THERE'S BEAUTY IN OUR GARDEN IF YOU LOOK HARD ENOUGH

It has been said, and quite rightly so, that our garden is a bit of a wilderness.  These shots were taken in our front garden this afternoon (the back garden is even wilder).  Had to use my walker to keep my balance but I enjoyed searching to see what I could find out there.  Thought I'd share them with you:

and in amongst it all I found these:

My chameleon rose doing her best to look beautiful.  We've moved the 3 pots out the back so we can sit under the patio and enjoy them while we have a cuppa, and they'll get more sun too.

Some pink and red geraniums (I didn't plant the red ones, they just grew):

Daisies of different colours (all self-sown each year):

Some ixias or are they spraxias (we didn't plant these but up they come every year):

A wee daisy ground cover that has spread at the end of the front verandah (I am wondering if this is the same species that River has just planted.)  It appears to have both pink and white flowers.  Do they perhaps change as they age like Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow?  Darn, I forgot to take pics of YT+T):

Another dainty ground cover that I am hoping will spread in time (no idea what it is as the tag has been lost):

My favourite bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus); I love the colour, it seems to glow.  It's a late flowering species and does it have a citrusy smell?  I've never got close enough to find out.  It flowers after the King's Park Special and others have reached their peak:

The very last camellia in a tiny crystal vase on the mantlepiece.  The large bush has been covered with dozens of flowers this year and when they drop they make a very good mulch.  Sorry it's a little out of focus:

The flowers on the weeping peppermint (Agonis flexuosa)  (it was very windy and they are a bit out of focus).  I didn't plant this weeping peppermint tree.  It just came up and strangely enough it is multi-trunked and after 2 years is now about 4 metres high and 2 metres across.  It gives lovely shade to the finches cage during summer. That's in the back garden:

Here's a picture of what the flowers should look like that I stole from a website somewhere.  They do look a little like Geraldton wax don't they, but they're not.

I have no idea what this plant is called.  We've had it for years now.  It was in a large pot which was for some reason popped over in the corner of the front garden behind another weeping peppermint (also self-sown) and it has grown up to about 4 metres high and spread out a lot as well, and it is still in the pot! If you look at the third picture of the front garden you can see the mauve flowers of this plant and how high it has grown up around the peppermint.

And last but not least is the lavender.  I had planted one lavender bush near our front door in 1974. That bush is long gone but since then we've had lavenders popping up here and there and have never had to buy another one.  The bees love them.

Obviously the plants that come up by themselves see something in our garden that they like. Perhaps it's that they know they are not likely to be pulled up if they are 'out of place' so feel safe here.  As long as it's not a weed it is welcome at our place.  Trouble is the weeds think they're also welcome even though I tell them they're not!!!!