Amazing Lake of Lotus

Lotus is not seen very much in Australia, but I recall seeing many beautiful lakes in China with gorgeous displays of these flowers.  During the dormant part of their life there is nothing to see - in the lake near the entrance to the university where I worked in Shaoxing, there were pots sitting on the base of the pond - lined with tiles I might add - and frogs and fish would often appear to be sleeping on the soil that was in the pot.  Nothing else - until suddenly leaves started to protrude from the pot.

The leaves would grow up to 4 feet or so, and eventually an amazing bud would appear, which soon opened up to reveal a perfect flower.

I remember that a few years ago I found some Lotus growing near Gumdale (Brisbane, Queensland)  in a dam and I visited occasionally to take photos.

Honestly, I can't recall seeing them anywhere else.

One day recently I found a huge display of Lotus - though sadly I had come across them towards the end of their flowering season - at seaside Sandstone Point, in Queensland.  The afternoon I saw them I was actually running late for a meeting, and as I hadn't been in the are before I had missed a turn off.  Despite being late, I stopped the car, grabbed my camera and took nearly 10 minutes to take some photos.

I have been back several times, but the flowering season is at an end, and the  buds and flowers that protrude from the huge leaves are few and far between.  I think the best time to see them at their best would be late December or early January.  I will make a note to myself to visit this spot in 2015 after Christmas.

The buds and flowers are so perfect that it is no wonder that the Lotus flower appears in religious texts e.g. Hindu.  There is much myth around the flower too.

Clover

It is surprise to see patches of green clover in China.  Here in Australia we tend to see it as a weed and I don't recall at any time seeing it as a feature in a garden.  It actually looked quite spectacular!

Hydrangeas

Another pot of flowers that are around the campus are hydrangeas. Fabulous flowers in pots. Enjoy.

Day Lilies

Once upon a time I was not familiar with day lilies but I found one in a shop with the same name as my mother, and for a while had a whole row of them growing and blooming them at the side of the house.

They tend to die off, then come back with many flower spikes with buds, that open to a beautiful flower.

Sadly they are not useful as cut flowers, but make a magnificent show in the garden.

These blooms are in my daughter's garden, and flower well late in spring, or early summer despite her neglect. I love the different colours.

Yesterday as I was taking the photos grand daughter number two was impressed that I was interested in taking photos of her mother's flowers, and promised to phone me if more flower. We did not confirm the details, but I hope she means that if more of the plants inthe garden burst forth in bloom she will tell me.

There are many buds on the plants that are already in bloom, and another 6 or so plants still to show their colours.

New camera - new photos!

I have a new camera - a Canon SLR and I'm having a wonderful time trying out using it. How wonderful that it is a digital camera and I can delete my "errors".

Freesias,

These are delightful flowers, but not seen as often as they should be. This bunch of freesias was given to my sister, and she put them in a glass vase and allowed them to "spill" in a very delicate way.

These are native to Africa, but have been popular in Australian gardens for years.

To read all about these flowers on Wikipedia here.

Flower Shop in Korea

This delightful display was in front of a flower shop in Jeonju, Korea. The shops seem to be a cross between a garden shop as I would know it in Australia (pots of seedlings etc) and flowers. The baskets and other items to display the flowers many of which are flowering seedlings are spectacular.

Chrysanthemum Blooms

There are many Chrysanthemums blooming around the university at the moment. Great pots of them. Some are reaching their "use-by" date, and many are still in bud so there is more to come.

They are at the entrances to the college, all along the main driveway, around the library, canteens and little pots are along the walkways of the administration building too. Many yellows, and some a rust and yellow colour. They do look spectacular.

Occasionally I feel tempted to remove the dead heads - but I resist.

Beautiful flowers

I'm not sure what these plants are - there is a row of the parallel to the school fence. Some have spent flower stalks in them - others have new buds emerging from the beautiful leaves.

One has already been in flower and is starting to wither.

They make a spectacular sight along the fence.

Anyone know the name of these plants?

