Friday, February 17, 2012

Flower Flaunt ... On This Late Summer's Friday.

I'm spending far more time indoors (mostly in the air-conditioning) when I'm at home these days, than out in the garden.  It's far too hot and muggy outside, and that summer sun has a real sting in its tail these days.  Thankfully there are few plants providing some colour in the garden without much help from me.


Finally, there's a bloom on one of my Hibiscus schizopetalus shrubs, which were both almost slaughtered during the pergola repair work not long ago.


Mussaenda philippica 'Bangkok Rose' is almost at the end of this blooming cycle.


Ixora 'Raywards Pink' is showing off its dusty pink flowers.


My dwarf Allamanda, Allamanda cathartica 'Sunee' is still covered in bright golden blooms.


Pseudomussaenda flava, known as White Wings, is showing its white bracts and yellow flowers.


Pentas lanceolatas are year-round bloomers here, so I'm lucky enough to see these gorgeous flowerheads all the time.

My favourite is this red Pentas with the variegated leaves.


Now here's my favourite Mussaenda.  This is Mussaenda philippica 'Aurore' with its stunning white bracts and teensy tiny orangey-yellow flowers.


Ixora coccinea is showing off blooms again, after being cut back drastically during the pergola repair work.
I've been missing its showy red flowers.


These Portulacas are adding a brilliant touch of colour to the rock garden bed.


Across the way from the Portulacas, these Cosmos sulphureus add brilliant splashes of sunshine to the place.


There's only a very few Delonix regia or Poinciana blooms left on all the Poinciana trees at the moment.  You have to look way up high to catch a glimpse of them.


Did you hear that?  Yep, I sure did.  It's the sound of rolling thunder just behind the hills.  It looks like we'll be getting a bit of a tropical thunderstorm this evening.  Fingers crossed we get some rain to cool things down a bit!


I'm joining Fertilizer Friday / Flaunt Your Flowers over at Tootsie's blog.  Do pop over and join in the fun.


I'm also joining Tina's Weekend Flowers

39 comments:

  1. Your Allamander is stunning and the red Pentas is amazing such a lovely red. I hope the storm brings some relief from the heat.
    Have a good weekend. :0)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sue. Well we did get a shower of rain but it didn't last long. It was just enough to make the plants perk up a little after such a hot steamy day. Today has dawned once again with fierce sunshine and muggy conditions. I have to finish off some weeding today, so I'm not looking forward to it at all.

      Delete
  2. so many wonderful and stunning flowers! thanks for sharing with weekend flowers :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's terrific fun joining in your meme, Tina, so thanks for the opportunity to share what's blooming this week.

      Delete
  3. What a treat it always is to visit your wonderful, color filled gardens. So much variety. Hope you got some rain.

    Have a lovely weekend ~ FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Flowerlady, we had a brief shower of rain around 7.00 last night. It was very pleasant for the rest of the night, but we're back to hot and steamy again today.

      Delete
  4. Bernie,

    The flowers are beautiful. It is so strange to me right now to hear about the heat you are having although our winter has been quite mild this year, can't wait to get outside again.

    Eileen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, Eileen, there you are wishing to get outdoors and here am I wishing that I did't need to go outdoors at all these days. I do have some jobs to finish off out in the garden this weekend, so I'll be lathered in sunscreen, wearing a huge floppy hat and long sleeves and looking like I've been running a marathon!

      Delete
  5. Wow, your garden is bursting with colourful blooms. Such a pleasure to visit!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your camera always captures the BEST side of every flower, gorgeous!! Hoping you get some of the rain you need.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful flowers!
    Love the Portulacas, I've never seen them before.
    Have a great weekend.
    Greetings Mette

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bernie, I just LOVE visiting your blog. Your flowers are oftentimes much different than the ones we have. We do grow pentas but they are annuals here...same with the portulacas; also our portulacas look a lot different than yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Beth. It's always great to receive your complimentary comments. Pentas is definitely a stayer through all seasons here. The Portulacas sometimes give up during a long wet season. This old red and yellow variety has been going strong for quite a few years now, but I always keep cuttings on the go just in case. I usually end up giving them away because it's one Portulaca that just seems to keep on keeping on!

