:: rosa xxxviii ::

another stunning rose from the Lady Norwood Garden at the Wellington Botanic Gardens - 'oranges and lemons' - thanks Dad :-) !

:: calendula v ::

Happ-bee Friday!

:: watsonia ii ::

A salmon-coloured watsonia to brighten this very softly-foggy, misty morning here down South.

:: pansy xii ::

Gosh, many more cobwebs being blown away today...and a neighbour's elderflowers are taunting me from across the road, swaying and bending in this wind...come and take as many as you want, they said...

...hmmm...that does mean making up the syrup afterwards...am I feeling that lazy this Sunday? 

YES!

:: rosa xxxiii ::

roses are bursting open at a ferocious rate now...and this year I've actually remembered to water them, and they seem to be rewarding my efforts :)

:: rosa xxix ::

rose

 

This photo was clearly not taken today, although the sun has blasted through a couple of times, between lovely, heavy drenchings...yay - I don't have to water the garden today - one thing off my list!

:: erysimum allioni ::

this Siberian Wallflower has been quietly growing for the past year, almost and looking like nothing, just leaves and kind of almost weedlike...

...nearly ripped them out a few times...

...and then - this - stunning bright orange flowers erupted from their tops - amazing!

...and they couldn't be wallflowers, could they? Well, even though they look a bit different, yes they are!

So nice to get brilliant orange gardening surprises!

:: rhododendron vi ::

One of the (many!) things I find so lovely about Miss P's school are the grounds and how many lovely plants there are...

...as well as plenty of big trees (ones you can even climb!), many beautiful natives and stunning ornamentals, there is also a generous area devoted to growing food...

...our annual Spring Fair is on in a couple of weeks and the timing is perfect - all these pretty blooms are out - like this one - an eye-catching sunset-coloured rhododendron.

:: rosa xxvi ::

 the morning walk is not so very long, but there are so many lovely gardens to admire...

...this delicate apricot climbing rose, which I suspect may be the 'crepuscule' rose, has been left to ramble unrestrained on one of the still to be resolved, empty, post-quake properties - the house and outbuildings long demolished and just an incredible riot of nature taking over...

the bud - remarkably cerise

:: rosa xxv ::

The days of Spring are passing in a blur of busy garden activity and I am watching right now as the stunning blossom of the Jonathon apple out the front window is being torn from the boughs before I've even taken my photo!!

Such as it is - much to do and fitting it in between the fits and starts that is Spring weather...I am inside in between showers that really are pretty short-lived today - should perhaps have just donned a raincoat and been done with it...it is nice and warm inside with a cup of tea...LOL!

In the last ten days the mutabilis rose has opened its buds to the warmer air and I am struck by the wow of colour happening - I planted stoechas Lavender below - so much brightness suddenly after the almost invisible palette of Winter!

:: ranunculus ii ::

Stunning ranunculus in my parents' garden.

:: freesia ii ::

Sitting here at the dining table, supposedly, mindfully doing one thing at a time - that would be eating the wholesome salad for lunch ;-) - but actually creating a blog post too ;-) - my nostrils are being tickled by the delicious scent of these beautiful freesia, as the Northerly breeze is literally forcing the smell in the door! 

Not minding a bit!

:: narcissus xi ::

possibly my favourite daffodil colour combination - cream petals and egg yolk orange corona - delicious!  

...I can't imagine ever not being wowed by the beauty of nature...

...like a small dog with a scent...my eyes are directed in fixed attention to the blooms...

...while our small dog mostly waits patiently, the lead under my foot...

the front of this garden is a mass of daffodils - an incredible display each Spring

...I was musing to myself this morning, phone in hand (for taking pictures!) that it is a wonder I have not injured myself in my singlemindedness when in flower-spotting-mode - maybe akin to that focus the people playing Pokemon Go have?!

:: narcissus ix ::

That's what I'm talking about! Soak up that incredible 'cheezels' orange of that corona - startling almost when I look closely into it!

Yep, today is the day...the 1st of September...and kind of the first of Spring...at least the weather is feeling more 'Spring-y'

Happy gardening and flower-appreciating out there!

:: aloe ferox ii ::

giving myself a daily floral focus I believe is honing my observational skills...like a heat-seeking missile I am all eyes at the flowers...this tree aloe or 'cape', 'red', 'tap' or 'bitter' aloe I walk past every day...

and it is only this year that I noticed the flowers beginning to bloom as they are now - all swollen buds and powdery stamens and 'come get me' in their amazing fiery glow...gorgeous!

:: lantana ::

Even a weed can be beautiful - it is all a matter of context. 

Not native to Malaysia, but the Southern Americas, lantana has naturalised there as it has in many parts of the world, often with fairly disastrous consequences. As its leaves are toxic to herbivores and its fruit is scrumptious for birds, it spreads almost unchecked and has 'colonised'.

On the bright side - and it is a very brightly-coloured beauty - lantana is a wonderful attractant for butterflies. In appropriately-trimmed tropical gardens where the immature fruit is pruned before birds get there, it is such a pretty plant to admire. Three or more colours in one 'umbel' - or flower cluster - as the individual flowers mature, they change colour from yellow through orange to pink. 

Not only admired by humans and butterflies, the weaverbird collects lantana flowers to decorate their nests!

:: chrysanthemum iii ::

From a hotel lobby...stunning chrysanthemum blooms in such vivid colour...photo credit to my Dad :-) Thanks!

:: strelitzia ::

Like this richly- coloured strelitzia is for the eyes, Malaysia in general feels like it has been a tonic much appreciated in the middle of our Southern Winter.

My vitamin D is topped up, I'm pretty sure I've slept extra well and have enjoyed many good things to eat. And no matter where we've been,  the energy has the feeling of pulsing with life.
Holidays. ..so good for the soul.

:: rosa xxiv ::

Special day, the 1st of July - a very happy big birthday for Mr. A!

:: the calendula and the bombus ::

I wandered out with a whim and a fancy to forage for a whole swag of gorgeous calendula to colour-up the inside of the house...out into the fast-falling Southerly-driven drops of wet, cold rain...

...and look what treasure I came back with - the memory captured in a photo of this fat, furry little fellow sheltering right under one of said lusciously-vermillion blooms encrusted with shining rain drop jewels...that's my kind of happy! Yum! Thank you Nature!