Raspberry Ice;

Variegated Bougainvillea Raspberry Ice has grown a sport of whitish/ buttery leaves...

...they look very beautiful with soft pinkish tips.

The flowers look more reddish  then on the original.

the flowers of the original Raspberry Ice.

I  will make some cutting, hopefully they will grow.Bougainvillea propagation

Propagation Methods:

From herbaceous stem cuttings

From woody stem cuttings

From softwood cuttings

From semi-hardwood cuttings

It has thrown out a few large canes from the side of the original bush.

Grown in warmer climates, bougainvilleas are perennials, which means they will continue to grow and flower year after year. In Northern regions they can be grown as annuals, which means they will flourish during summer months but will not survive harsh winters.

Bougainvilleas can be cultivated as hedges, trellis-climbers or ground covers. They can also be grown as cascading potted plants or grown in hanging baskets. As climbers, they can be used to add color to decks and patios.

Bougainvillea plants are very hardy and can survive some degree of neglect, but care is required for them to truly flourish. Sunlight is essential to the healthy growth and flowering of bougainvilleas, ideally six to eight hours of sunlight per day. Less than five hours will prevent bougainvilleas from blooming. Under the right conditions, bougainvilleas  bloom for many month. In my subtropical area starting now, through winter into summer.

To keep them tidy and out of trouble, from growing to big out of bounds, they have to be pruned after flowering.

Believe it or not: 

 A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.

Albert Schweizer

A short history of the rose;

Roses, Roses and more roses, the air shimmers with scent and colour. Titania

Roses have been around  a long time,  from fossil evidence found, about for 35 million years.

Today we can count 30’000 varieties. Roses have the most complicated family tree of any known flower species.

The cultivation of roses most likely began in Asia around 5000 years ago. They have been part of the human experience ever since and mentions of the flower are woven into a great many tales from the ancient world.

In Greek Mythology it was Aphrodite who gave the Rose her name. The godess of flowers chloris created the rose.
Chloris enlisted the help of Aphrodite to give the Rose beauty;
Dionyisus added nectar to give the rose a sweet scent;
The three graces gave the rose, charm, brightness and joy;
Zephyr the westwind blew away the clouds, so that
Apollo the sun god  could make the rose bloom…the creation of the Rose.

In ancient Hindu legends, Brahma, the creator of the world and Vishnu, the protector of the world had an argument whether the Lotus or the rose was more beautiful. Vishnu said the rose is more beautiful, Brahma said it was the Lotus. Brahma had never seen a rose, but when he saw one he changed his mind. As a reward he created a  beautiful bride  for Vishnu called Lakshmi. She was created from 108 large  and 1008 small rose petals.

In Crete, frescoes dating  back to 1700 BC, showing a pink rose with five petals.

Tombs in Egypt have revealed wreaths from flowers with roses among them.

In the tomb of Hawara, the wreath dates  to about AD 170 and represents the oldest preserved record of a rose species.

In the Roman empire the starving  peasants were forced to grow roses instead of food. Bath and fountains were filled with rose water and they sat on carpets of rose petals. Rose petals were used as confetti at celebrations, for medicinal purposes and  to make perfume. 

During the fifteenth century, the families fighting to control England used the rose as a symbol. The white rose represented York, and the red rose symbolized Lancaster. Not surprisingly, the conflict between these factions became known as the War of the Roses.

In the seventeenth century roses and rose water were used as legal tender, as barter in the markets, as well as payments for taxes to the royalty from the commoners.

Napoleons wife Josephine establishes a collection of  250 rose varieties at  her estate  and chateau Malmaison.

P.J. Redoute painted his famous water colour collection “Les Roses”  one of the finest botanical illustrations, in the rose garden of Malmaison.

Cultivated roses weren't introduced into Europe until the late eighteenth century. These Roses came from China and were repeat bloomers. They were of great interest to hybridizers who no longer had to wait  for their roses to bloom once a year.

Today  all roses  are divided into two groups. The old roses,  cultivated in Europe before 1800. Modern roses began to be cultivated in England and France around the turn of the

19th century.

Until the beginning of the 19th century, all roses in Europe were shades of pink or white. The red  rose came from China around 1800. 

Bright yellow roses entered the palette around 1900. 

Believe it or not: 

The rose and the thorn, and sorrow and gladness are linked together. Saadi

©Photos from my garden/ Text

March in my garden;

Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. 

 ~Hans Christian Andersen

One of the most beautiful quotes; so simple so true; not only for butterflies!

Tibouchina semidecandra flowers on and off, prune from time to time if it is getting lanky.

Tillandsia is a genus of around 540 species in the Bromeliad family (Bromeliaceae), found in the forests, mountains, and deserts, of Central and South America, and Mexico and the southern United States in North America.

The thinner-leafed varieties grow in rainy areas and the thick-leafed varieties in areas more subject to drought. Moisture and nutrients are gathered from the air (dust, decaying leaves and insect matter) through structures on the leaves called trichomes.

Tillandsia species are epiphytes (also called aerophytes or air plants) – i.e. they normally grow without soil while attached to other plants. Epiphytes are not parasitic, depending on the host only for support.

