Pomegranate; Punica granatum;

A washing line full of diamonds;

Shimmering intensity of the flowers;

The name pomegranate derives from medieval Latin pomum "apple" and granatum "seeded". 

The genus name Punica refers to the Phoenicians, who were active in broadening its cultivation, partly for religious reasons.

Garnet comes from Old French grenat by metathesis, from Medieval Latin granatum, here used in a a different meaning: "of a dark red color". This meaning perhaps originated from pomum granatum because of the color of pomegranate pulp.

The fruit;

The pomegranate, Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.

How to prepare a Pomegranate; cut off the top and the bottom. Break apart; 

Look at these wonderfully, glistening seed casings.

After opening the pomegranate by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open, the arils (seed casings) are separated from the peel and internal white pulp membranes. Separating the red arils is easier in a bowl of water, because the arils sink and the inedible pulp floats.  

...like this, in a bowl of water, you can then just scoop off the bitter pulp membranes.

The arils ready to be used, eaten, savored, don't they look absolutely brilliant, so good!

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The Pomegranate;


Pick me now, 
flecked with ruby red gems
sitting row upon row, 
Seductive, 
scented by a thousand suns
in plentitude and exuberance.  

©Ts

Nutrients and phytochemicals

Pomegranate aril juice provides about 16% of an adult's daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving, and is a good source of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium and polyphenols, such as tannins and falconoid.
Pomegranate’s fiber  is entirely contained in the edible seeds which also supply unsaturated oils. People who choose to discard the seeds forfeit nutritional benefits conveyed by the seed fiber, oils and micronutrients.

The most abundant polyphenols in pomegranate juice are the hydrolyzable tannins called ellagitannins formed when ellagic acid binds with a carbohydrate. Punicalagins are tannins with free-radical scavenging properties in laboratory experiments. Punicalagins are absorbed into the human body and  have dietary value as antioxidants.  During intestinal metabolism by bacteria, ellagitannins and punicalagins are converted to urolithins which have unknown biological activity in vivo. Other phytochemicals include polyphenolic catechins, gallocatechins, and anthocyanins, such as prodelphinidins, delphinidin, cyanidin, and pelargonidin. The ORAC (antioxidant capacity) of pomegranate juice was measured at 2,860 units per 100 grams.

More facts about Punica granatum please click here

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DREAM on, for dreams are sweet:
    Do not awaken!
Dream on, and at thy feet
    Pomegranates shall be shaken.

Who likeneth the youth
    Of life to morning?
'Tis like the night in truth,
    Rose-coloured dreams adorning.

The wind is soft above,
    The shadows umber.
(There is a dream called Love.)
    Take thou the fullest slumber!

In Lethe's soothing stream,
    Thy thirst thou slakest.
Sleep, sleep; 't is sweet to dream.
    Oh, weep when thou awakest!
Paul Laurence Dunbar

Believe it or not:

Distant hills look green.  

©Ts

Monstera deliciosa;

The flower

Monstera deliciosa   is a creeping vine native to tropical rainforests of southern Mexico south to Colombia.

Forming the fruit

This member of the Arum family is an epiphyte with aerial roots, able to grow up to 20 m high with large, leathery, glossy, heart-shaped leaves 25–90 cm long by 25–75 cm broad. 
Wild seedlings grow towards the darkest area they can find until they find a tree trunk, then start to grow up towards the light, creeping up the tree.

When fully grown, the fruit is up to  30 cm long and 7-8 cm diameter, looking like a green ear of maize covered with hexagonal scales.

The leaves look very attractive too.

Fruits of plants of the Araceae (Arum family) often contain Raphides and Trichosclereids – needle like structures of calcium oxalate.
The fruit may be ripened by cutting it when the first scales begin to lift up and it begins to exude a pungent odor. It is set aside until the scales begin popping off. The scales are then brushed off or fall away to reveal the edible flesh underneath. The flesh, which is similar to pineapple in texture, can be cut away from the core and eaten. It has a fruity taste similar to banana,  jackfruit and pineapple. The unripe green fruits can irritate the throat and the latex of the leaves and vines can create rashes in the skin, because both contain potassium oxalate: that's the reason why the fruits have to be consumed when the scales lift up.

