gumnut babies, blossoms and big, bad banksia men

sometimes i marvel that i live somewhere that looks like this:

besides the beaches, there are the plants that make this place so dream-like. i remember coming to australia for the first time and feeling like i was in a new world, a fantasy land of crazy plants and animals. there are big, purple trees that look like something out of a dr. suess book, a bunch of bottle-brushy flowers hanging from trees, ginger spikes growing 15 feet tall like huge dragon tails, citrus, passion fruit vines, avocados and papaya in front yards. but, uh-oh, then there are the banksias! they look like this when they're past their prime:

and bub is deathly afraid of them. this one's stealing a little gumnut baby.** banksia man image taken from: http://images.absoluteastronomy.com/. ../banksia_man.png

more photos from our picnic at royal national park here