Croton Leaves

I like taking photos of flowers - but have tried some close up of leaves. These are the leaves of crotons - a tropical plant that has wonderful red, yellow and green combinations in the leaves. It is a hardy plant - and is used in tropical gardens and is popular with floral artists as it is a bright strong leaf for arrangements.

Hotel foyer

The flowers in the hotel were amazing too. These two views are of the same arrangement. One side looked quite different to the other. We found it hard to determine initially what flowers were plastic and what were real. The orchids were plastic, the leaves and some of the lillies were real. We knew this because of the exquisite fragrance and the feel of the petals.

Sweet Magnolia

Spring is certainly the best time to visit China - as all the trees and plants that have been in hibernation for winter come to life. The blossoms of all the flowering trees make such a change to what was a very bland landscape and it is no wonder the Chinese people cherish their gardens so much.

In the streets and in parks the Magnolias burst into bloom - there were white ones, and pink ones and small flowers and large flowers.

I had never seen so many Magnolias in flower all at once.

More flowers at Lagoon Pocket B and B

These are just some of the flowers in and around the Lagoon Pocket Bed and Breakfast, Long Pocket, just south of Gympie Queensland.

The dry weather suits some flowers

We have noticed this summer that so many trees and plants are exhibiting fabulous blooms. The weather has been very dry for this time of the year and some of the trees seem to revel in the dry.

One such flower that is abundant in these parts is the bougainvillea - and I've managed to capture some brilliant purple flowers that are blooming at my son's house on the Gold Coast. The bush is somewhat uncontrolled and sends it's branches all over a slope in the garden, with brilliant green leaves and the dramatic purple flowers.

Enjoy.

Roses - are they the best ever?

Adelaide, like much of Australia is still suffering from lack of rain. But that suits roses! And in the suburbs of Adelaide I saw some of the most spectacular rose displays I've seen for a long time.

They were amazing.

Brilliant colours - in fact quite a few flower species are obviously enjoyign the lack of rain in Adelaide.

Picking at Gough Hill Farm

This photo is of the busy work room at Gough Hill Farm - a Gerbera farm in Brisbane Australia. It was taken during one of our very busy periods - when the Spring Flush occurred and we were picking record numbers (for us) of flowers.

It was all hands on deck as we prepared the thousands of flowers for the florists in the area.

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The Adelaide Markets

One of my special visits when I am in Adelaide - is to visit the Adelaide markets. They are quite historic and I don't think have changed much in all the years I've known them.

When I was a child, my parents would not have visited the markets - as this is where the Italians and Greeks sold their wares - from strange gourmet foods, to the fresh fruit and vegetables that were grown in the many market gardens around the city. It certainly wasn't "trendy" as it has been for quite a few years.

The fruit and vegetables are the freshest, there are fish marekts, butchers, bakers, mushroom growers, gourmet food producers, wine cellar, and of course fresh flowers to be purchased at the markets.

I always like to see the flowers as there are often flowers there that we do not see here in Brisbane.

One flower that I noticed was Iceland Poppies - I've certainly never seen them in the florist shops in Brisbane.

Flowers at Palazzo Versace

This five star hotel, Palazzo Versace, on the Gold Coast is spectacular in many ways. Always the flower are extra ordinary. Quite a feature - especially in the foyer of this grand hotel.

These were on show on May 13th, Mother's Day, 2007.

Frangipanni

I love frangipannis. They are a wonderful tropical flower with the most sensational fragrance. Most of us are familiar with the most common of frangipannis - a pale yellow with a darker yellow streak. Whilst the flower and fragrance are wonderful the tree itself is quite ugly.

In winter when all the leaves have fallen it looks a stark ugly jumble of sticks, but as spring comes, there is a little activity at the pointy end of each branch and soon the buds and foliage burst forth.

It flowers contunuously for some time and the spent flowers fall in a carpet below the plant.

Hippeastrums

I love these wonderful flowers. During autumn and winter there is nothing to see in a garden where hippeastrums grow and come spring they push through the soil in some places looking like a giant green spear that opens out to brilliant coloured flowers.

These flowers were in the garden of one of my house sits at Manly in Queensland, Australia.

Varieties grow in the Central and South America in the tropical areas.

More more information click here.