Ngunnawal country

Warm summer evenings, sweet air, golden pasture and the white bones of old gums. These are the sensory pleasures that conjure up my childhood home, Canberra. On a recent trip home, I was struck again and again by the beauty of the flora and fauna of this special place. There is nothing like moving away to make you appreciate the land you grew on.

A critically endangered ecological community of Yellow Box/Red Gum Grassy Woodland - an open woodland in which Eucalyptus melliodora, Yellow Box and Eucalyptus blakelyi, Blakely’s Red Gum (seen here) are the dominant trees.

Xerochrysum viscosum. Golden Everlasting or Yellow Paper Daisy.

The purple head of this nitrogen-fixing Cirsium vulgare, Scotch thistle, so vivid against the golden grass and open blue sky.

Lagurus ovatus, Bunny tail grass. Originally from the Mediterranean but naturalised in Australia.

The sun sets over the Brindabella ranges