 When the fruit of the plant is ready to eat, it smells heavenly and  it has a flavor evocative of fruit salad. A fruit having a taste mixture of pineapple and banana.The fruit is high in vitamin C and potassium. 

Believe it or not:

The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand,

nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship;

it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one

when he discovers that someone else believes in him

and is willing to trust him.

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

© TS Photos

Yellow Ribbon;

Solenostemon

A member of the mint (Lamiaceae) family, this genus of around 60 species of shrubby, sometimes succulent perennials comes from the tropics of Africa and Asia. They are a treat in the garden, as they are so easily propagated from cuttings.This yellow one shines and stands out between other green leafed plants. 

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Yellow  — Common connotations —

sunshine, warmth, fun, happiness,, summer, hope, optimism, imagination, curiosity,

Salvia madrensis

Salvia madrensis is a native to the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range in Mexico.

Salvia madrensis spends the first part of the growing season putting out 1.2m to 2.00 m  stems that are thick  and square, with ridges on each corner. The rough, heart-shaped  leaves are widely spaced on the stem, graduating in size from large at the bottom to smaller at the top, giving a lush covering to the plant. Numerous 30 cm inflorescences are covered with softly colored butter-yellow flowers held in whorls. The calyces are aromatic and covered with sticky glands. 

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Lemon tree

Lemons are part of my cooking, I could not imagine not having a lemon tree in my garden.  This one bears continuously ripe lemons, flowers and unripe lemons in different stages. 

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Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M (long and medium wavelength) cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S (short-wavelength) cone cells.

Tecoma capensis, this soft yellow suits well into the garden between other shrubs.

Schefflera, Jacky, yellow variegated; here in my garden it grows in close company with a Clarence river Baeckia; complimenting each other in their difference.

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Carotenoids are organic pigments that give color to many biological objects, including egg yolks, autumn leaves, and yellow flowers.

Yellow pan traps are used to capture insects, many of which are attracted to shades of yellow.

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A golden yellow  Daylily seedling grown on its own volition , named by me " Goldie".

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"Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Ole Oak Tree"

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Yellow Bougainvillea Bambino"Siggi"

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Around her hair she wore a yellow ribbon
She wore it in the springtime
In the merry month of May
And if you ask her why the heck she wore it
She wore it for her soldier who was far far away

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Hibiscus Celia;  this on was always one of my favourites.  It is easy to propagate from cuttings.

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'Round her neck she wears a yeller ribbon,
She wears it in winter and the summer so they say,
If you ask her "Why the decoration?"
She'll say "It's fur my lover who is fur, fur away.

♥

Kalanchoe yellow; a winter flowering plant; easy to grow and easy to propagate from cuttings. 

The word "yellow" comes from the Old English geolu, or geolwe which derived from the Proto-Germanic word gelwaz. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the oldest known use of this word in English is from The Epinal Glossary in the year 700.

Yellow is associated with the word "caution" and is the second light on stop lights. The color is associated with aging as well, for both people and objects (e.g. "yellowed" paper). 

"Yellow" ("giallo"), in Italy, refers to crime stories, both fictional and real. This association began in about 1930, when the first series of crime novels published in Italy had yellow covers.

The term "yellow movie" can refer to films of pornographic nature in Chinese culture, and is analogous to the English "blue movie". Lastly, it is associated with sensational journalistic practices, or yellow journalism, and resistance to militant trade unions

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The beautiful Lycoris is flowering now;

They are bulb-producing perennial plants.

Lycoris are extensively cultivated as ornamental plants in Japan and China, and also in other warm temperate regions of the world. In Japan, they are widely used at the edges of rice paddy fields to provide a strip of bright flowers in the summer, and over 230 cultivars have been selected for garden use. They are locally naturalised in the southeastern United States, where they are often called hurricane flowers. Chinese people often use them as decorations in festivals or celebrations.  ( courtesy Wikipedia)

Believe it or not;

The trees that are slow to grow bear the most fruit.

Moliere

January/February in the Garden;

The best known-and perhaps most inspired-literary mushroom of all is the one nibbled by Alice in her Adventures in Wonderland. Eating from one side of the mushroom makes her grow larger, eating from the other side makes her shrink. It's possible that author Lewis Carroll knew of the properties of Fly Agaric. One effect of this hallucinogenic fungus is to make objects appear larger or smaller in the user's eye. 

