We have a massive destruction from the super typhoon Pablo in some parts of Mindanao. It was actual total destruction; as in houses in whole towns are all down, coconut trees that are among the most resistant of typhoons are either uprooted or broken, bridges destroyed, rivers created another routes, and a lot of lives gone! We always see the sad scenes on TV and it really affects the collective unconscious.
Blogging relieves us from these constant reminders of agony. So i will choose the bright colors that I have lots of in our garden. There are actually more than these, but photos will already be too much if I post them in totality.
Catharanthus roseus - a very hardy plant which can withstand long bouts of dryness and neglect
Vinca - a new addition to my garden, the seeds i just got from a sidewalk volunteer somewhere
Euphorbia millii - still present in our garden and producing lots of colors despite my incessant gesture of throwing them out
Orthosiphon aristatus or cat whiskers
yellow Chrysanthemum cascading from our cement wall, flowers only this month because of its photoperiodism
Plumbago rosea - red plumbago, it has one of the most unwieldy stem growths but the flowers will capture your hearts
Asystasia intrusa, growing high above the golden duranta hedges
Cassia alata, still flowering despite the extensive intrusion of a lot of butterfly larvae
Crossandra infundibuliformis, never fail to flower elegantly
These are some of the also blooming colors in our garden. They almost finish the leaves of the Casia alata, but i did not make a drastic punishment because they will eventually emerge as very lovely fleeting yellow butterflies called Eurema.
Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - December
oh wow, i haven't seen a lanzones tree with fruits before! i've seen lots of lanzones trees in Laguna and Camiguin but usually after the fruit-bearing season. i enjoy looking at these flowers, especially the duranta erecta--it has golden fruits, too. my first time to see red plumbago--very pretty. and the cassia alata--i've seen this once in a forest.
ReplyDeleteOur trees are still small, and don't grow as good as in colder areas. It is actually a trial in our hot and dry area, some trees actually died a few years back when our dry season was too long. They are supposed to be planted in better climes like Laguna and Lipa. RE duranta fruits: I don't like them, so i cut the stems before they set fruit.
DeleteKażdy kraj ma jakieś bolączki. My mamy śnieg i mróz. Wy macie huragany. Kwiaty piękne macie jednak cały czas. Pozdrawiam.
ReplyDeleteEvery country has some ills. We have snow and frost. You have hurricanes. But you have beautiful flowers all the time. Yours.
Beautiful collection of flowers. We don't have many days during the summer with temperatures as high as your lowest here in Finland.
ReplyDeleteWhat a welcome splash of WARM colour, Andrea! It's bitterly cold here, though the silvery shades are (to our way of thinking) very Christmassy! The cat whiskers really made me smile! Your stunning Red Plumbago is very festive, and is also a first for me: we have it in beautiful blue shades. I'm sorry about the typhoon ... utterly dreadful for those who were affected.
ReplyDeleteI think what you call lanzone, we call langsat. Generally it has a sourish-sweet taste. We also have a hybrid; a cross between the Langsat and Duku, call Duku-Langsat. This is much sweeter and the sap has practically no sap. Most of the plants that you show are also commonly planted here in Malaysia. Regards.
ReplyDeleteO lovely colors from the tropics so nice to look ut. It adds on inspiration each morning we get up.I truly miss some of these flowers.
ReplyDeleteSome of them I grow in my garden. Have a nice weekend.
oh I love the lanzone!
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures. I love the pentas - I grow it here as an annual, I have to buy it from a greenhouse. I've never seen red plumbago.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your beautiful plants and their special colors and textures
ReplyDeleteHello, So sorry about the typhoon. Tragic!
ReplyDeleteYour vinca and pentas are very pretty. The fruit is very unusual. I enjoyed your post today and wish you a Merry Christmas.
Beth
You have a lot of lovely bright blooms. My cassia is also blooming. I never saw a red plumbago before. I must try to get some of the plants you have pictured here.
ReplyDeleteHello Nicole, i think it is your first time here, thanks for your visit. I also have a longtime blogger friend in the Caribbean, do you know Helen of "my rustic bajan garden". It is through her blog where i learned we have the same weather conditions, therefore the same vegetation.
DeleteMy favourite photo is of the Asystasia intrusa because it can be seen in the context of your garden. I would be so grateful if butterfly larvae would invade my plants as I don't have any butterflies. Are they considered a pest sometimes in the Phillipines ?
ReplyDeleteThank b-a-g for dropping by once-in-a while. Yes, butterfly larvae can sometimes be so plenty that they are destructive to cultivated plants. But when there is still a balance in nature, that seldom happens, they also have predators which lessen them. In the case of my Cassia alata, I allow them to eat most of the leaves, because I want to let them flourish and be butterflies.
DeleteWhat a lovely collection of tropical plants, many of them I have not even heard of before. I wish I lived somewhere where the temperature never fell belowe 25 degrees Celsius! It is cold here in London, and a long time till we get 25C :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Helene, so while you are still at the worst temperatures, let me keep you a bit warmer with our tropical plants, they are always warm and inviting, haha! If you are in the minus degrees it is really difficult, but if you are always above 30C getting almost 40C in the dry season, you will think otherwise. Now, would you rather that we exchange conditions!
DeletePentas, Catharentheus and Duranta are among my butterfly staples for the summer, frost bitten now. I have Pentas cuttings under glass, Periwinkles will reseed and Duranta comes back from the roots and makes a 6-foot shrub by summer's end.
ReplyDeleteOh NellJean, i don't know if I will still be able to produce flowers if i have your conditions! I might not, as these plants here are just planted and left on their own. They don't ever get watered in the dry season as we have difficulty of that too! I guess we have difficulties with our seasons, but here it is a bit less difficult. Merry Christmas.
DeleteThank you for these bright flowers on a rather bleak day with the school shooting in the US...I have never heard of the lanzones...sounds yummy.
ReplyDeleteDonna, you should have a vacation here during these cold winter months. At least you will be assured of good warm colors complimenting the temperatures!
DeleteAh, your tropicals are a delight. Especially during the bleak days of late fall here in New England, USA.
ReplyDeleteHi Layanee, i think this is your first visit here, thanks for coming. So while you are in your cold conditions, come here often and let my flowers and plants keep you warm. My plants warmth will never fail you!
DeleteSuch lovely blooms Andrea and we rarely get those temperatures in the summer months here. My favourites are the Duranta blooms and Asystasia intrusa though the Duranta is a conservatory plant here and never flowers as well as what yours would in the open air.
ReplyDeleteOh Rosie, i miss you my 'old' friend! Many of my commenters never get at all our lowest temperatures, which remind me of my friends, relatives and countrymen who migrated or working in countries like yours. I guess it added more to their homesickness. But at least they are better compensated than us left here! By the way, the 3 you mentioned are here throughout the year.
DeleteOh wow, you have lanzones!
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteSummer Pink Daisy
And in my white, snowy world, the *high* temperature today was about 25F! Thanks for providing all the color. -Jean
ReplyDelete