Category: Flowers & Trees

Jacarandas - November in Sydney - And one of Harry's favourite flowers

26/11/2018

Spring in Sydney, aside from bringing in the warmer weather, is resplendent in purple, as the jacaranda trees burst into bloom across the cityscape.
I love these trees and their flowers, as does my PI Harry Kenmare. If you've read Harry's World, then you'll know the scene where Harry is walking down Kelly Street to his local watering hole, the Emerald Bar, with the cascade of jacaranda flowers coming down.
Here's a few photos form my neighbourhood, including along Kelly Street, with my local watering hole, the Australian Youth Hotel in the background. And yes, it is the same watering hole as the Emerald Bar in the Harry stories.
And I'm a complete novice at poetry, but here goes:

The Jacaranda

The canopy of delicate leaves, vibrant green,
Such splendid beauty reveals nature's vast power,
If this awe is not enough to make one serene,
Then hail spring with its majestic purple shower.

(c) A.B.Patterson, November 2018.

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Ah, Night Jessamine, you sweet, alluring temptress!

5/12/2017

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'Tis the season!
The season when that wondrous Queen of the Night, the Night Jessamine, begins to flower and conquer the evening and night air with its incomparable scent.
Yes, my Night Jessamine shrub on my balcony has started its first flowering of the summer and it is truly a scent to behold. I make sure I go out there every evening, without fail, to enjoy its perfume before I head to bed.
I took this photo this evening, not that I'm short on photos of my Night Jessamine bush.
Last summer, we enjoyed two flowerings, so here's hoping for the same again.
Seriously, if you've never smelt this plant, you need to put it on your bucket list.
If only I could put it in a bottle...
So, of course, my main man, PI Harry Kenmare, just loves it! He does have a sensitive side, you know.
Cheers,
ABP

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O such arboreal beauty - the purple and the red! Sydney in spring!

12/12/2016

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I posted recently on the jacarandas around here; it is that glorious time of year in Sydney.
But there is a double treat on offer!
The jacarandas are beautiful enough, but their flowering time is matched by the fantastic Illawarra Flame Tree.
Yes, at this time of year, where thoughtful garden planners have done a beautiful thing, we get these two magnificent arboreal specimens flowering side by side, for a breathtaking deluge of colour. And it's only a window of a couple of weeks.
These photos were all taken within a five minute walk of home in inner Sydney.
What more can I say?
Please enjoy.
ABP

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Sydney, November, it's jacarandas. And Harry, of course, with the Emerald Bar.

10/11/2016

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We're into November here in Sydney so the jacarandas are in full bloom and it is truly beautiful.

And how pertinent to Harry and his world.

Harry's World opened with Harry's Tribulations, set in November with the jacarandas.

A couple of quotes...

"The jacarandas in Kelly Street were in full bloom as Harry wandered along, pub-bound. A light rain moistened his balding head. In the gentle early evening November breeze there was a steady cascade of purple flowers descending onto the ground. Harry loved this time of year in these streets..."

"The lavender rainfall and lilac carpet on the mishmash of bitumen and concrete was almost enough to teleport Harry to an alternative, and much improved, universe."

And of course the Emerald Bar appears in the opening story. For connoisseurs of Harry's World, you have probably worked out that the Emerald Bar is in reality the Australian Youth Hotel (AYH), my local and favourite pub, and the site of my book launch for Harry's World. It couldn't be any more appropriate.
As a side-note, over the years of writing Harry's World, there were many portions drafted as I sat enjoying an evening at the Aussie Youth.

I hope you like the photos I took today of the AYH and the jacarandas.

Cheers.
ABP

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Harry and his flowers

10/11/2016

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PI Harry Kenmare - the tough hard-boiled PI, who loves his drink and his women, and the more the better. And he's not averse to some serious violence when he feels some scumbag truly deserves it.

And he likes flowers???

This is a quite deliberate character trait I gave Harry, as paradoxical as it may seem. Just as my website, despite being that of a crime author, is full of photos of colourful flowers and foliage. Again, deliberately so. Does it seem strange?

Apart from my own love of flowers, it is quite simply my desire to balance the darkness and noir in my writing with some beauty and colour. I want my readers to feel the darkness when that is in the story, but also to have some respite, hence the flowers, trees, and colours throughout Harry's World.

I guess it is my own unique take on hard-boiled noir: I want to hit the darkest of dark, but also to see some beauty shining through. Life's a balance, after all.

Now, if you've read Harry's World, you'll be familiar with the fragrance of night jessamine (Harry's favourite) and the purple flowers of the jacaranda trees.
Well, here in Sydney the jacarandas are in full bloom (see my next blog) and my night jessamine shrub on our balcony has broken into bloom this week and the smell is truly magnificent. The white flowers of the night jessamine may not look impressive, but their aroma is truly one of Nature's wonders. But you have to wait until after dark!

Cheers.
ABP

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Jacarandas - November in Sydney - And one of Harry's favourite flowers

Ah, Night Jessamine, you sweet, alluring temptress!

O such arboreal beauty - the purple and the red! Sydney in spring!

Sydney, November, it's jacarandas. And Harry, of course, with the Emerald Bar.

Harry and his flowers

A.B.Patterson

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Jacarandas - November in Sydney - And one of Harry's favourite flowers

Ah, Night Jessamine, you sweet, alluring temptress!

﻿O such arboreal beauty - the purple and the red! Sydney in spring!

Sydney, November, it's jacarandas. And Harry, of course, with the Emerald Bar.

Harry and his flowers

A.B.Patterson

Categories

Archives

O such arboreal beauty - the purple and the red! Sydney in spring!