The garden

Where did this come from? One day there's nothing... then there's this bloom. I have no idea what it's called but see them often in Western Australian gardens and bleak unwatered places too.
There's no greenery although there was some a few months back, right there where this beautiful flower has popped up from.
There used to be two very tall gum trees here but they were far too close to the house. So they had to come down. The garden bed containing their stumps became a rockery - not just any old rockery - a Mookaite Rockery!! Isn't it colourful? But as you can see, the gum trees are fighting back. The new shoots from the stumps are poking out from under the rocks.
This is what you DON'T plant on an Australian native bush block. It's a Monstera deliciosa and would probably be doing a lot better if the reticulated watering system had been going all summer. But it's far too risky to have a tap turned on when you are going to be away for weeks. So, unfortunately, it is quite thirsty and wishing it was in some cosy city suburb where it was watered regularly and under some shade cloth too.