Friday, May 4, 2012

Firday Flower Flaunt ... As Our Last Autumn Month Begins.

May is our last month of Autumn and, apart from the year-round bloomers that includes


the Dragon Wing Begonias,


the Pentas,


the Hibiscus,



the Ixoras


and the Cupheas, most of the other flowering plants are taking a break right now.


Out in one section of the rock garden down beside our driveway, the sunny Turnera ulmifolia is showing its blooms as it begins another flowering cycle.


My newly planted hot pink dwarf Hibiscus is almost ready to show off.


 I just love the tiny wee flowers of my new Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Phantom Black'.


My Cordyline 'Purple King' had thrown out some budding flower sprays, and finally the little blooms are beginning to open.


It's time for the Schlumbergera to bloom.  They are late Autumn into Winter bloomers here, so we don't usually refer to them as Christmas Cactus.  They're more commonly known as Zygocactus.   I adore the bright cerise pink flowers at this time of year.  They really pack a punch.


The first blooms are appearing on the various Petunias I recently planted up in pots for the courtyard.  Petunia 'Hot Lips' looks like it's going to add some fantastic colour with its burgundy and white flowers.


The first of the old Pansy 'Faces Mix' has opened up as well.  My favourite time of the year is getting closer and closer!


I'm joining Tootsie for Fertilizer Friday / Flaunt Your Flowers


Weekend Flowers


and Floral Friday Fotos


I'm also joining Ewa's Flowers On Saturday


38 comments:

  1. The Cordyline 'Black Knight' flower is stunning. it's lovely to see your flowers. I have buds on my Schlumbergera it's the same colour as yours a real pick-me-up. I am so looking forward to getting out into my garden this weekend and planting up the veg then I can start to think about summer bedding. I'm so behind. Now the study is finished I can put my garden first once again.
    Have a great weekend.
    Sue

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    1. Thanks Sue. I'm really pleased with the brilliant flower sprays on that Cordyline. The colour is fabulous. I really love the Schlumbergera too. I've already popped over to your latest blog post and I've seen your great vegies all looking very happy and healthy. Let's hope you can get out into the garden this weekend.

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  2. Great pictures you show.
    Wishing you a good weekend.
    Hanne Bente / hbt.finus.dk

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    1. Thank you Hanne. I'm looking forward to seeing lots more blooms very soon.

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  3. Your post is so good. A lot of beautiful flowers!
    Well done!

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  4. Now I am beginning to see some of the plants we share except for me they are annuals. I just saw the Dragon Wings Begonia yesterday and it really is impressive. I have to give up my pansies this time of year because they can't take the heat of our summer.

    Eileen

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    1. Eileen, the Dragon Wings are brilliant in shady spots here in the tropics. They withstand the heat and the humidity so very well, and put on a great display for most of the year.

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  5. You have great looking and healthy plants in your garden.

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    1. Thanks Stiletto. I am a bit of a plant collector, and I just love finding new plants to add to my garden.

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  6. Enjoyed your end-of-autumn flower show. My Christmas cactus blooms end of autumn as well. I call it the Thanksgiving Cactus, instead of Christmas cactus. Of course, that would be in November for us, not May.

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    1. Glad to see you popping in to enjoy the few blooms on display right now, Floridagirl. I have heard the Schlumbergera referred to as Thanksgiving Cactus as well. It appears they bloom generally during the same seasons no matter where we are in the world.

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  7. Oooh, that first Hibiscus bloom is remarkable. I've never seen one with such dissected petals.

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    1. Curbstone, that is the Japanese Hibiscus, the Hibiscus schizopetalus. It certainly does have spectacular blooms, and it's my favourite Hibiscus.

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  8. Hi Bernie! You actually have a lot of flowers given what time of year it is down there! I have always loved what we call Christmas cactus. Can't wait to see photos of the new hibiscus. :)

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    1. Hi Elizabeth. We are lucky in the tropics to have blooms all year round. But this year there aren't as many flowers in my garden as I'm used to having at this time of year. I started my annuals a little later than usual.

