The spectrum RED in my garden

Hibiscus are ever present in my garden with their flamboyant flowers proudly born on top. Eager to be seen and used as table decorations.
Hibiscus, or rosemallow, is a large genus of about 200–220 species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae (the mallow family, along with members like cocoa, cotton, okra, baobab and durian) native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, and woody shrubs and small trees. Wikipedia

Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 625–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared, or below red and cannot be seen by the naked human eye. Red is used as one of the additive primary colors of light, complementary to cyan, in RGB color systems. Red is also one of the subtractive primary colors of RYB color space but not CMYK color space.
In human color psychology, red is associated with heat, energy and blood, and emotions that stir the blood, including anger, passion, and love.[4]


The word red comes from the Old English rēad.[5] Further back, the word can be traced to the Proto-Germanic rauthaz and the Proto-Indo European root reudh-. This is the only color word which has been traced to an Indo-European root.[6] In the English language, the word red is associated with the color of blood, certain flowers (i.e. roses), and ripe fruits (i.e. apples, cherries). Fire is also strongly connected, as is the sun and the sky at sunset. Healthy people are often said to have a redness touch to their skin color (as opposed to be appearing pale). After the rise of socialism in the mid-19th century, red was to describe revolutionary movements. The word is also obviously associated with anything of the color occupying the lower end of the visible light spectrum, such as red hair or red soil.

Pigments
Alizarin
Brazilin
Carmine
Crimson
Indian red
Mercury oxide
Red lead
Red ochre
Scarlet
Vermilion





Callistemon with matching butterfly. Australian native plant called bottlebrush for obvious reasons!

Curly leaf Croton

Croton is an extensive plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae established by Carolus Linnaeus in 1737. The common names for this genus are rushfoil and croton, but this latter also refers to Codiaeum variegatum. The genus name comes from Greek Kroton, which means ticks, because of the seeds' resemblance to ticks Wikipedia

Ixora
Ixora coccinea, known as the Jungle Geranium, Flame of the Woods, and Jungle Flame, is a common flowering shrub native to Asia. Its name derives from an Indian deity. Although there are some 400 species in the genus Ixora, only a handful are commonly cultivated, and the common name, Ixora, is usually used for I. coccinea. I. coccinea is a dense, multi-branched evergreen shrub, commonly 4-6 ft (1.2-2 m) in height, but capable of reaching up to 12 ft (3.6 m) high. It has a rounded form, with a spread that may exceed its height. The glossy, leathery, oblong leaves are about 4 in (10 cm) long, with entire margins, and are carried in opposite pairs or whorled on the stems. Small tubular, scarlet flowers in dense rounded clusters 2-5 in (5-13 cm) across are produced almost all year long. There are numerous named cultivars differing in flower colour (yellow, pink, orange) and plant size. Several popular cultivars are dwarfs, usually staying under 3 ft (1 m) in height. Ixora 'Nora Grant' is a popular dwarf and 'Super King' is a popular hybrid with much larger flower clusters than the species.
I. coccinea is native to tropical south-east Asia, including Southern India and Sri Lanka. Wikipedia

Poinsettia brings its glowing colour out towards winter and stays that way far into summer, if I don't' cut it back.
Euphorbia pulcherrima, commonly named poinsettia, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Mexico, and native to the Pacific coast of the United States. The shrub occurs in some parts of central and southern Mexico, and a few localities in Guatemala.[1] The name "poinsettia" is after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Ambassador to Mexico, who introduced the plant into the US in 1825. The alternative names for the poinsettia are: Mexican flame leaf, Christmas star, Winter rose, Noche Buena, Lalupatae, Atatürk çiçeği ("Flower of Atatürk", in Turkey), Αλεξανδρινό (Alexandrian, in Greece), Pascua and Stelle di Natale (in Italy). Wikipedia

Bromeliads are my "staple" in the garden, they are practically looking after themselves.

Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) is a family of monocot flowering plants of around 2,400 species native mainly to the tropical Americas, with a few species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa.[1] The family includes both epiphytes, such as Spanish moss Tillandsia usneoides, and terrestrial species, such as the pineapple Ananas comosus. Many bromeliads are able to store water in a "tank" formed by their tightly-overlapping leaf bases. However, the family is diverse enough to include the tank bromeliads, grey-leaved epiphytic Tillandsia species which gather water only from leaf structures called trichomes, and a large number of desert-dwelling succulents.
The largest bromeliad is Puya raimondii, which reaches 3–4 m tall in vegetative growth with a flower spike 9–10 m tall, and the smallest is probably Spanish moss. Wikipedia

Red torch Ginger makes a statement with its glossy, red flowers.

Zingiberaceae, or the Ginger family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes, comprising ca. 52 genera and more than 1300 species, distributed throughout tropical Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Many species are important ornamental plants, spices, or medicinal plants. Ornamental genera include the shell gingers (Alpinia), Siam or summer tulip (Curcuma alismatifolia), Globba, ginger lily (Hedychium), Kaempferia, torch-ginger Nicolaia, Renealmia, and ginger (Zingiber). Spices include ginger (Zingiber), galangal or Thai ginger (Alpinia galanga and others), melegueta pepper (Aframomum melegueta), myoga (Zingiber mioga), turmeric (Curcuma), cardamom (Amomum, Elettaria). Wikipedia

Poinsettia grown as a tall shrub nearly a tree. It stands on the boundary between my gardening friend and neighbour V. She has let this Poinsettia grow tall and it looks good.

Ardisia, I have planted a small border with ardisia. This one grows to about 50 cm high. Pretty with dark, glossy leaves and brilliant red berries. The only disadvantage they seed and I have to eliminate the small seedlings I don't want.

Ardisia (Coralberry or Marlberry) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrsinaceae (Myrsine family), native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas, Asia, and Australasia. The genus includes about 250 species of small trees, shrubs and subshrubs growing up to 8 m tall.

Quisqualis grows and flowers all summer long. Cut it back and it makes new flowers. Winter is its resting time.

Quisqualis indica also known as the Chinese honeysuckle or Rangoon Creeper is a creeper with red flower clusters and is found in Asia. It is found in many other parts of the world either as a cultivated ornamental or run wild. Other names for the plant include quiscual (in Spanish), niyog-niyogan (in Filipino)), Madhu Malti or Madhumalti (in Hindi). The genus translates into Latin for What is that?

Rangoon Creeper is a ligneous vine that can reach from 2.5 meters to up to 8 meters. The leaves are elliptical with an acuminate tip and a rounded base. They grow from 7 to 15 centimeters and their arrangement is opposite. The flowers are fragrant and tubular and their color varies from white to pink to red. The 30 to 35 mm long fruit is ellipsoidal and has five prominent wings. The fruit tastes like almonds when mature. The niyog-niyogan is usually dispersed by water.
Rangoon Creeper is found in thickets or secondary forests of the Philippines, India and Malaysia. It has since been cultivated and naturalized in tropical areas. Wikipedia

This signal red Geranium can not be ignored.

Believe it or not:

Red is the color that is on the outside edge of the rainbow. It is one of the three primary colors, along with blue and yellow. Red light has a wavelength between 630-760 nanometers.
Red is the color of blood and tomatoes. It is sometimes used to mark things that are wrong, important, or dangerous.
Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination, as well as passion, desire, and love.

Getting cuttings to take root.
Use Clay Based Cat Litter as a propagation medium for getting cuttings to take root at home. The cat litter provides good aeration for the cuttings, it also provides good moisture retention. It is also hygienic, provided you keep the cats away from it.
(http://www.thisplace.com.au/)

Blog Copyright T.S. Yesterdaytodayandtomorrow in my garden.