September | 2014 | Petal & Pins

A Tropical Ballet

On my recent trip to Magnetic Island a dip in the ocean was high on my to do list. It was 28 degrees every day I was there and the island has more gorgeous beaches than there are days in the week.

At Radical Bay I not only blissfully frolicked in the sea but I created this design for my Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe.

It could almost be a costume for a ballet don’t you think?

Unable to identify what the flowering tree was I turned to sleuthing on the internet and discovered the most wonderful website – Some Magnetic Island Plants.

Donald Simpson is the author and his website is fabulous!
You can search by botanical name, common name or colour palette. He has photos, botanical information and tells you where on the island you can see a particularly good specimen of each plant.

Delightedly I got to meet Donald the following day – such is island life!
His website is a true labour of love and I encourage all plant lovers to have a look.

And the flowering tree on Radical Bay Beach that Donald kindly identified for me?
Barringtonia Asiatica.

Barringtonia Asiatica at Radical Bay © Sandra Alcorn 2014

It’s a night flowering tree and by morning the blooms have fallen to the ground – I think the scene is set for my beach ballet.

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September 16, 2014

A Fleeting Moment

Sitting on Picnic Bay Beach Magnetic Island

I’m back from a Queensland holiday with lots of photos and inspiration for several blog posts and a whole new collection of tropical flower dresses for my Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe.

I bought a new camera before I went – more sophisticated than I had previously so I am still figuring out how to use it (meaning I’m a bit bamboozled by it all!)

I stuck mostly to the auto setting since I couldn’t go wrong with that but I did discover it has an ‘art’ setting for fancy effects hence this picture.

If you’ve been following my blog you will know from my recent post Butterfly Wings & Other Things I’ve been having a bit of a butterfly moment so you can imagine I was pretty delighted when I found the butterfly adorned sandals I’m wearing in a little shop in Ingham.

And this adorned the entrance to Paronella Park at Menna Creek.

I don’t know if I’m just tuned in to seeing all things butterfly or the universe is bringing them into my orbit but on Sunday, my last day on Magnetic Island I came across a boy probably only 7 or 8 years old with a butterfly net. He had just caught the most amazing butterfly I’ve ever seen – large iridescent green.

I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo as I’d been fixated on photographing the flowers of a jade vine. He was literally jumping for joy at his discovery and I was pleased to see he let it go after he took a picture.

Back home I pulled out a Vintage Shell Project Card Album Butterflies and Moths to see if I could identify it.