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  9. i love the yellow iroxa; the black knight is fascinating.
    a gorgeous collection.

    Thai Gardenia

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    1. Thank you Luna. Both of those plants have lovely flowers. I just love the colour of the Ixora 'Golden Ball'.

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  10. aloha,

    i've never noticed the flowers on the mondo grass, nice....the macro shots are beautiful, especially the hibiscus, love the frilly leaves on that one, very nice. have a nice weekend :)

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    1. G'day Noel. Yes the Mondo Grass 'Phantom Black' has the tiniest sweetest little flowers. I'm glad you loved the Hibiscus as it's definitely the one I prefer out of all the Hibiscus I've ever seen.

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  11. Hi Bernie. I have never seen the petunia 'Hot Lips' before. How pretty. Your Dragon Winged Begonia is a beauty. Wonderful pictures of your Friday Flaunts.Have a nice weekend.

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    1. Lona, 'Hot Lips' is new to the nurseries here this year. I just had to have one and I've not been disappointed. They look as fabulous in real life as they do in the photos.

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  12. Lovely photos, as always, Bernie. We also the dragon Wing Begonias blooming now and they are a stunning prolific variety.

    Thank you for participating in Floral Friday Fotos.

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    1. NixBlog, yes the Dragon Wings are just the best Begonias for the tropics. I've never had any problems with them. They will power on through all the weather extremes we have here.

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  13. Beautiful, just beautiful! Your Hibiscus is stunning! I used to have a begonia like yours. If it came with us from California to Florida then back to California. It lasted many years until we had an unexpected very late frost. :( Yours made me miss it. LOL
    Have a great day!
    *hugs*deb

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    1. Deb, the Hibiscus schizopetalus is a spectacular looking shrub. The Dragon Wings are fabulous for tropical areas, but we don't have frosts so we never really have any trouble with them.

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  14. Very pretty Bernie.

    I've got a couple of those little pink hibiscus (hibisci??) in-ground and they flower for ages without any attention. I can't remember the name - Little and a girl's name?? Anyway, have just put one in a pot by the front door, too.

    I find i can only grow petunias and pansies in hanging baskets because our possums love eating the flowers. They can be covered in flowers when you go to bed and next morning just stalks!

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    1. Hi Helen. Unfortunately my dwarf Hot Pink Hibiscus didn't come with a name tag so I have no idea of its varietal name. I'm still waiting for the flowers to open completely. We have possums here too, but I've never had any trouble with them eating the Petunias and Pansies. Obviously they are finding much better food sources!

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  15. Oh wow! What lovely flowers! Ixora is a favorite of mine.

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    1. Thank you Pradeepa. Ixoras are staples in all gardens here. They do so very well in our tropical climate. They come is so many wonderful colours too.

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  16. found you via Ewa's Flowers on Saturday. Your garden looks lovely, so colorful and it is clear that you love it!

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  17. what wonderful collection. In Sarawak, we used to use the nectar of the Ixora.

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  18. what a wonderful flower parade :) thanks for joining with us! hope you have a nice weekend!

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  19. Pansy's are early spring flowers here in the American midwest. And Christmas cactus blooms indoors in, you guessed it, December. Your autumn is so very colorful.

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  20. We share quite a number of plants in common. Dragon wings - what a nice name!

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  21. The Ophiopogon is new to me. The tiny flowers are very pretty. The cordyline flowers rarely here.The Dragon Wings is called Angel Wings here.

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  22. Bernadette; there are still so many blooming treasures in your garden, autumn or winter there is always something to admire. I like the cordyline flowers, they are really exquisite. Also good to have something new in the garden, like your dwarf Hibiscus. I think Hibiscus have fallen out of favour for a long time, I still have my favourites. Great post,Bernie!

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