Blood Lily (Scadoxus multiflorus)

Finally the blood lily blooms - a once a year phenomenon ! A delight in the garden to "feast"  the eyes on for every day for up to a week plus. Last year I did not catch the bloom as I was away on holiday.   This time round, I managed to catch the bloom over a period of a few days. Unfortunately  I did not catch it on camera when the bud first appeared. It is exciting to see the bloom gradually forms a perfect spherical shape, just wonder how the plant knows its calculations so well ?  Something like the pyramid mystery ! For people who loves mathematical puzzles, the symmetrical shapes of plants continues to hold this mystery  and  keeps us fascinated...!

The first formation of a sphere ...

Can the plant measure itself  ?

How does it know its limit?

Is it chemistry at work?

 

A Fire-ball!

A perfect shape, not a single hair out of place !

Fascinating beauty  - nature's mystery at work ! 

The Fire-cracker Fern

I have been wanting to get this firecracker fern (not a real fern actually) for a long time, hunting around in the local nurseries.  So when I realized my friend has this plant, I did not hesitate to ask her for a couple of small plants.  This was last August (2011).  My friend had hers growing in a round , rather flat pot, placed on the dividing wall.  It looks very attractive as the light green foliage, touched  with the delicate, fine, tubular coral-red flowers falling like a shower gracefully downwards. 

I  planted the ones I got from her in a corner of my garden on the ground and hoping that this plant will thrive and multiply.  I  have plans to grow this plant as a small bush outside my gate.  The other names for this Firecracker fern (Russelia equisetiformis) includes firecracker plant, firecracker bush, coral bush and coral fountain. This plant apparently is a favorite of hummingbirds so it is an added bonus as I like to see and hear the birds in the garden. However when I surfed for more information about this plant I was surprised to come across this site :- http://stuartxchange.com/CoralBush.html  that mentioned its medicinal value.  Hmmm, very interesting indeed especially the research on hair growth....!

Since I planted it, this plant has grown slowly, multiplying steadily and only recently it started to bloom. As the stems tend to bend over, I tied them to some sticks to hold until eventually these stems thicken enough to hold their own weight.  

I can't wait for this plant to grow bigger, more lush and 'fountain' like .......!

Kalanchoe Blooms

A free spirited plant  - that is how I view the Kalanchoe plants (first posted Jan 9 2011).  Around Chinese New Year period, these potted Kalanchoe plants are sold everywhere - supermarkets, wet market, nurseries .... and available in many different colors. Some of blooms come in single petaled, most are the multi-petaled type.  I have only a single variety - red, single petal. I have not added other varieties as earlier I was not too successful in caring for this plant - this plant seems to rot easily if too much water. However the moment I stopped paying too much attention to it... that is why I say this plant is a free spirited plant, it seems to thrive by its own, multiplies freely and easily even on the ground where earlier I tried to grow it;  under some bigger plants but still exposed to sunlight ! I only maintained one plant in a pot where I exposed it direct to sunlight and watered only sparingly. In the shade the leaves become rather leafy and thick. Since I have not paid much attention to them, I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed flowers buds appearing at the tips on some of the plants.

 It took a while before the flowers appeared from bud stage, but once they do, they seemed to stay forever -- so far lasting more than a a month. Currently they are still looking fresh and attractive.  So despite this plant only blooms once a year,  it is still worth the wait  ......!