Oxygen Generators one month after the rains

Our official rainy season this year started in June, and that is mainly true in Metro Manila where i work. In the province where our garden is, rainy season is one month late. It is good that plants are not aware of what happens where I came from, unless they have a very well developed extra sharp perception (ESP), or else they will be very envious. At any rate, in July they got what everybody desires, notwithstanding one month late.  So here is a parade of some of our flowering plants at the end of July.

Because of the unusual one slight rainfall in May, some of the bulbs started to open in June. It was a very unusual sight because we are familiar with them blooming at the same time about two weeks after the first heavy rain. This year their flowering was staggered, and some of the blood lily (Haemanthus multiflorus) opened only in July. This happened also with the Hippeastrum puniceum or amarilys. The normally wonderful hedge of orange blooms did not show up like the previous years.

The above old cast iron discard pot already produced two blooms in June and now in July, it produced another bloom. Blood lilies produce the red blooms way ahead of the leaves, so the above simultaneous growth is already an abnormality in our garden. 

Those which flowered in June are already fruiting like the above in July. So the picture of simultaneously having the red bloom, the green leaves and the fruiting umbels is a new phenomenon here. If that is also an effect of climate change, i don't know!

This is the 2nd year of flowering of this Proiphys amboinensis (Euricles amboinensis). Like the blood lily, it also exhibited a staggered blooming, such that while having the above flowers, the spent umbel (below) shows the growing seeds.

Pachystachys lutea produced lots of blooms and longer candles with the rains.

This is just the first bloom of the Pentas lanceolata. A caladium leaf is at the back.

Even the Catharantus roseus seem so delighted with the rains. This is also the first bloom.

Turnera ulmifolia is tolerant of the dry season, so despite the drought it still produced flowers. Rains only produced more branches and more blooms. It has been consistently producing flowers for the dry season which sustained the nectaring insects in the area. Together with the hibiscus and Duranta, it help the insects tolerate the dry season.

Crape myrtle, which was so affected by the dry season also flourished well.  At this photo however, the flowers are not yet fully open.

Marigold flourished growth in July. In a few weeks these will show lovely blooms. These are just self seeds from the old plants which died in this area. A lot of seeds actually germinated during the first single rain in May, but they died without any water follow-up.