Macadamia Nuts

Macadamia is a genus of nine species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, with a disjunctive distribution native to eastern Australia (seven species), New Caledonia (one species M. neurophylla) and Sulawesi in Indonesia (one species, M. hildebrandii).

They are small to large evergreen trees growing to 2–12 m tall. The leaves are arranged in whorls of three to six, lanceolate to obovate or elliptical in shape, 6–30 cm long and 2–13 cm broad, with an entire or spiny-serrated margin. The flowers are produced in a long, slender, simple raceme 5–30 cm long, the individual flowers 10–15 mm long, white to pink or purple, with four tepals. The fruit is a very hard, woody, globose follicle with a pointed apex, containing one or two seeds.

The genus is named after John Macadam, a colleague of botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, who first described the genus. Common names include macadamia, macadamia nut, Queensland nut, bush nut, maroochi nut, queen of nuts and bauple nut; Indigenous Australian names include gyndl, jindilli, and boombera.

It can take 50-100 years for fungi to reduce a hardwood trunk to dust.

Pink Turmeric

Globba winitii, Zingiberaceae 

An unsettled summer's sky;

Miniature garden paraphernalia;

Beautiful patterns found on fungi growing on decaying wood.

I am always amazed and glad when I see the stags and elks attaching them selves freely  from seed to the bark of trees

Sweet Chestnuts; Castanea sativa;  the subtropics are not the optimum climate for Chestnuts.

Quisqualis indica also known as the Chinese honeysuckle, Rangoon Creeper, and Combretum indicum is a vine with red flower clusters and is found in in many other parts of the world either as a cultivated ornamental or run wild. The genus translates into Latin for What is that?.

Passionfruit, this is the yellow Hawaiian; it is absolutely delicious. 

Aechmea gamosepala 'Lucky Stripe' Bromeliad

The flowers of the native Alexandra Palm, Archontophoenix alexandrae; nectar and seed for birds and insects.

Pecan nuts growing.

My new play area, the old chicken yard. The chooks have received a new home on the other side of the garden, a sunnier spot and lots of grass and herbs to nibble on.

I have started to plant, it will take me a while to finish, at the moment it is hot and muggy which saps my energy. It is a mixture of sun and shade so I have quite a variety of plants I can use. A birdbath is also on the list. Perhaps a bench to have a rest and watch and look and see!

Believe it or not;

When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. ~


© TS text and photos

The Summer Garden;

Darling; nature is poetry in plants and flowers...talking to my grand daughter...

Coleus, Solenostemon; with its alluring colours and patterns for many a favourite plant to grow in the warm climate garden.

Exquisite Lichen adorning the tree trunk; Foliose lichen Parmeliopsis ambigua

Heliconia rostrata;  the pride of any garden;

All the names I know from nurse:

Gardener's garters, Shepherd's purse,

Bachelor's buttons, Lady's smock,

And the Lady Hollyhock.

RLStevenson

The sun traces a mosaic pattern in the pool;

Easy to grow, gorgeous, friendly Gazanias, love the sun;

Salvias are a must have in the sub tropical garden.

Sunset; clouds are part of the summer sky;

Allamanda loves to use nearby trees and bushes to climb up to show of its dazzling yellow bells.

Varigated Bromeliads, easy to grow and add structure and interest to the garden.

Fairy places, fairy things,

Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,

Tiny trees for tiny dames--

These must all be fairy names!

RL Stevenson

Mussaenda flava; vigorous and decidious;

Summer is also the time for juicy Mangoes

Tiny woods below whose boughs

Shady fairies weave a house;

Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme,

Where the braver fairies climb!

RL Stevenson

Different leaf sizes, patterns colours; glorious;

The native Callistemon, or just simply called bottlebrushes are always delightful and a good source of nectar for the native birds.

Time for a little rest and perhaps a cool drink, it is hot!

The last  but not the least is the graceful cassia fistula, in full flower now.

Fair are grown-up people's trees,

But the fairest woods are these;

Where, if I were not so tall,

I should live for good and all.

RL Stevenson

Believe it or not:

Po Ata Rau; Now is the Now;

Photos TS

© TS