Things of Beauty
02 Jul
0
414
Title image above is copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos
First published 2nd July 2026
The Wollongong Botanic Garden’s Kawasaki Bridge is being repaired!
Maybe “replaced with a replica” is more accurate, as the traditional Japanese wood it is currently made from sadly just doesn’t hold up to our clim..
28 Jun
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164
Title image above is copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos
First published 28th June 2026
“Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.”
This gorgeous thing is one of our many local equivalents of the majestic oak — a baby Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) shedding its seed coat. The Norfolk Island ..
23 May
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154
Title image above is copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos
First published 23rd May 2026
How beautiful is this?! Red bromeliads tucked into an Australian cabbage-tree palm (Livistona australis).
Red bromeliads on an Australian cabbage-tree palm
copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos
Red bromeliads on an Au..
05 May
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337
Title image above is copyright © Farouk
First published 5th May 2026
Farouk and I go back a few years now (though sadly we have never met), when he bought a Sherwood jujube tree. We have been in touch on and off over the years, and last year he showed me his video with that same tree at the 1:12 m..
30 Apr
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298
Title image above is copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos
First published 30th March 2026
The Wollongong Botanic Garden is home to the Sir Joseph Banks Glasshouse, a two-section structure which houses primarily tropical and desert plants, but other warm-region species as well. The first section also h..
21 Feb
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435
Title image above is copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos
First published 21st February 2026
Smile! This is a Suimen jujube leaf, 100% a legit photo taken by me and not AI. (That I need to say that at all is so depressing….)
This ability of us to perceive objects that aren’t there is called pareidolia..
19 Feb
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403
Title image above is copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos
First published 19th February 2026
The Wollongong Botanic Garden is home to a Haworthia collection of over 1,000 Haworthia spp. from Leo Cady’s donated private collection.
A regularly-rotated selection from this collection amassed over more tha..
05 Dec
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607
Title image above is copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos
First published 5th December 2025
There are many Queensland Bottle Trees (Brachychiton rupestris) throughout the the Wollongong Botanic Garden, and this particularly stunning one always draws my eye:
A magnificent Brachychiton rupestris (Queen..
05 Dec
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985
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
(This article was originally published 2nd February 2021 here on our Jujube Tree Nursery site.)
First published here 5th December 2025.
Have you ever seen these very smooth round and oval shapes in leaves before, and not known what made them?..
20 Oct
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669
Title image above is copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos
First published 20th October 2025
The series on the The Wollongong Botanic Garden continues here, this time with a photo essay on its Azalea Collection.
From their website:
This collection features plants found in Asiatic regions including Chi..
25 Jun
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1437
Title image above is copyright © Helen Flynn
First published 25th June 2025
Following the Lone Pine article, two pals have since shared their own sightings in Victoria of this magnificent tree. How could I not do a followup and help spread the word?!
Local pal Sandra was first, seeing a tree here,..
07 May
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950
Art piece above is copyright © Andrew McGill.
Title photo above is copyright © Kristi Ellinopoullos
First published 7th May 2025.
Last December 2024 hubby and I had a wonderful time exploring the NSW Riverina area. The town of Lockhart abounds with sculptures, and we spent a good few hours explori..