This (Canberra) life

 With accommodation in limbo and no internet at home, the bank manager took me through the security door and allowed me access to her computer to do some internet banking. When we went to the local IGA supermarket the owner seemed to know everyone's name.

Canberra is a city of work and government, luring professionals from interstate with the promise of good jobs and small-town liveability. Our 15-minute commute into the CBD is littered with national institutions: the War Memorial; Parliament House; Reserve Bank. Here working life is a badge of identity and, to the uninitiated, a bizarre language of acronyms involving government departments. Swapping stories about the public service is socially expected. On weekends the city turns in on itself as Canberrans flock out of town: to Sydney and Bateman's Bay or to the snowfields of Thredbo and the Snowy Mountains.

Outsiders will often joke about the boring reputation of this neat and well-planned city, with its grey office buildings, graffiti-free walls and myriad roundabouts (let me tell you, they beat traffic lights every time).

But the Canberra I know is not this place. What I love most about Canberra is its distinct seasons. In summer I inhale the warm spicy perfume of eucalyptus and bush mingled with the woody notes of earth and grass. Layers of red dust filter through cracks in houses and cars and three kinds of ants swarm the hot footpath among the debris of bark and grass. Flocks of magpies, grey and pink galahs, white cockatiels, rosellas and green parrots raid the trees for acorns. If nothing else Canberra's inland dry heat and low humidity make for frequent good hair days.

On a winter morning a light fog still hovers in the distance as I pull the front door closed behind me after a run. The smell of wood smoke lingers in my nostrils. The air outside is a brisk 2C. In the quietness of our street, nestled in the shadow of Mt Ainslie, we often spot kangaroo pellets in the driveway and once or twice a large grey has been spotted standing territorially beside the cars. My favourite time of year is autumn with its fierce blaze of foliage from deciduous elms, Japanese maples and Manchurian pears.

But after five years here my life has come to a crossroads.

New opportunities await and gradually I was myself unravel in this picturesque town and sleepy. Tasks and to-do lists are churning away in my head.

For now, though, I'm still standing, sipping tea and watching the last of the red maple leaves dangerous tree in our yard.

Flowering Pear Tree Varieties

The pear tree comes to life every spring, and covers itself with beautiful clusters of white snowy flowers. No wonder every landscaper wants to use them to beautify the landscape. The pear comes from the genus Pyrus, and belongs to the same family as the apple, Maloideae. Flowering pear tree scientific name is Pyrus calleryana. The pear is native to China, from where it spread around the world and was cultivated into different varieties to suit different habitats. The pear tree is planted for its ornamental value as well as its fruit. Pear trees are easy to grow and maintain, and they are all deciduous trees. I have listed some of the flowering pear tree varieties for your easy understanding of this beautiful ornamental pear tree. Read more on: One of the primary reasons why types of flowering pear trees are favored over other trees is its shape. Most varieties of white flowering pear trees have more of a pyramidal or an oval shape. As it does not tend to spread out wide, it requires lesser space. The fact that it is not exactly a shade tree, gives the gardener more scope to widen his creativity. Following is some flowering pear tree information. The Chanticleer pear grows upright up to 40 feet high with a spread 15 feet wide. This tree is considered as an improved version of the Bradford pear tree. In 2005, it was awarded the 'Urban Tree of the Year' by the Society of Municipal Arborists. Chanticleer pear tree is popular as a street tree, because it does not create a mess with its shedding. It bears beautiful white flowers in clusters in spring, changing its green leaves to a purplish red in early fall. The Chanticleer flowering pear tree is also known as Cleveland Select in many places. A tree that prominently figures in flowering pear tree varieties is the Autumn blaze pear tree was introduced in 1980 by cultivators to ensure that the pear can thrive in zone 4. Unlike, other pear trees, Autumn Blaze is much less susceptible to breakage and winter damage. It is planted more for its fall foliage than white flowers. True to its name, the tree turns in hues of blaze in fall season, lasting as long as three weeks, and then turning a deep burgundy. It reaches the height of 30 feet when it reaches maturity with long slender horizontal branches. The list of flowering pear tree varieties is just not complete without the Bradford pear tree. Bradford is the oldest pear tree, that grows well in light well drained soil and full sun.

The complete plant selection guide for landscape design

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