Friday, April 13, 2018

Hardy Blooms in April 2018

The weather this year is not actually chaotic, but very misleading! Imagine, we feel that we are already at the height of the Dry Season in March because the Heat Index reaches 38°C and yet the official Dry Season announcement was only on April 10. It is very funny, because after the announcement it suddenly rained at noon, with concomittant thunders and lightning. It is incredible, and we made fun of the weather. The pronouncement was delayed because there still are Easterlies making the mornings still colder. When the air from the North East gets so hot, then that is what the Weather Bureau is waiting. But the truth is, the change to colder days are very very welcome!

Actually, for the last past 2 weeks there are intermittent drizzles! I am really puzzled by this, as it never happened in the past except last year. Probably, the ultimate culprit everyone always mention is indeed the reason, Climate Change. It is a very famous phenomenon on Earth! Whew! And i personally experience the changes in my own personal environment.

The saddest immediate response i envision is the also intermittent flowering of my hippeastrum. It happened last year when the small drizzles were enough to teminate the dormancy of the bulbs, sending some to blooming. The outcome is not my expected simultaneous hedge blooms i am visualizing and waiting for the whole year! OMG, it could be a repeat of last year, i am so frustrated. I feel great yet i feel sad, two competing emotions for two different reasons. Happiness is a choice so i am still happy.

 the ever gregarious bougainvillea that is happy with heat, welcoming everyone at our gate

 in the family of justicia or shrimp plant, though am not sure of exact ID

 Ixora javanica, a tree ixora, a new plant we got from the tree that was uprooted
 to give way for the garage. It is happy also with the heat.

 the real flowers of bougainvillea with satin-like petals

the 4 o-clock plant, Mirabilis jalapa

 close-up of Mirabilis jalapa

 Portulaca oleraceae, ornamental for us, but salad vegies and medicinal for others

forgot its name, Genus ? australis 



Turnera ulmifolia and Turnera subulata, which both blooms only until noon, favorite of some bees especially the stingless bees.

  
 My ever reliable and self-supporting purple Vanda, towering against the blue sky. At right is "kasupanggil" or Clerodendrum intermidium, food of butterflies


 Celosia argentea 'Cristata' or C. cristata, with their wavy tops, i just realized i also a nectar plant for some butterflies. From now on i will always plant it just to pacify them.

 The sweet scented Sansevieria trifasciata, whose inflorescense opens at early evening sending us their delightful aroma.


The most responsive among my collection of hippeastrum. My hedges are orange but the different color collections are in pots, just like this one. I have already asked around FB and groups the ID of this, but somehow the exact one is still coming. There still are 6 spikes already coming out last week, which i might not see the bloom because i am not going home this weekend. I hope my nephew will send me a nicer picture of their blooms, as most of them are first time bloomers. They are from seeds.

34 comments:

  1. It's interesting to get the perspectives of people around the world who are experiencing unusual weather patterns and their effects for many years in a row. Climate change is real. Your macro of the Bougainvillea is one of the best I've ever seen.

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    1. Thanks very much Beth. I guess you are the only one who appreciated my photo of that one.

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  2. Your pictures of the celosia and portulaca bring back such childhood memories - these are flowers that my Mother always had in her garden. Thanks for sharing these vibrant colors with us!

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    1. HI Angie, thanks for visiting. Portulaca and Celosia are some of the easiest plants to grow, you just leave them there are wait. As long as there is just a little water it will flower. However, some of our celosia were eaten by our baby goat or kid, orphaned after birth and brought to be such a young sweet kid by my sister, which she even trains to go to the weeds area to eat. Then at night trained to sleep in its covered area, hahaha!

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  3. You have some real beauties blooming there. I've never seen 4 o'clocks in that color, they are wonderful.

    Happy Gardening ~ FlowerLady

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    1. Oh really, and it is the only color i see here! oh yes and red.

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  4. I have never heard that Portulaca oleraceae, can be eaten in a salad. I might plant some this year just so I can try a bite. The blooms would look great sprinkled on top, however, it will all depend on the flavor. Looks don't matter if your company is spitting your meal out.

    Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry.blogspot.com

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    1. Yes Jeannie, some of my friends say it is good when blanched or when put in stew. It is said to have lots of minerals and vitamins. Actually, i have not tasted it as well. I told my sister to taste it but she just want to look at the flowers.

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    2. So invite her over for lunch and serve it to her in a stew! Ha! Ha!

