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A garden enthusiast who loves to travel and capture the beauty of places and freeze the memories of her travels in photographs, as well as document her experiences in verse...thankful for the simple pleasures in life.

Friday, December 16, 2011

My dancing hibiscus


I've been collecting hibiscus (mainly the double variety) and have a number of different colours. The double variety appeals to me not only because they are bigger, and fabulously showy, but also because they are great as subjects for photography. Their petals appear to have motion...and the flower seems to be doing a dance routine each time I get close to them with my camera.

This one is decidedly showy!


See what I mean...this one just won't keep still...she is swaying to the music of a waltz.


A Viennese Waltz!


This ballerina has just done a pirouette and is about to take a bow.





The single hibiscus is more sedate, this one is looking down in a pensive mood.



This one is looking up, as if posing for a glamour shot.



Pure and demure... 


Here's a double in action, wings spread out, ready to cha cha cha!



I like this rhumba posture, don't you?




This is a flamenco, hot and fiery!




Smokin' hot colours of the samba!




DSC02287.jpg
She's dressed for dancing, but could she be a wallflower after all?




 

memories of a shy dancer
(a tanka form)
shy dancer looks down
twists the programme in her hands
music fills her soul
 longs to step onto the floor
some one asks her, she shrinks back

alone by the wall

heart pounding to the rhythm
feet crossed, motionless
night creeps on midst revelry
trapped in bubble, she breaks free




(Haiku for Sensational Haiku Wednesday)
 time of timid youth
fettered by painful reserve 
prepare to blossom






Friday, December 9, 2011

A Sour-grape Story... Part 2

For those who might have read my post on my grapevine, oh, I don't mean that figurative grapevine, I  mean literally a vine with grapes growing on them, entitled, "The Sweetest of Gardens" you might be interested to know that, that said grapevine has, after being uprooted from my garden and transplanted in my backyard, finally flowered and fruited, after a year's inactivity. This is indeed something to shout about, as I had almost given up on the vine, and only occasionally fed it. I hardly looked to check if it was flowering. So it was the sweetest surprise when someone visiting my backyard pointed out the grapes...there were five bunches! They were not the big, luscious variety you might get at the supermarket, but nonetheless, they were the finest-looking grapes in my neighbourhood. I'm not bragging, it is a fact. Of course, I have to admit though, that no one else plants grapes in my tropical neighbourhood.

Take a look at my tropical grapes:



Perfect in all its imperfection. Having battled against the odds of unsuitable climate, environment and soil...all wrong for it to survive, survive it did, and bore fruit!



Some of the bunches look a tad weather- beaten, but I have no doubt, the worst is over for them. They are certainly bigger than they were before I transplanted the vine. Now all that's left for them to do is...to ripen into dark red grapes.



Oh, and one more thing...they have to do their best to try to be sweeter than they were before. As I had explained in the first of the grape posts, this vine produced really sour grapes. Mind you, they had  a wonderful burgundy colour when ripe, but they were perfectly...sour!



A haiku to pay tribute to my vine is in order:

Ode to Sour Grapes

triumph over malice 
covert mysteries of vine
sour grapes turn sweet




So, here they are, reigning over the other fruit trees in my backyard. The other plants seem to be either hibernating, or sulking about being over-shadowed by the grape-vine. I really should turn my attention to the passion fruit vines (passiflora edulis) which require pruning and pampering, the mulberry bushes have not produced berries at all, the kumquat bushes are all leaves, and the list goes on.





As for now, I shall dream on, in anticipation of the day when my sour grapes turn sweet.



Life

it might not be 
bed of roses
or
a bowl of cherries
but 
life is what you make of it
and
if you can make lemonade 
when
 life throws you lemons
then 
I can make sweet wine 
out of
my sour grapes
they say
make hay while the sun shines
and 
look for the silver lining
which
you can find in every cloud
I say
I'll take that bowl of cherries
and
live and laugh at it all

Rosie Gan 
Dec 2011


Linking to:
Share the Joy Thursday
Fertilizer Friday
Macro Friday
Weekend Flowers
Macro Flowers Saturday
Today's Flowers
Macro Monday
Mosaic Monday
Poets Rally
Poetry Picnic
Haiku Heights(Prompt-covert)
Sensational Haiku Wednesday (Prompt-malice  )

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Under Paris Skies

"Stranger, beware
there's love in the air
under Paris skies..."

These are the words that romantically played in my mind as Paris unfolded before me.  Would I fall in love with Paris in springtime?

I fell in love ! Who wouldn't...the gardens were all abloom and so I gave my heart willingly.

