Sunday 14 September 2008

Bold and Gorgous into spring;

A golden door into the garden; early morning;





BEAUMONTIA GRANDIFLORA Herald's Trumpet
Pictures cannot even begin to describe the sight of a mature Beaumontia in full bloom.

A big plant can be covered with many large flowers. To produce the best display, this heavy climber with large leaves will need a strong structure. Beaumontia is a tropical vine. It can tolerate a light frost for short periods but it is better to protect it if the temperature goes below freezing.
FAMILY : ApocynaceaeORIGIN ; HimalayasTYPE/USES; large vine; LIGHT REQUIREMENTS ; full/partial sun; WATER REQUIREMENTS; averageMIN. TEMP; low 30's;FLOWER S in spring; fragrant flowers.



Native King Orchid, Thelychiton speciosus; is fragrant and a sight to behold.

The wonders of australian plants; a freely flowering native Grevillia;
(please click the picture to see it in its glory.)

My gorgeous darlings "Apricot Nectar" and...

"Bewitched" both are doing well in the subtropics, through winter, spring and autumn; in summer they decline and go to "sleep". Both are easy to propagate from cuttings during winter.


My daughter ML has grown this Azalea border from cuttings.

A beautiful bold Aloe (this one grows in my daughters garden she promised me a "baby" of it.

This easy and fast growing Bromeliad wanders up a tree.

Bauhinia Orchid tree;



Bauhinia is a genus of more than 200 species of flowering plants in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers, Swiss-French botanists.
Many species are widely planted in the tropics as "orchid trees", particularly in northern
India, Vietnam and southeastern China. Bauhinia blakeana is the floral emblem of Hong Kong, and a stylized orchid tree flower appears on the Hong Kong flag.
Bauhinia trees typically reach a height of 6-12 m and their branches spread 3-6 m outwards. The lobed leaves usually are 10-15 cm across.
The five-petaled flowers are 7.5-12.5 cm diameter, generally in shades of red, pink, purple, orange, or yellow, and are often fragrant. The tree begins flowering in late winter and often continues to flower into early summer
.

Believe it or not:
Tous va pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes. (Voltaire in Candide.)


Organic tip of the week:
Use Sage in your cooking. It has like many other herbs very beneficial properties.
Sage Common sage (Salvia officinalis) is a small perennial evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is native to the Mediterranean region.
It is much cultivated as a
kitchen and medicinal herb. Common sage is also grown in parts of Europe, especially the Balkans for distillation of the essential oil, though other species, such as Salvia triloba may also be harvested and distilled with it.
It is also called Garden sage, Kitchen sage, and Dalmatian sage. The word
sage or derived names are also used for a number of related and non related species.

Culinary use
In Western cooking, it is used for flavouring fatty meats . In the United States, Britain and Flanders, sage is used with onion for poultry or pork stuffing and also in sauces. In French cuisine, sage is used for cooking white meat and in vegetable soups. Germans often use it in sausage dishes, and sage forms the dominant flavouring in the English Lincolnshire sausage. Sage is also common in Italian cooking. Sage is sautéd in olive oil and butter until crisp, then plain or stuffed pasta is added (burro e salvia). In the Balkans and the Middle East, it is used when roasting mutton.

Medicinal;

The Latin name for sage, salvia, means “to heal". Although the effectiveness of Common Sage is open to debate, it has been recommended at one time or another for virtually every ailment. Modern evidence supports its effects as an antihydrotic.

Thank you for your visit.

Copyright: 2008 T.S.

Photos: T.S.




30 comments:

Gill - That British Woman said...

Oh my what stunning flowers you have in your garden, you are so lucky........

Gill in Canada

LadyLuz said...

What a marvellous time of the year for you - everything reappearing...such a feast for the eyes. The Angels'Trumpets are stunning. And thanks again for showing me what Grevillea is like in full bloom. I am hoping for the same with the two we planted earlier this year.

Emiliane said...

Elles sont magnifiques ces fleurs .. c'est un régal pour les yeux.
Un salut amical de France ..

Linda Lunda said...

Ohhh what a beytiful post you have come up with!!!
I think I also have the Bauhinia Orchid tree in my Thai-garden but Im not surten..... Maby I can email you a photo so you can se and help me? Im not that god with tropical plants... yet...... :O)!
Pleace email me so I can get in contact with yor... If you want to help .. ofcourse...
LInda
Linda

Barbara said...

Du zeigst ja wieder wunder-, wunderschöne Blumen, liebe Trudi! Da werde ich ja richtig "giggerig" beim Anschauen und möchte sie am liebsten in natura sehen (da bis anhin ja unbekannt, werde ich in meiner Pflanzenenzyklopädie noch nachschlagen). Wir stecken im Momet in einer intensive Regenperiode und wenn's so weiter geht, ist der Herbst bald richtig da. Kalt ist es geworden. Da wird wenigstens das Herz warm beim Anblick deiner exotischen "Frühlingsblumen"! Sei ganz lieb gegrüsst,
Barbara

Helga said...

was für wunderschöne Bilder,herrlich.
Salbei habe ich auch im garten. Bei Erkältungen hat er uns schon gut geholfen.
L.G.
Helga

HappyMouffetard said...

Wonderful, wonderful flowers.

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

gill, thank you for visiting and kind comment.

ladyluz; thank you for stopping by. I hope your Grevillias do well; do you know the names and what sort of colours?

emiliane; merci beaucoup pour votre gentil commentaire. Avez-vous un blog?

Liebe Barbara, ich danke dir ganz herzlich fuer deinen Besuch. Vielleicht gibt es dann doch noch einen "Indian Summer". Einmal muss ja die Sonne wieder scheinen!

