Melia azederach or White Cedar as its commonly known, is a native to Australia and South East Asia. Its a beautiful rounded canopy tree with mauve flowers in the spring time. The Flowers are really pretty and then the tree turns yellow in Autumn before losing all its leaves and bearing fruit. However.... beware of the fruit as its poisonous! A bit of a twist there, not recommended for kindergarten or childrens gardens however birds are not susceptable to the toxens , although dogs are. 
Its a very hardy tree, and will survive drought and frost. A good street tree and creates a great avenue. Here inMelbourne in Westgarth, the council has ussed them to line a main road, and the show in Spring time is quite something to behold!!!!
So if your looking for a tree that is tough and pretty, will lose its leaves in winter,with the added bonus of giving you plenty of shade in Summer time, this is a good choice. But do keep in mind the fruit. They are definitely not edible, and can self seed.
Speaking of drought and heat......( and I know many readers in the Northern hemisphere are probably totally over our droughts down south), a friend of mind sent me some pics of a very thirsty koala being helped by some understanding people. They really are cute.
Cute eh???
Comments are very welcome!
They both are cute - the tree and Koala!
ReplyDeleteOH MY ... look at that little guy! How fun is that???? I love your photos today. Thank you for warming up my winter with your wonderful flower photos.
ReplyDeleteWarm Wishes from the Midwest.
The koala is sooooooo cute, and looks so sweet. Glad to hear people are helping them.
ReplyDeleteLovely tree, and interesting to learn the fruit is poisonous to people. Do the blossoms have much of a fragrance?
I've read they are perfumed yes. And according to the Aust. National Botanical Gardens it flowers in Autumn? I was pretty sure it flowers in Spring so may stand corrected . If any reader would be kind enough to clarify i'd appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteSerena, thanks for your comment on my blog! What a great new year resolution you made, to start a blog! And you came to a right place. I used to have my other blog for a year, but found Blotanical only recently. I like the format of your blog. I use Blogger and keep thinking about switching, but I'm afraid I can lose something in the process. Your dogs are very cute! And your boy is just 2 years older than my twins. They are my diggers! Happy Gardening and Happy Blogging!
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness - that koala is VERY cute! Almost as cute as my daughter who is turning 1 today. So I'd better stop reading blogs and go make cupcakes :-) I'm sorry that I'm not more familiar with the geography of Australia - I hope you and your loved ones are far from the fires raging right now. Regards, VW
ReplyDeleteThanks for your concern VW . We have quite a smoke haze over Melbourne where i live but the fires are more on the outskirts and regional areas. So we are not at risk. I have friends who live in the areas which are suffering but everyone is pretty organised with fire plans so that is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteWeather is much cooler now and we've had a little bit of rain which is a big relief to all.
Cheers!
Hi Serena
ReplyDeleteI'm watching the BBC news coverage of the Bush fires and just wanted to say how sorry I am to see the devastation and loss of life.
Rob
Thanks Rob Thankfully i am not near them, but some of my friends are dealing with it all. Its all very shocking. YOur kind thoughts are appreciated.
ReplyDelete