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    3. I got more curious with that Portulaca, as i saw a plateful of it freshly prepared for the stew! This weekend i will really try, promise.

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  5. Climate change is taking its toll in my area of coastal Southern California too. Our rain is usually limited to our winter months and, this rainy season, all we got was 3.59 inches, which is pitiful! And we're already getting summer-like temperatures in early spring. Ugh! I'm sorry your Hippeastrum aren't living up to your expectations but the rest of your garden is lovely!

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    1. Thanks much Kris, yes Climate Change is very real and it is coming so fast changing everything, that living things on earth might not be able to cope because even weeds take years to acclimatize.

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  6. That bougainvillea is glorious! As indeed are all your blossoms. Happy Bloom Day.

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    1. Thank you so much Dorothy. We have a long highway planted to different succession of colors of bougainvilleas. Everyone who went there were amazed. I want to see it too actually.

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  7. It is so nice to see some flowers Andrea...Ironic that you are so hot and we are so cold...My yard is flooding..I think the weather is making me sick longer, but I have medication now. You are sweet to ask about me..hug..Michelle

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    1. I am glad you are going to be ok now. Yes i have always been thinking of my blogger friends who have not been feeling very well. In fact, i was concerned with one blogger i know who was sick and not posting anymore so i asked someone near her who i know surely knows her. They are in the same area. Maybe you know her too, Donna at Garden Walk Garden Talk. She is a good photographer and landscape architect. She hasn't posted for sometime. I pray for her too.

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  8. I always enjoy seeing your tropical blooms and that bougainvillea is gorgeous! We are the opposite here with a colder than usual spring. The seasons have definitely been off the past few years, but the good thing is that once summer arrives the weather tends to last well into fall.

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    1. Oh yes Lee, the colder countries get colder and the hot countries get hotter, or make them longer. What you always wait is summer, while we always wait for the rainy season extending to Dec and Jan when easterlies from cold countries have spill-over effects to us!

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  9. Andrea..I went to Garden Walk's page and I see she is not too far away from me up in Niagara Falls NY. There is an e-mail address under her "about" page. I know it is awful when people just disappear and I have one now that just stopped blogging. I have others that has passed away and someone posts on their blog, but to hear nothing is awful. I hope you get some news from someone.. Thank you for all your prayers. You are such a sweet person.. hug..Michelle

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    1. Oh thanks much for appreciating my concerns about blogger friends. Actually, i also asked Beth of Plant Postings about Garden Walk and she said Donna is well, just maybe not posting yet. Thanks again.

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  10. What a fabulous bunch of Macro photos. I like the 4 o clock plant. Well I actually like all of them. As for climate change - we're experiencing it everywhere aren't we, despite what the nay sayers post.

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    1. Yes Climate Change is very real for us Earthlings. And who knows for how long we biological entities can withstand the changes, which are rapidly coming at a rate we cannot cope.

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  11. I used to ignore these tropical blooms. Now that I'm away, I have learned to appreciate their beauty. How's the summer going?

    Worth a Thousand Words

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    1. Oh yes i am sure you get homesick when you see those familiar pictures. Come over and have vacation more often. Our dry season gets longer and hotter, and the heat is already painful to the skin.

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  12. If only we had one bloom here. But no. Not one.

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    1. Hi Sharon, if only you can come over at once, we have lots for you!

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  13. Lovely blossoms! Thanks for linking to Macro Monday 2!

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  14. Such beautiful blossoms. You mention climate change - I'm convinced we're seeing it here too. We've just had an incredibly dry winter, and our temperature swings are large, even for us. Yesterday we ranged from -2 °C to 20 °C!

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    1. I also already agreed that Climate Change is real. It is already wrecking havoc in our entire planet.

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  15. Yes, happiness is a choice, and we should all choose it, but sometimes it is difficult or even impossible. However, when I look at your beautiful flower photos, I am very happy!
    Kay
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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    1. I also agree with you, sometimes choosing happiness is very difficult or impossible! But to minimize damage to our own physical self, we must choose the best.

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  16. What beautiful blooms!! I read somewhere that Nature laughs with flowers. Hope you have a wonderful day.

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  17. What lovely flowers in summertime climate ...I can definitely relate to summer heat since our summer can reach upto 45 degree celsius in the months of May and June...our bougainvillea bush could grow wild if not pruned...that red shrimp alike plant is ecstatic ..that shade of Four 'o clock plant is rare to find here .

    Have a great week

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