The genus Tillandsia was named by Carolus Linnaeus after the Swedish physician and botanist Dr. Elias Tillandz (originally Tillander) (1640-1693). Common names for Tillandsia include air plant, Ball moss (T. recurvata) and Spanish moss, the latter referring to T. usneoides in particular.

Although not normally cultivated for their flowers, some Tillandsia will bloom on a regular basis. In addition, it is quite common for some species to take on a different leaf colour (usually changing from green to red) when about to flower. This is an indication that the plant is monocarpic (flowers once before dying) but offsets around the flowering plant will continue to thrive.

Golden Penda;  Xanthostemon chrysanthus

  has a splendid year, first dry then wet, one can see these splendid native trees or shrubs flowering  everywhere.

Xanthostemon chrysanthus grows as a tree to 10–15 metres high and 5–8 metres  wide in the wild. It is generally much more compact in gardens. The bark is rough and the habit bushy. The shiny green elliptic leaves measuring 7–22 cm long by 2–9.5 cm wide. They are arranged in whorls along the stems.

The flowerheads, or racemes, are terminal or axillary and measure up to 15 cm in diameter. They are made up of numerous small (1–2 cm diameter) individual golden flowers. Flowering is followed by small (1-1,5 cm) green or brown woody capsules which are ripe between August and February. Flowers can appear at any time of year.

The range is from Cardwell northwards into Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland. It grows in open forest or rainforest, often along the banks or creeks and rivers

Tibouchina gigantea.

A garden teaches you to look and see; patience to wait  for those elusive seedlings to appear, but mostly  happiness when a flower slowly unfurls its petals to reveal its beauty. Titania

Mini Daylily, has a comeback after a very dry spring.

Favourites, lace fungi on a old log.

Mandarines are getting ready for winter, these will be early.

Always a pleasure to see the return of these simple Miltonia orchids, I say simple because they do not ask for attention or pampering.

A lot of rain in March;

Philodendron, shine!

The very pleasing and beautiful native Cats whiskers, I like this name I won't bother with the Latin one.

I like to grow many plants for many reasons but the best reason is in the joy of growing them. Titania

Flower, Vriesia species.

 

Tropical Salvia,  Salvia guaranitica Costa Rica, after the rain it went into over drive!

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.  ~Mirabel Osler

Bromeliad society had an Exhibition at the shopping centre,  how could I get passed those without taking a few home?

This one jumped into my trolley on its own.

A new Bromeliad, the pleasure of waiting to see its  flower.

♥

I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation.  It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green.  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from and Old Manse

February in my garden;

I don’t mind  how any day starts as long as I can be in the garden. Titania

...an early morning...

Murrayas  scenting the garden...

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

- Ralph waldo Emerson

Costus barbatus;

Nature our erudite friend teaches us freely how to live but mankind dismisses it freely and makes its own mistakes. Titania

Canna; anything more beautiful?

Musaenda frondosa...

..a friendly neighbour hanging over the fence;

The earth is not ours it is on loan only. Titania

Pomegranates  are ripening and..

..make a Mango sorbet.

Possum was here;

♥

Who can match

The sky

The wind

The rain

The sun

The stars

The moon

And  infinity? Titania

Adiantum aethiopicum

Maidenhair Fern

It looks fragile but is as tough as old boots!

Adiantum aethiopicum, also known as the common maidenhair fern, is a small fern of widespread distribution. Occurring in Africa, Australia, Norfolk Island and New Zealand. Known as the Common Maidenhair Fern in Australia.

Adiantum aethiopicum was one of the many species first described by Linnaeus, in this case in his Systema naturae in 1759. 

Adiantum aethiopicum grows in spreading clumps of fronds from 10 to 45 cm (4-18 in) in height. The rhizomes are wiry and branched. The fronds are horizontal and layered, or upright. They are divided into two or three and have many small wedge-shaped segments, each of which has sori along its margins underneath.

A common plant, often seen growing in moist areas. In Australia it is found near by creeks or in open forest, where it may form a large colony.

Adiantum aethiopicum is a popular and well known ornamental plant. Propagation is from plant division or by spores.  Ensure the Maidenhair is well watered, drying out will easily stress the plant. Despite being an under-storey plant, it must have good light if placed inside the house. Though try to avoid too much direct sunlight or draughts. Plants that have dried out and lost all foliage may not be dead. They may send out new growth up to 18 months later. Outdoors it tolerates a heavy clay soil.

5 finger Jack;

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."

- Albert Einstein

Roses have appreciated the rain and are set to grow new flowers again;

That beautiful roses have thorns does not matter. We still like to pick them. Titania

..a necklace of bells,  gently, gently..

Small, blue papery petals, received from my daughter; Lilli received it from a friend, so plants are handed from friends to friends, that's gardening...

the garden has so many more fine and worthy plants to grow and show. This post  is just a tiny "look at me" from the garden in February.

Believe it or not:

Only when the last river has been polluted, and the last tree been cut down, and the last fish been caught, will we realise we cannot eat money.

- cree native saying

©Photos/text Ts