My photographs of Paris included many shots taken as we explored the streets and the Seine riverside on our own, without a guide. We passed some lovely public gardens which we didn't know the names of. Then there were the pretty flower shops with their roses on display outside the shops. These are my charming encounters with French gardens and flowers which my photographs serve to remind me of...

Paris in Springtime














Accidental

a series of accidents
one event leading to another
one word sparks an action
then reaction leads one on a tangent
life's best left to its own directions
for didn't it lead me here to you?

a gathering of momentum
in the absence of intention
devoid of planning or conscious contrivance
did i know we would meet in spring
in a place filled with new beginnings
stirring new and joyous feelings?

the air seems crispier than it should be
the atmosphere charged with electricity
the colours are brighter than they would be
in a place where I'm not destined to be
isn't this a time when it is perfect for me
to fall tumbling in love with you...
Paris; my enchanting, sentimental indulgence !

Linking to:
Share the Joy Thursday
Fertilizer Friday
Macro Friday
Weekend Flowers
Macro Flowers Saturday
Today's Flowers
Macro Monday
Mosaic Monday

W4W
Poets Rally


Friday, October 28, 2011

Exotic Beauties of the Flowering World

How could anyone not love orchids? I can't resist them. A look at them, and my heart melts. I'm not surprised that the orchid plant is often referred to as the "Queen of the realm of plants". It really looks regal to me, I must say, and the flowers are definitely queenly, demanding our utmost respect. Some orchids are princess-like, needing to be coddled and given the attention that princesses require! 


Orchids are...
graceful



exotic



and delicate.



Orchids symbolize ...


luxury





strength



love



perfection





rare beauty



refinement




wisdom




magnificence



affection





virility





thoughtfulness



charm



and splendour.




From what I have read pertaining to the meaning and symbolism attached to orchids, the person who gives a gift of orchids is expressing not only his love, but also his respect for the girl of his dreams. His choice of orchids also speaks of his admiration and he is paying the recipient the highest form of compliment, I feel, when he buys her orchids. Orchids are also universally recognized as the perfect conveyor of the message of love and thoughtfulness. 

 

If you want to see more orchids like the ones above, click here, and you'll be transported to the garden where all these blooms were photographed.


Nature's Messenger of Love


give her your heart
express your sincere regard 
orchids speak of love

cattleya's thoughtful charm
will bring her to your arms
to reciprocate your love

send her purple orchids galore
this says her rare beauty you adore
that's how you captivate your love

shower her with orchids exotic
bewitch her with its delicate mystique
then you'll be worthy of her love

(For Thursday Poets Rally and Poetry Picnic)

sponge in the wonder
thank nature for she creates
orchids in the breeze

(For Haiku Heights and Haiku My Heart)

Linking to:

Share the Joy Thursday
Thursday Poets Rally (Week 55)
Poetry Picnic
Haiku Heights
Haiku My Heart
Weekend Flowers
Fertilizer Friday
Macro Friday
Macro Flowers Saturday
Today's Flowers
Macro Monday
Mosaic Monday

Friday, October 14, 2011

Paradise for Orchid Lovers

The Orchid Garden in Kuching, Sarawak in East Malaysia is well maintained, and a stroll in this garden is delightful. The varieties they have here are mind boggling, so I'm not even attempting to ID all the orchids. Some of the orchid beds have tags, but most are deemed identifiable, I guess, but not to a novice like me. If you happen to see any that you are familiar with, do share your knowledge in the comment box, won't you?


I can't possibly put all my photographs in one post, as there are too many, so for today's post, I shall....well, I shall just give you an overview of the garden and present some close-ups.


This public garden is located right in the city of Kuching, just adjacent to the Astana (Palace).From the city centre, we can see the Palace across the Sarawak River and what is quite unusual for me but which is common to those who live in this land of many rivers, is that we have to catch a boat to ferry us across that river. The price of the ride? A mere fifty cents! Here's our boatman!  




There's the Palace.




We have to walk past the Palace gates to get to the Orchid Garden.





Here it is, The Orchid Garden!




From inside the garden, we can see another landmark of Kuching, the State Legislative building.





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vigour  resonates
vibrant and strong in your youth
song of orchids trill

(Haiku Heights - prompt : vibrant)













the perfume of you
drifts in my sublimal dreams
rare, mystic orchid

(For Sensational Haiku Wednesday - prompt: rare)





For Tootsie

 rain falls
on tired orchids 
petals curl up in storm
unbeaten they unfold again
sun shines

Cinquain for Poery Picnic
and
Thursday Poets Rally

Linking to:

Poetry Picnic