Hearts' Month of February, when the wind here with us in the province is a bit colder, courtesy of the Easterly winds coming from those northern countries with deep winter. I hope the colder winds will not stop soon, as animals, humans and plants all love this weather.
I had a 2 week -vacation at home to savor our still fresh air, to replenish my bad breathing air in the big city where i live for work. Allergic asthma got me in the hospital for 4 days, so i needed a fresher environment. Since Monday/yesterday i am again in the city, returned for work and breathing the bad air again. I miss our air in the province, the birds, the bees, butterflies, and my plants. I am showing some of them here for GBBD. They kept me company during my recuperation/ staycation for 2 weeks.
For those of you still in winter, i hope i can give you some warmth with my photos.
Mother's garden of annuals
Impatiens balsamina, violets, whites and pinks
Top and bottom: red Plumbago
Caesalpinia pulcherrima and
Pentas lanceolata
bougainvilla flowers
Heliconia rostrata starting to produce individual bright flowers. In April-March, a lot of them will be hanging from each plant. Right: Alternanthera variegated.
...and my hoyas!
Top & Bottom: Hoya pubicorolla formerly Hoya pubicalyx 'Black Dragon'. Is previous flowers are more black and lessened hue in succeeding blooming.
I have 2 mother plants, above has 3 umbels while the other has 2 umbels.
This
Hoya diversifolia is hanging from the lanzones trees. Above the tree are lots of umbels like this in succession.
At left is
Hoya valmayoriana, my first time to see it blooming. At the right is
Hoya siariae. It is nice to know that the persons they are named after are my former professor and my friend, respectively.
Hoya halconensis produced 2 umbels which bloomed consecutively. It started with a greenish hue at the corolla which later on changed to dark yellow. It remained open for 4 days.
My old Hoya crassicaulis is back to its blooming characteristics, with corolla not able to reflex because the flowers are very compact within the umbel. It stopped blooming for a while because i put it in ICU and had intensive rehabilitation management. Now it is back to its former glory.
Hoya obscura with simultaneous buds is so lovely to see, but when they all open at the same time, the sweet scent pervades the air around through our terrace. How nice to have coffee there in the afternoon, when they are in full bloom.
Dear Andrea, lovely blooms, they are all bright colours, no pale blue, I wonder if that is a rare colour in the tropics? I'm so sorry about the pollution, is it because of the fires in Borneo or other places? If so, hopefully the air will get better soon.
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much Sue. Fortunately, smokes from Borneo didn't reach us, but it is the small nearby households that burn things near their homes, an old tradition that is difficult to erradicate, and even if already against the law the enforcers do not have the political will to enforce the law. This is one of our misfortunes here in the country, correct and prompt law enforcement.
DeleteAbout color blue, it is seldom seen here in the hot tropics, unlike in temperate climates where it is very common. Blue is a cool color, and ours are the warm colors. My favorite is actually blue and violets, so i better be content with violets, hahaha!
Dear Andrea I sure hope you are all well soon from this asthma attack. Glad you had your lovely gardens in the province to retreat to.
ReplyDeleteLove your blooms, especially your hoyas.
Have a nice week ~ FlowerLady
Thank you Lorraine, i am a little better now hopefully will not get the allergens again. If only i can just stay in the province and not work anymore, that would be lovely.
DeleteHi Andrea. I am pleased to hear that you are well enough to return to work, but it is worrying to think that you are breathing in that bad air. It can't do you any good!! I am lucky enough to live in the countryside, so mostly clear air, other than some log fire smoke and occasional bad smell from the farmers' fields! I love the flowers and particularly the Hoyas. I don't think I have seen those colour combinations before. I hope you can enjoy a prolonged cool spell. We are longing for some warm weather here!!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your concern Nick. It really is so lovely to live in the province, am fortunate i have our house there, but unfortunate to be working here in the big city. It is amazing how hot and cold countries experience as the highs and lows of their conditions. We need your cold, and you need our warmth. If only moderation is the rule then all of us will be living more happily.
DeleteYour garden is like paradise, glad you could stay there to recover from your asthma. But I understand work calls and then your back in the bad air.... I think you have a lovely variety of Hoyas, must be a delight to smell their fragrance.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to our spring.
Hi Janneke, thanks for your very kind words. I was telling Nick above that if only we on earth gets all moderate climates, then we will all be living more happily. You need more warmth and we need more cold, hahaha! Yes my hoyas are lovely, but the plants are suffering some mishaps too. They are just not obvious when flowers are shown.
DeleteThank you, thank you for this warm view of spring/summer! Many of these plants are familiar to me--Heliconias from a trip to Hawaii, Impatiens Balsamina which a friend grows from seed every summer, Pentas which I grew in my cut flower garden for the first time last summer, and one of my favorites of all--Bougainvillea. I've so enjoyed seeing it grow in large plantings during tropical vacations. Some people here grow Bougainvillea outside during the summer and bring the plants indoors during the winter. I might have to try that! I'm glad you're feeling better. I wish you didn't have to breathe that polluted air!
ReplyDeleteBeth, if you're only nearer i can supply you with a lot of seeds and cuttings of all of them. I cut the perennials during the dry season and they will flourish again come rainy days. And thanks so much for the kind words, unfortunately, allergic asthma is one of the worst inheritance our ancestors gave us! I would have preferred lands and jewelries, lol.
DeleteSuch beautiful flowers; I always love seeing your hoyas. It must be hard to live and work in a place where you can't breathe easily; I'm glad you got some time to breathe freely in the mountains. Some of those cool winds you were enjoying may be originated in my neighborhood! :-) -Jean
ReplyDeleteHahaha, yes Jean maybe some air molecules coming over carry messages from your place, if only we can decipher the messages of the wind! Thanks for appreciating my hoyas, while you plants are still going furlough you can watch mine. Thanks for the concern abouth my air, am blessed to have another place as a refuge!
DeleteI always love the Heliconia here on Maui. I hope that you are doing much better.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tom, yes am doing much better now! I've been to Maui once.
DeleteHi Andrea, the Hoyas are spectacular. Happy to see your tropical abundance.
ReplyDeleteWarmer air and lots of flowers certainly help me feel better...glad you are recovered!
ReplyDelete