:: trachelospermum jasminoides ::

Another kind of jasmine today...this particular one from the tropical holiday we recently had. A complete contrast to the temperature and feel of the day here today.  The house is crawling with purposeful people installing our double-glazing and while it is 10 degrees outside, finally, it is now only 9 degrees INSIDE as nearly all of our windows are propped up OUTSIDE while the process of retro-fitting continues.

Also known as confederate jasmine, confederate jessamine, chinese ivy, trader's compass or chinese star jessamine, star jasmine - as I know it - IS available in garden centres here - it behaves itself in New Zealand!

As well as covering a wall or fence with a mass of beautiful white flowers and lush, glossy green foliage, star jasmine has a truly delicious scent that is distilled into a luscious perfume oil from the flowers and used in some very precious perfumes.
Must see where I could try to grow some here in the garden in Christchurch...

:: heliconia iii ::

and simple for this Sunday, too - just the pic! Hope your weekend has been wonderful :-)

:: plumeria iii ::

something simple for a Saturday afternoon...while I dream of the possibility of...snow...

:: gardenia ii ::

 this is me most mornings in Winter...

...and sometimes this...checking it out...is it ok to actually get up and face the day?...

YESSSS!!!!

:: sagittaria ::

ah, Katniss!

What a sweet triumverate of perfection is this simple edible aquatic plant, spied at the edge of the pond, near the lotus...

...as well as its pure and clean zen-like appearance, I love its names. Sagittaria or arrowhead, duck potato, swan potato, tule potato, wapato or wapatoo, omodaka or katniss(!)...

...having enjoyed reading 'The Hunger Games' and the spirit of the main character, Katniss, (an...archer, hunter and forager, among her many talents) - I now understand the suitability of her name...

...apparently the tubers, which are harvested either early Spring or late Autumn are able to be eaten, once boiled, and can even be made into chips (or crisps) and look strangely like 'Pringles' in shape, colour and texture...hmmm!

:: nelumbo nucifera ::

I couldn't get close enough with my camera to these almost unearthly-beautiful flowers and I really wanted to...plus, it's a crazy action shot when I thought I'd be able to come back for another attempt...ah well, the lotus still looks lovely to me!

:: 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!

:: neomarica longifolia ::

Poolside at the resort there were very many lovely and different kinds of flowers than what we have here at home. This one, though, looked vaguely familiar - like the dietes iris, but yellow.

The curious habit of the stalks with newly-forming plantlets becoming too heavy to remain upright but surrendering to gravity whereupon the plantlet immediately issues new roots into the ground where it grazes has given this very pretty plant the name 'walking iris'.

:: dendrobium ::

While on holiday we saw many examples of beautiful epiphytic orchids, co-habiting with trees, seemingly just hanging out in the air, which I believe is where they primarily get their nutrients. Another name for this type of lifestyle is 'air plant'.

A surprising fact I found out while reading about these very pretty dendrobium orchids is that they are dynamic air cleansers - particularly of chemical solvents like toluene and xylene - 'vigorous' was the word used to describe their ability.

:: zingiberaceae ? ::

It is a brisk and crisply-clear kind of sunshiny Winter's day outside today - so cold is the Southerly that when walking the dog it was completely necessary to keep one's hood on one's head...brrr!

Inside for a spell now I have been sipping a warming concoction including turmeric, white pepper, coconut milk, coconut oil and...GINGER!

I'm thinking this very beautiful ruby flower head is of the ornamental ginger family - I may be completely wrong...it was used lots in the landscaping around the resort we stayed in in Malaysia.

:: phalaenopsis ::

Being an epiphyte, I suppose it is only natural to hang out in trees, but I was still quite surprised when I first noticed the many orchids just hanging about in the trees at the fancy-pants place we stayed in Malaysia, recently.

Here a striking magenta moth orchid protrudes into the pathway, giving anyone passing a delightful double-eyeful!

These lush orchids are quite ingenious underneath their showy exterior...once the flower has been pollinated and begins to die off, the plant in some of the varieties (not all) starts to green the petals to a kind of leaf that then goes on to photosynthesize - the wonder of nature :-) .

:: middle bits ::

sometimes I really just like spying right into the middle bits of a flower and checking out what's happening in there...

...like in this one - there are teeny tiny ants or something right in there...

...the colour in the centre is intense and then there is the packaging of petals - something we could never design so incredibly well...

:: ixora iii ::

...just because there was yellow ixora as well...and don't you think it's amazing to witness just the one, first bloom open?

:: ixora ii ::

another ixora...red this time

:: ixora ::

I would never get tired of having hedges made of these very lovely ixora. Splashily bright against a dense growth of richly-green leaves, they flower year round in tropical climates, like that of Malaysia.

:: hibiscus ::

 Today has been a settling back in kind of a day, after a fairly epic 'ride home' - from Malaysia for a family holiday with siblings, parents and nieces and nephews(11 of us in total!) - doesn't sound particularly far away, really.  But 26 hours (time zones adjusted) after leaving our fancy resort home of 8 wonderful and warm days, we walked back in the door to home and pets, all fabulously taken care of by kind friends.

Bunga Raya in Malay language, the hibiscus is Malaysia's national flower. The name translated means "celebratory flower", after the words bunga for 'flower' and raya for 'grand' or 'celebratory'. 

As well as being on the coins and notes of the country's currency it is a symbol for much in daily life.

It's bright red colour is meant to symbolise the life, the courage and the rapid growth of the Malaysian and the five petals each represent a principle of the 'Rukun Negara', a declaration of national philosophy or values. These principles were instituted royally, after serious race rioting in the country in May of 1969 as a way to help encourage unity between the different races co-inhabiting the islands of Malaysia.

And, having experienced some of the general 'mix' on our adventures, I can see there are some quite different attitudes, beliefs, religions and values to work with...fascinating!

:: hymenocallis littoralis ::

Today's delightful bloom... a white beach spider lily.
The botanical name originating from the Greek 'hymen' for membrane and 'kalos' for beautiful, describing the delicate and beautiful membrane connecting the filaments.
Incredible viewing when seen en masse along pathways near the water.

:: 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.

:: crab claw heliconia ::

On the morning walk this morning these dramatically-shaped and coloured beauties were dangling in the greenery along the marina path. In the water on the other side we were amazed to find corals, sea eggs and THOUSANDS of small,  tropical fish in clean and clear water. ..In the marina! 

:: thunbergia laurifolia ::

One of the stunning views I was able to pause and admire several times on a daily basis was this lush and delicate combination of a flurry of generously-proportioned and blousy blue trumpet vine flowers and bright leafy vine, languidly tumbling over the edge of an archway between buildings.

Common to Asian tropical gardens it is also a very useful plant for treating ear ailments, even deafness, by crushing the leaves and using the resulting juice in the ear canal.