placed in the Miscellaneous Group.

The genus is named for Charles Francis Greville (1749-1809), a founder of the Royal Horticultural Society and friend of botanist Sir Joseph Banks.