John&Jacq~s Garden

Posted by Jacqueline on December 1st, 2009 in Our Garden

How timely that our tropical garden in November 2009 was in top form to present me with enough photography opportunities to try out my relatively new point and shoot camera, Canon PowerShot SX200 IS! My dearly beloved, John, presented me an early Christmas-cum-40th wedding anniversary-cum-birthday gift during the last week of October. Hehe…too bad that all these special days will fall so closely one after another that one expensive gift costing RM1,630 fits all 3 occasions!

What an enjoyable time I had trying out the new camera, mostly using the auto mode as it determines the scene and chooses optimum settings automatically for me. I prefer this easier and simpler way, fuss-free and no need to crack my head over its manual and learn all the nitty-gritty operation details. So far, about 1200 pictures were captured, 90% were mostly macro shots of the colourful blossoms in our garden. Though very common plants blooming year round in our garden, they’re most welcome, bringing much sunshine and cheer into our daily lives.

Here’s sharing some of our fascinating flowers plus a few butterflies that were shot throughout last month. Hope you enjoy as much as I enjoy shooting and sharing!

The central flower above is the striking Dwarf Euphorbia milii ‘Red’ (Crown of Thorns, Christ Plant, Christ Thorn/Crown) and the other flowering plants, clockwise from top-left are :

• Calliandra emarginata ‘Red’ (Dwarf Powder Puff, Powderpuff Plant)
• Crossandra infundibuliformis (Firecracker Flower, Firecracker Plant)
• Appias libythea (Striped Albatross) resting on Cuphea hyssopifolia (Mexican/False Heather, Hawaiian Heather)
• Unidentified skipper butterfly resting on Torenia fournieri (Bluewings, Wishbone Flower)
• Spathiphyllum spp. (Peace Lily, Spathe Flower, White Anthurium)
• Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (Tropical/Chinese/Hawaiian Hibiscus, China Rose, Shoe Flower)
• Ixora chinensis ‘Singapore Yellow’ (Jungle Flame/Geranium, Flame of the Woods, Needle Flower)
• Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar Periwinkle, Cape Periwinkle, Rose/Rosy Periwinkle, Vinca)
• Ruellia brittoniana ‘Katie’ (Katie Dwarf Ruellia, Dwarf Purple Ruellia, Dwarf Mexican Petunia)
• Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum ‘Burgundy’ (Chinese Fringe Flower, Chinese Witch Hazel)
• Wrightia antidysenterica (Snowflake, Milky Way, Arctic Snow, Winter Cherry Tree)

That’s the beautiful butterfly, Hypolimnas bolina jacintha (Jacintha Eggfly) visiting ever so frequently and resting on the pink Gomphrena globosa (Bachelor’s Buttons, Globe Amaranth), and the rest of the flowering plants, clockwise from top-left are :

• Dwarf Ixora ‘Red’ (Jungle Flame/Geranium, Flame of the Woods, Needle Flower)
• Portulaca grandiflora (Rose Moss, Moss Rose, Sun Plant), a bicoloured pink and white variety
• Anthurium andraeanum (Flamingo Flower/Lily, Tail Flower, Lacquer Anthurium, Oilcloth Flower, Painter’s Palette)
• Cuphea hyssopifolia (Mexican/False Heather, Hawaiian Heather), a purple variety
• Dwarf Euphorbia milii ‘Red’ (Crown of Thorns, Christ Plant, Christ Thorn/Crown)
• Cuphea hyssopifolia ‘Alba’ (Mexican/False Heather, Hawaiian Heather)
• Heliconia stricta ‘Carli’s Sharonii’ (Parrot’s Heliconia, Lobster Claw, Christmas Heliconia, etc.)
• Portulaca grandiflora (Rose Moss, Moss Rose, Sun Plant), magenta coloured
• Dieffenbachia bowmannii ‘Carriere’ (Dumb Cane, Spotted Dumbcane, Leopard Lily)
• White Zephyranthes (Rain Lily, Fairy Lily, Zephyr Lily)
• Brunfelsia calycina / pauciflora (Yesterday-today-tomorrow, Morning-noon-night, Kiss me quick)
• Ixora chinensis ‘Singapore Yellow’ (Jungle Flame/Geranium, Flame of the Woods, Needle Flower)
• Mussaenda philippica ‘Aurorae’ (White Mussaenda, Tropical Dogwood, Virgin Tree)

A buff-brown skipper butterfly, Suastus gremius (Palm Bob) feeding on the pink Bachelor’s Buttons, whose globose flowerheads are such a butterfly attractant to many species of butterflies.
Flowers included in the collage above, clockwise from top-right are :

• Purple Aster Cultivar x Frikartii (Frikart’s Daisy)
• Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Endless Summer’ (Mophead/Bigleaf Hydrangea, French Hydrangea, Hortensia) in blue
• Duranta erecta / repens (Pigeon Berry, Golden Dewdrop, Skyflower)
• Guzmania lingulata var. minor (Orange Star, Scarlet Star)
• Brunfelsia calycina / pauciflora (Yesterday-today-tomorrow, Morning-noon-night, Kiss me quick)
• Hymenocallis caribaea (Caribbean Spiderlily, Spider Lily, White Lily)
• Euphorbia milii (Crown of Thorns, Christ Plant, Christ Thorn/Crown), an orange-red variety.

Photos appended below give an overview of our front yard garden. Last month’s flower queen was the stunning Mussaenda philippica ‘Aurorae’ (White Mussaenda), that grew into a lovely small tree and flowering profusely for the first time after being given a hard prune about 4-4.5 months before. A vigorous grower but we’re hoping to keep it tamed and of reasonable height to suit our small-sized garden, and sufficiently spread to provide some shade for the Blue Hydrangea beneath.

Tags: annuals, blue, butterflies/moths, butterfly plants, flowering plants, lavender/lilac, orange, our garden, perennials, pink, purple, red, white, yellow