      Delete
  9. Bernie
    Everytime I visit your blog I find flower
    and plant pictures I have never seen before.
    Thank you for your beautiful pictures!!
    Gisela.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I appreciate your great comments, Gisela. It's great to know people enjoy the photos and the plants I grow.

      Delete
  10. Your flowers shots are wonderful!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your kind comment, Linda. It's much appreciated. My old Canon still does the job fairly well, so I put the good shots down to it!

      Delete
  11. Brenie...beautiful!! My favorite for this week are the portulacas. I just love how colorful they are and they were my fathers favorite flower!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are just so many fantastic varieties of Portulacas now. I do so love the double ones, and the yellow/red one of mine is an oldie but a goodie!

      Delete
  12. Replies
    1. Glad to see you here Ginger Zuck. Thanks for visiting.

      Delete
  13. so many wonderful flowers!
    I love to visit your blog and admire the beauty!
    thanks for sharing.
    kisses.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're most welcome, Anastasia. It's lovely to know others enjoy the flowers growing in my garden too.

      Delete
  14. I had no idea about that species of Hibiscus, Bernie, such is my ignorance of plants. And now I want one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you find one up your way, Snail. It really is a fantastic Hibiscus.

      Delete
  15. All the flowers are so pretty, plenty of them here in my tropical island of Singapore, and they are always blooming.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are both lucky to have such beautiful year-round bloomers. It's great having flowers in the garden no matter what time of year it is.

      Delete
  16. I can imagine that it is too hot to garden up there. I find it so too except early in the morning. Could you help a friend identify some flowers at this sight:
    http://travelwitheileen.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/panama-scenes.html#comment-form

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diane, unfortunately the weeding just had to be done so I've spent part of the last two weekends out there during the day. I go out until I can't stand it any more, and then withdraw into the air-con until I feel like I can brave the heat and humidity once again. It's exhausting but the end is in sight now.

      I did drop be Eileen's blog and recognised the flowers, so I was able to give her the names.

      Delete
    2. Thank you Bernie. It is great having blog friends like you. A storm blew a tree over in our garden and I had to brave the heat to help move it. I had two eager 12 year old neighbourhood boys help saw it into pieces.

      Delete
  17. Beautiful collection of flowers. I love the Portulacas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Chelsea. I was only too glad to see the Portulacas get through the summer rains so far. It hasn't been too bad a wet season this year, so that certainly helped.

      Delete
  18. HI Bernie, your flowers are gorgeous. You must have the most beautiful garden. The Pentas are one of my favorites and I love the birds. I also want to thank you for stopping by my blog and helping with my flower id's. I appreciate the help. Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a magnificent collection of shots, Bernie! You've once again proved you live in a little corner of paradise!

    Thanks for participating in Floral Friday Fotos.

    ReplyDelete
  20. In spite of all the drama and all the demands on my time as of late, I always look forward to finding time to host and share for Fertilizer Friday. I am so lucky to have such a great group of gardeners to share with...thank you so much for linking into my little party today...I look forward to many more posts as wonderful as this from you! (and to having the time to see every one of them!)
    I hope your week/weekend is just what you hoped it would be!!!
    (¯`v´¯)
    `*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
    ¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
    (¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Pretty Bernie!!!! Poinciana trees look similar to our Mimosa trees. Mimosa has little featherly looking blooms that are hot pink. Most call them a pest tree here.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Bernie, I was squealing with delight when I saw your Hibiscus schizopetalus. This is one plant that I have not seen since I was a child. My grandmother had a large clump of this in her house then. I used to pluck this flower for some of our childhood games. It brought back so many memories and nostalgia. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate your comments and will endeavour to reply to all. All comments are moderated, so spam will be fried.

Related Posts with Thumbnails