Iris

On our visit to a park at Tonglu (Southern China) the gardens impressed us, especially the display of irises. Actually there were only a few blooming - but many many more plants ready to burst forth in flower. These were growing at the edge of a pool in which many colourful and large fish were swimming making it a very wonderful scene.

Tea Plantations

I had never seen Tea Plantations close up before and the first time was at Houshan when we climbed the mountain to the Temple.

We walked through the rows of tea growing and noticed folk picking leaves possibly for their own use.

Since then I have seen many tea plantations between Shaoxing and Hangzhou in particular. They are on many hills around these areas, as no doubt they are in many areas of China.

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.

Flowers in China

The Chinese people so love gardens - most of course don't have much in the way of gardens around their homes, unless they live in a newer modern complex where the gardens are likely to be a feature, or if they live in the country their "garden" is full of vegetables.

When we arrived in China it was just after the very cold winter of 2007/8 and the plants were all brown and bare, but as spring approached it all changed.

These photos are from a park in Ningbo, South China.

What is this?

I don't know what this is - but found it in the garden near the house of my housesit.

It is a very attractive flower but does not last long - and the flower very quickly falls to the ground.

Frangipanni

How I love the fragrance of frangipanni! In the evening the scent is at it's best! There are many colours of these flowers, and probably the most common is the lemon/pale yellow variety. This pink one is in the park at the back of my current housesit.

I picked this bract of flowers and had it in a bowl as centre piece for my very small New Year's Eve event - and even today nearly a week later it is still looking good. I'd love to find a red one!

Miniature Roses

There are thousands of varieties of roses. These are miniature roses grown in a pot. You can see the change of colour as the flower matures. There's yellow in the centre when the bloom first opens and it fades to white or dark pink as time goes by.