Azaleas and Spring

It is Spring here in Korea - and the azaleas are in bloom. The two bottom photos were taken behind the Jeonju Core Riviera Hotel .

The top photo I took - sight unseen. I had thought the garden behind the high wall would be wonderful, and it was. I had put my arm up high with the camera in my hand and clicked.

The top photo is of a view in one of the modernised streets of Jeonju Hanok Village.

Blossoms in Korea

The blossom season is short lived - though spectacular, the petals soon fall to the ground. These were at a Buddhist temple just out of Jeonju - and the road to the temple was lined on both sides by wonderful blossoms too, but I was unable to take a good photo from the moving car.

Spectacular!

Magnolia at the temple

One of the great joys in spring in China and Korea are the blooming of the Magnolia trees. There are different varieties - some all white, some with rose colour on the back of the petals, and others with smaller flowers.

These were blooming at the temple just out of Jeonju.

Daffodils and Tulips in Korea

While walking around Jeon Ju, Korea, I found this wonderful garden in a Gold Driving Range. Daffodils, and there are many in gardens here, as well as these tulips making an impressive display.

Tibouchina

This year the Tibouchina is blooming beautifully. Around the suburbs this brilliant splash of purple. The bushes are around 8 - 10 feet tall, and the purple blooms flourish with the sort of weather we have been having lately. It had been dry, and then the rains came, which somehow stimulated the prolific flowers.

Sadly the flowers do not last long, and do not do well in a vase, but when the spent blooms drop there seems to be many more coming along so the 'season' can be quite long and they often have two or more blooming seasons.

The photos above are of my plant which is beside the side fence.

This variety is most likely Tibouchina Alstonville.

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.

Orchid display

Sell photos on photrade By Elly




These are just some of the orchids on display in Hangzhou's Hyatt Hotel on the edge of the famed West Lake. Sadly we didn't get to stay there, but we did visit and we did enjoy expensive coffee and cake in the lounge bar there. Simple white bowls with many white orchids and brown sticks as a background. Simply stunning.



It is a pretty busy hotel, with many foreign tourists and business people using this hotel as their base here in China. It is so well placed, right on the edge of the West Lake, with rows of upmarket boutiques and shops in the vicinity.



I think it would be wonderful to wake up in the morning, and see right over the lake. It is a very romantic lake with many tourist spots, as well as hotels and restaurants around the edge of the famous lake.