Anthurium

These are spectacular flowers - the anthurium - and not easy to grow, but these are all flowering at the house where I am house sitting.  In fact there are several plants and they all have several flowers on each plant.

It is my duty to keep these flowers alive and well - and they sit on a small table on the back deck, for the moment looking very healthy.

Hippeastrum

I love these flowers - hippeastrum - large bell like flowers that appear in spring, from a bulb that spends most of its life in a dormant state.  I'vegot some in pots, but where I am house sitting they are in the garden and are quite a surprise as they push through the other under growth.

They don't last well as cut flowers - a shame, as they would be dramatic in a vase.

In My Friend's Garden

Some flowers in my friend's garden - December 2009.

Real or Fake?

These were in a vase near the front door in a friend's house.  Do you think they are real?

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!

Flowers at Qiandao Hu

Thousand Island Lake or Qiandao Hu as the locals will call it is an extra ordinary place, in Zhejiang Province south of Hangzhou. I recommend that one reads the story of this man-made lake that swallowed up some cities in its making. It is full of spectacular scenery and is a magnet for tourists - I've never seen so many boats! They all seemed to be leaving the harbour to head out to the huge lake at the same time!

At the entrance to the boat harbour where tourists arrive and meet the boat that will take them out onto the lake are some spectacular gardens. I don't know the names of the flowers - many were a mystery to me, but the show was grand. Well worth a visit for the floral displays, but there is much more to this place.

Hydrangeas

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