Before the Dry Season Gets in

Our gardens are still teeming with colors, of course, warm colors as in the reds, the oranges and the yellows. And we also have the colors in between. But please don't look for the blues and dark violets, as I have also been looking for them. I am compensating that lack of blues by getting the too small flowered blue weeds, which I have posted earlier. And the violets, we have them too, but not as dark as those you get in the temperate climates. At least I have here some lavender, that suffices for the meantime. Maybe you will tell me about the blue Plumbago, our blue Vanda, the butterfly pea, but sorry I don't have them in my garden. 

Our colors are not confined with our flowers. Look at the above roots and base of this plant. Isn't it gorgeous enough to get your attention. The growing root hairs are all very red as well.

And look at those stem and leaves, so rich in color and texture that glows in morning sunlight. 

This is the growing point with the emerging flower at the center. Even without the flowers, the leaves are already very ornamental enough.

  

The bloom already got out, the butterflies and other insects cannot wait for the flower to fully expand. Ants are under those ruffles if you look intently enough.  I am sorry i forgot to mention the name of this plant, it is a cockscomb or Celosia argentea.

This is a single plant of the double petalled Impatiens balsamina. We have a lot of these that some are thinned out when still small, otherwise they will not branch favorably like this one.

My Pentas lanceolata is too shaded, so the umbels don't get as big as it is supposed to. But the insects and butterflies compete alighting in it. 

This might be a Vinca I got the seeds from some sidewalk. I forgot where i planted the seeds and realized it only when the flowers show up. The morphology of this flower is different from our common perennially growing Catharanthus roseus, however their leaves are almost the same. I wonder if I am correct in calling it Vinca. 

The gaillardia are still producing flowers. However, I observed that not many butterflies are visiting it, unlike our marigolds, pentas, duranta and turnera. I don't know if the butterflies are not just used to it, because this is an introduced species from my US blogger friend.

 The crinum is also still producing blooms. Maybe this is the 5th spike produced this rainy season. The sweet scent attracts not only the insects but also the people passing by! The plant is big, almost  a meter in diameter, so occupies a bigger area in the garden.