Sky Above Mt. Cook

This is specifically for Skywatch... my introductory skyscape is one of blue skies, nothing but blue skies above Mount Cook. A typical pale blue sky on a a spring afternoon in New Zealand, where the warmth of the sun contrasts with the  snow-covered peaks of the mountain. Oh, did I say nothing but blue skies? Watch that jet leaving a trail behind, heading for more spectacular skyscapes...which we shall see in the following weeks' Skywatch segments in My Garden Haven!

Do click on the link for Skywatch Friday at the bottom of the page.

Horizons in New Zealand

Here are some horizons I have been privileged to have been able to photograph during my travels. These are unforgettable moments  that I would always want to keep in my memory...and when the memory fails to recall the details, these photographs will enable the magical moments to live on.

No matter how far I roam, no matter how inspiring the beauty of foreign horizons, the horizon that I can see from my  window at home is where my imagination takes flight at the end of the day...

I would like to thank Roses and Stuff for offering me a chance to post my favourite pictures on horizons. For more of the theme "horizons", you can visit Blooming Friday when you click on the link at the bottom of this page.

THE TEXTURES ON MY LOVELY LEAVES

I think I have been terribly unfair! I have featured the blooms in my garden, singing praises and giving them close-ups, but I have overlooked the other part of my plants, making them play second-fiddle, cropping them out for the close-ups of the blooms. How could I have been so cruel, so unfeeling of their feelings! Yes, I'm referring to the forlorn , falling leaves of my garden plants. They fall to the ground unheeded, callously swept away. Hence, today, I am going to let the leaves have their day...in the first ever Garden Bloggers Bloomin' Leaves Day (if I may, May Dreams Gardens?) However, this is most appropriate for Pam's Foliage Follow Up.

Here's my tribute to THE TEXTURES ON MY LOVELY LEAVES














I would like to thank May Dreams Gardens of dreaming up this meme for us.
Click on the label at the bottom of the page to see more GBBD photographs.
Also, for more Foliage Follow Up, please click on Pams link at the bottom of this page too.

From Plain Jane to Belle of the Ball

This is my first new posting from my new blogsite...and what more appropriate a post than to feature what's new in my garden for Today's Flower meme.


This plant I am featuring is nothing short of predictable. It has a strange habit of flowering only once a year...must be the clockwork mechanism inside its head that makes it magically transform from a drab green cast-aside plant into a splendid bright orange beauty that becomes the centre of attention in my garden. And this spectacular blossoming from ugly duckling to lovely swan takes place every year in...December, just in time for Christmas. 


I have four of these plants in rather large terracotta pots. The plants require quite a bit of space as they have to be staked to a frame around which they twine ever so lazily all year round. Then a burst of activity would begin when the tips of the young leaves begin to blush shyly, and slowly the blush deepens into an all-out expression of embarrassment until the bracts appear, scarlet with mortification!


Below is a series of photographs recording this phenomenon:

At first, the leaves are a fresh green.







Then a tinge of rouge appears on the small leaflets.

The vermilion-red paint begins to spread on Nature's canvas. 

Then the red leaves form a corolla and small yellow-tipped florets emerge.
Presenting the work of art.

Here they are, jubilant! Congratulations are in order, I believe.




My thanks to Luiz and his team. 
For more Today's Flowers click on the icon at the bottom of this page.