John&Jacq~s Garden

March 2008 in our garden!

The garden month of March has been quite eventful. With a sunny and hot season, and some rainy days especially during the Holy Week leading to Easter Sunday, these sun-loving flowering plants simply love it and dance happily in our tropical garden.

The fabulous bushes of the Mussaenda cultivars, Mussaenda philippica aurorae and Mussaenda erythrophylla ‘Ashanti Blood’ that are year-round bloomers, continue to splash their gorgeous clusters of white and red bracts.

Not to be outdone are the ‘everlasting’ autumn colors of Codiaeum variegatum cultivars ‘Picasso’s Paintbrush’ and ‘Ann Rutherford’.

Their colorful foliage spin magically in full sun!

Who says there aren’t autumn colors in the tropics? ;)

Brunfelsia calycina also shouts loudly with its tricolor flower display in the outer garden border that it shares with low clump-forming plants, such as Variegated Oyster Plant, Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Golden Hahnii’ and Ruellia brittoniana ‘Katie’, to name a few.

Commonly known as Yesterday-today-tomorrow, this wonderful bush perfumes the whole garden area whenever in bloom!

However, it is the Yellow Crossandra which shares space in the outer garden plot, that really stole our hearts during the whole of March! Crossandra infundibuliformis is its botanical name…what a tongue twister! :D

It is the first time that this lovely young bush had stunned us with so many flowers at any one time. Probably, it’s happy after receiving a haircut and this is its way of thanking me!

And, this beautiful shrub with deep green foliage and contrasting rich, deep-yellow flowers did more than that! It attracted an awesome-looking crimson-pink dragonfly, Trithemis aurora, to our garden paradise recently. How exciting!

Another flowering plant that cannot be sidelined is the enchanting Orange Amaryllis (Hippeastrum hybrid) that is located at our backyard. Just incredible that it bloomed for the third consecutive Easter! We’re amazed that Easter this year was two weeks ahead as compared with last year, and yet it became alive just in time to celebrate Easter with us. Simply amazing and with 2 flowering spikes too! The second spike is about to burst forth its flowers as I’m drafting this article! ;)

Another March delight were fruits to savour from the Annona Squamosa (Custard/Sugar Apple) tree at our backyard. How delightful!

There were 7 large fruits during this fruiting season, ripening one after another. And, the best part was I got to enjoy them all by myself as my beloved John, generously sacrificed his half share to greedy me! I simply love these fruits! ;)

All in all, March was just perfect. We’re immensely happy and contented!
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for such endless joys!

Last edit: May 30 2016

Tags: dragonflies/damselflies, flowering plants, fruit trees, our garden, perennials, variegated plants