Liebe Helga, danke vielmals fuer deinen Besuch. Ich liebe Salbei auch, leider verliere ich ihn im Sommer. Der Salbei liebt die feuchte Hitze nicht sehr.

Tira said...

The Herald's Trumpet is indeed spectacular, as are the orchids, banksias, roses, bauhinias and the striking aloe. I have never seen an aloe like that, is it a hybrid? I had a white bauhinia but it died, I do have one galpini and some young purple trees I grew from seed.
I recently got some Banksia coccinea and Banksia violacea. seeds from a seedbank.

Mother Nature said...

What fun it is to experience spring again with you in your garden bursting with beauty.

Webradio said...

"Tous va pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes. (Voltaire in Candide.)"
De si jolies fleurs, accompagnées d"un texte en français !

C'est gentil !

Que Tes fleurs et Tes photos sont jolies...

Hort Log said...

Hi

tried contacing the botanical Gdns on the Amorphophallus...no response. Do you happen to know any Australian collector of this plant who can spare some seeds ?

Sorry fot the bother.

Sandra said...

Those orchids are fabulous, but the first picture is breathtaking. About the sage - it is very common in Croatia as well, and I use it mostly in therapeutic purposes. I just brought three little sage plants from Olib for which I hope to grow for next year. Herbs from our coastal area are more intense then those cultivated in continental area.

Pia K said...

Lovely pictures, I'm especially fond of the top one with the sun gleaming through the foliage...:)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful images as always! How exciting that for you it is spring (I can't wait til it's our turn).

About the sage, don't you just love it? We have a broad leaf sage, and I'm always snipping a few leaves to add to whatever I'm cooking. It's been with us for at least 2 years now, and growing bigger and healthier by the day it seems!

Ingrid said...

Ein wundervoller Sonnenaufgang in deinem Garten - genieße ihn, so oft du kannst.
Liebe Grüße
aus dem sehr herbstlichen Süd-
deutschland. Beim Äpfelaufsammeln
haben wir heute kalte Finger bekommen.
Ingrid

Unknown said...

Trudi, I'm amazed at the kinds of bell-shaped flowers on the planet. This one looks spectacular. I've also never heard of Orchid trees...very pretty. I love the bromeliads in your garden, there's always something new and unheard of ( to me!) plants in your posts. It's a joy being(even vicariously) in The Orchard!

Anonymous said...

Ciao...beutiful flowers!!!Mauri

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

Thank you Donna for your comment.

webradio, merci bien pour ton commentaire.

Sandra, thank you for stopping by.
Yes herbs or for that also vegetables can have a more intense flavour depending where they are grown.

Thank you Pia for your comment, yes I like it too I photograph it all the time!!

Rowena thank you, I don't know the broad leaved Sage. I do love sage very much but here it is very susceptible to the humidity. I can grow it only for a short period.

Kanak thank you for your kind comment. I think you could grow the orchid tree in your climate. I grows from seeds. (legume)

Maria said...

Titania, mein Abend war sehr schön und ich werde jetzt schlafen gehen!
Ich habe mich noch an deinen wunderbaren Blumen erfreut! Salbei mag ich auch ganz besonders gern, aber auf dem Fensterbrett gedeiht er leider nicht.
Alles Liebe, Maria

MedaM said...

I entered your garden again and again I was delighted with various plants and information on them. Trumpets are definitely gorgeous, Thelychiton speciosus looks really fantastic. I enlarged Grevilia photo and I found it so beautiful and charming plant. I’d like to have it in my vase sometimes. I also enjoyed the beauty of Apricot Nectar and Bewitched flowers which colour is great. I am delighted with your daughter’s Azalea border; it is so colourful and full of beautiful flowers. And Bauhinia Orchid tree is outstanding. What wonderful flowers it has. If only I could have a tree that begins flowering in late winter. I am impressed with it. Thanks for sharing all this beauty with us.

Kerri said...

Trudi, your garden never ceases to amaze me with so many beautiful plants I've never seen before.
Those trumpets on the beaumontia are spectacular! What a gorgeous plant! The orchid is wonderful too. They all are!
You've taken such gorgeous photos, but the first one is really lovely with that warm glowing light. Your mornings are so pretty.
Happy spring to you, as we move into autumn (fall). I don't want to let go of summer yet!

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

Ich danke dir Maria, fuer deinen netten Kommentar.

medam, thank you so much for visiting and leaving a kind comment.

Kerri, so nice to hear from you. I can understand that you are not in a hurry to let autumn enter your pretty garden which is still in full summer bloom. Fall has just to wait until you are ready!

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

linda lunda, I have send you an e-mail. Your plant is a white ginger,
or butterfly ginger. It is beautiful perfumed. I was not sure you got my e-mail.

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

Thank you mauri for your visit and comment, Ciao.

Di DeCaire said...

I'd like to come through your golden door for a visit.

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

To di decaire you are very welcome.

Anonymous said...

I just found your blog, and I love the pictures. What a marvelous garden you have. I am so jealous.

I loved the Angel's trumpets, and the part about sage. I just wrote a post about sage in my blog. You might like it if you have a chance to visit (just click my name above this post)

I hope you will not mind if I put a link to this in my blog so my readers can find you and share in this beauty.

Pearl

Anonymous said...

Having read your blog so early in the morning I find myself longing to be in my garden, for Spring, dirt on my hands and aching muscles. But no, it is winter and I take a deep breath knowing the garden sleeps while the festive holiday season shows off her beauty. AAAHHH, for a daffodil to raise her face to the sun ---

Thanks so much for your blog.

I look forward to reading more.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful blog. I enjoyed it very much.

Hope you'll visit us and share some of your beautiful thoughts

Thanks
Fleur