Sharing the stories behind the photos of my 2023 Calendar and why I chose to put them in the calendar. As always it’s hard to select which photos to put in the calendar and what theme to have. My 2023 Calendar theme is Australian Wildflowers. Towards the end of last year I took heaps of photos of orchids and other wildflowers. However it was after I had already done this year’s calendar so had to wait until now to do an Australian Wildflowers calendar.
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January
Hairpin Banksia
This was taken on my way back up Pierces Pass after doing an overnight solo hike down to Blue Gum Forest in the Blue Mountains. I had seen a different type of banksia on the way down but liked this one more as it has some purple in it which is one of my favourite colours.
February
Kangaroo Paw
I captured this photo while in WA in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park. I love this area and all the wildflowers there. I’d never really looked at Kangaroo Paws from this angle before taking this photo and like the different colours you get when they are flowering.
March
Mountain Devil
This photo was taken on the same solo overnight hike down to Blue Gum Forest as the banksia for January’s photo. However this was taken on my way down from Pierces Pass. I like the added ant on the flower and was partly why it was chosen for this month as it’s my sister’s birthday month and she likes animals.
April
Honey Grevillea
This was one of my favourite flowers that I saw around Uluru last year. On a tour we were told that Aboriginal children would eat these like lollipops as they are sweat. We saw plenty of them flowering but didn’t get to taste any.
May
Silver Banksia
I took this photo in Namadgi National Park in the ACT. One of the only flowers that flowers year round in the area providing food for the birds. I liked this photo as it shows the different stages of the banksia flower. The older dried banksia flowers were used by Aboriginal people to carry fire around different sites while the new flower was used in drinks like a natural Gatorade.
June
Fringe Lily
One of my favourite wildflowers which is one of the reasons it made it onto the front of the calendar. This flower can be found across much of Australia however this one was photographed in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park, WA while on another solo hike. My sister who loves plants is growing these and this is her birthday month which is why this was chosen for this month.
July
Mulla Mulla
Last year in July my sister and I did the Larapinta Trail in the NT. We saw heaps of these flowers along the trail. There is also a white variety of them. I took heaps of photos of them so it was hard to decide which one to select for the calendar.
August
Sturt’s Desert Pea
After we did the Larapinta Trail we spent a few nights down at Uluru. Around the resort town of Yulara these were flowering. Similar to the May’s photo of the banksia I like that the photo shows the different stages of the flower.
September
Christmas Orchid and Hyacinth Orchid
The Christmas Orchid was taken while on a family camping trip to Goomburra, Main Range National Park QLD. We didn’t realise it was an orchid until after we got back and searched it up. While we did see a Hyacinth Orchid on that trip the one photographed is from another family camping trip to Girraween National Park, QLD.
October
Green-comb Spider Orchid, Purplish Beard Orchid, Alpine Leek Orchid, Tiger Orchid, Musky Caps, Late Leopard Orchid
The Green-comb Spider Orchid, Tiger Orchid, Musky Caps and Late Leopard Orchids were all taken on Mt Tennent last year when the ACT was coming out of lockdown and could go out more. In total my sister and I ended up seeing 7 different types of orchids on Mt Tennent. Once we could travel more I went down to Marysville in Victoria for work. While on a day off I went on a walk around Marysville and found the Purplish Beard Orchid.
The Alpine Leek Orchid was taken on a solo hike out to Jagungal in Kosciuszko National Park earlier last year. I found the orchids near Derschkos Hut. It was my first time I’d hiked in that area in summer. I’d been twice before but in winter and it was covered in snow. It was nice to see it without snow and the wildflowers.
November
Spider Orchid and Donkey Orchid
Both of these photos were taken on the last morning of my very first solo overnight hike I did which was in D'entrecasteaux National Park, WA. I had seen heaps of orchids while working and was a bit surprised I didn’t see more on my solo hike. Orchids are another of my favourite wildflowers which is one of the reasons I chose these for my birthday month. The other reasons being they were taken on my first solo overnight hike and in WA one of my favourite places.
December
Waratah
I chose a Christmas coloured flower for December. While I was living and training in the Blue Mountains a fair few years ago now I would often explore the area on the weekend. This Waratah along with plenty others were found near Pierces Pass. It was late in the day though so decided to come back the following weekend to take photos.
Hope you've enjoyed the stories behind the photos in my 2023 Calendar. If you would like to purchase a calendar remember to let me know, over half have already been sold. Do you have a favourite photo and or a theme suggestion for the 2024 Calendar? Let me know in the comments below.
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