Hot Pods & Blooms
Saturday, May 31, 2014
There is always a time for a Bromeliad to shine and this time it's Billbergia pyramidalis's turn to take centre stage :-) I noticed the bloom even when it peeped out from the leaves. You just can't miss!
The outstanding bloom looked extremely red against the bright green leaves. No wonder the plant is commonly known as Flaming Torch.
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As the inflorescence develops, its many three-petaled flowers with purple tips open to reveal a blueish-purple stigma and yellow stamens.
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When all flowers are opened, it was good to snap another shot ;-)
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Caught a huge lizard visiting my the garden one day... It jumped out of a sudden from a nearby potted plant when I was watering. It's unfortunately something that I don't like... sorry no close up...
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While the succulent (pic below) is growing towards the sunlight, a little branch with leaves grew out from its bent trunk... cute? The trunk, the little one or both? ;-)
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Meanwhile, my mini hot peppers have flowered and started to set fruits -- chillies!
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For now green hot pods...
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One night as I was walking out of my house to bring out the garbage, I smelt something unusual... not from my garbage bin :) but a scent from my Hoya pubicalyx. The vine is blooming again!
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The bunch of porcelain flowers was hidden from sight all this while. Good thing that the flower release strong fragrant. Love to see a hoya in bloom :-)
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Here is my Rosa 'Othello' in hot pink! Sometimes I wonder how do flower get their colours and so brilliant...
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Upon checking, well, the colours come from its pigments. Different pigments make different petal colours. Anthocyanins makes reds, purples and blues, carotenes producers reds, oranges and bright yellow and flavones, pale yellow.
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The colours are important for attracting pollinators like bees, birds and butterflies :-)
Have a beautiful day :-D
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20 comments
Oh please, I don't like lizard. Sometime my garden was visited by various visitors, lizard, snake, chicken, snails and others. It's really annoying. Actually, I hate reptils. Btw, your garden is so lovely. I'm interested to Hoya. It's a rare plant here. It's not easy to find Hoya on nurseries. The flower is so beautiful, look like a plastic or wax flower. How lucky you are!
ReplyDeleteThat right! Having a H. pubicalyx is like having double luck. The vine blooms very often :-) Btw, hoya are not a commonly sold plant here. Hence, whenever I see the plant selling at the nurseries I do make a point to spend some time to take a closer look at it.
DeleteLove your Hoya and Rose. They're gorgeous. I come across lizards all the time here. Snakes are a fairly common visitor as well. But that's the result of being so close to bushland.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I hope those snakes don't bite. Like Endah, I also don't like reptiles. Wear boots, Bernie.
DeleteAdmire your Flaming Torch flower. So nice.
ReplyDeleteI love its showy colours :-)
DeleteStephanie your Bromelaid and Hoya blooms are so very lovely. If I want to see them up close I have to go to the Conservatory. So I love looking at yours. Have a wonderful week.
ReplyDeleteThat brom bloom wilt quicker than the hoya blooms. And hoya fare better in warm places. It is always amazing to see tropical plants doing well at your conservatories. You have a wonderful week as well!
DeleteNice bromeliad bloom.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mystic Dreamer :-) The pot of billbergias has not been flowering for a long time now. Glad it did this time round.
DeleteThis particular Bromeliad is a fine specimen. I have seen Hoyas at my regular nursery but have never thought of purchasing it as I have no place to hang them.
ReplyDeleteStiletto, hoya can be used as a living wall to screen unsightly corners or create privacy and to climb up a pergola. But if there are blooms above the head, their nectar may drop onto a passerby.
DeleteEu tinha esta bromélia , mas morreu acho que ela não gosta de sol,
ReplyDeletegostei muito de sua suculentas e cactos , sou apaixonada por
eles.
beijos.
http://eueminhasplantinhas.blogspot.com.br/
Yup Simone Felic, that bromeliad don't like too much sun. Partial sun locations should ok provided well watered. Happy gardening succulents :-D
DeleteYour flowers are so original and so beautiful !
ReplyDeleteGreetings
Thank you Ela! It is wonderful to hear from you :-)
DeleteYou have good collection of flowers! The big lizard is not really my favourite too! hahhaha...
ReplyDeleteMalar, I hope it has already left my garden by now.
DeleteI love lizards, wish there more of them in my garden. That Hoya flower, I can definitely smell it using my imagination and memory. They don't look real, to me they look like they're made of wax.
ReplyDeleteOh wow sue, you are one of those brave ones! Lizards big or small, look the same to me... frightening haha... Re hoya flower, it feels like wax as well! Feel hard to the touch :-)
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