Sky Above the Silk Highway

When I think of blue skies, the Irving Berlin song never fails to play in my head and I hum along. Didn't know all the lyrics, so I kept singing the only  verse I knew - the first verse over and over. Before that drove me crazy, I googled the lyrics and here they are -  all the verses for us all to sing along as you travel with me along the Silk Highway in Malaysia. 


Blue skies 
Smiling at me 
Nothing but blue skies 
Do I see 





Bluebirds 
Singing a song 
Nothing but bluebirds 
All day long 





Never saw the sun shining so bright 
Never saw things going so right 
Noticing the days hurrying by 
When you're in love, my how they fly 




Blue days 
All of them gone 
Nothing but blue skies 
From now on 



Now let's carry on singing as we travel from blog to blog to see more blue skies on Skywatch Friday.
Do click on the Skywatch Friday icon at the bottom of this page.

Pedilanthus Bracteatus!

No, the title is not a magic spell you chant when you wave your wand. It was a yell of joy, ( somewhat akin to "Eureka!") I made when I discovered the name of that strange flowering plant I have in my garden. Some of you may remember that I posted this poser 'Flower or Bird?' in last year's posting of Wordless Wednesday (December 10).






There it was...just a picture without any description of what this plant was. It was totally unfair of course to my readers who had no idea what this quaint-looking plant with its birdlike flowers was. In my defence, I have to say that it would have been even more unfair to have written a lengthy description of this plant's profile, as it was a WORDLESS Wednesday posting after all! Besides, when I posted these pictures, I didn't have a clue what this plant was...there, I admit it.

However, today is a Thursday and we are allowed to have WORDS.

This unusual plant is also known as Tall Slipper Plant. It is categorized as a succulent and classified under the genus "Euphorbia" (Spurges). It is also recognized as Euphorbia bracteata. The country of origin is Mexico.
It is an evergreen and drought-resistant as well. In fact when my plant was still young, I kept it under the shade and drenched it regularly. It began to look sickly and limp. After taking the advice of the nursery guy, I put it under full sun, and it has since been nursed back to health. However, it has been raining quite a bit during the monsoon season in December, and my poor Pedilanthus is again feeling under the weather.

 

My plant is now about 3 feet tall, but if transplanted onto the ground, it can grow to a height of a basketball player! I'll keep it in its pot as I love how the colours of the plant and the pot blend so perfectly. The bracts start off as green but will slowly turn terracotta pink. A pair of bracts will cup a green flower which is definitely birdlike in form. The Chinese name for the flowers is Xiao Niao Hua which literally translated means Little Bird Flower. The flowers will turn yellow as they age and dry up. The fruit that results has the shape of a Chinese lantern.The ripe, dried-up fruit holds 3-4 seeds which can be used for propagation.
The plant is said to be poisonous, so just be careful when you handle it.

I Found My Bliss... in the Jardin des Plantes of Paris

I had meant to feature this garden which I visited in May last year, in the year 2010 itself, but there were so many other posts that got me sidetracked. This will be the first in a series of features on gardens and flowers in Italy, France and Spain. The Mediterranean Cruise which I embarked on was in spring, and although this season was the best season for this garden-crazy, camera-clicking garden-blogger to see the Mediterranean,  it was actually coincidental - the happiest of coincidences as it turned out to be.

We hadn't actually decided to go to Paris on this trip, but made a decision while on the cruise, to spend five days in Paris. We booked a room in a hotel in Austerlitz, not far from the heart of Paris and when we got there, what do you know, we discovered that just next to our hotel was the famed Jardin des Plantes of Paris.





I found out that the Jardin des Plantes is the second-largest park on the left bank of the River Seine. It was founded in 1626, and the grounds hold four museums - the galleries of palaeontology, evolution, entomology and mineralogy. Of course I had to see...not any of the above museums, but the horticultural displays of  decorative plants!!!


The Jardin des Plantes attract young and old. What are they looking at?








They are reading the information on the cards. 








Statue of Buffon, one of the people who played a role in the history of the Jardin. 

There are thousands of species of plants including roses, irises, alpine and tropical plants. I zeroed in on the Iris Garden first.  I had never seen such displays of beauty before.  'Iris' was my first love there in Paris. I was besotted by her. Every where I turned her radiant smile, her regal bearing, her grace, all filled me with a sense of bliss. Heaven, I was in heaven...and the care that surrounded me prior to seeing her twirling and curtsying in the breeze, dissipated as if by magic. It was magic...being there in the Iris Garden. I was to revisit Iris often that magical spring.












Turning my attention away for a moment, I saw a bevy of beauties beckoning me from the Rose Garden. Ooh la la...Mademoiselle Rose in all her splendour. So this is what La vie en Rose is all about.The rouge on her face was as captivating as the perfume on her dress. She was the girl next door, the dancer from Moulin Rouge, the chic Parisienne model, all rolled into one.( I am referring to the roses of course, not to Rosie over there looking so happy to be among the French beauties).







    












The belles of Jardin des Plantes in Paris will always have a place in my heart, and in my dreams.

The Princess and the Gipsy

For Today's Flowers I'm introducing two of the newest additions to my garden - the princess and the gipsy. Two contrasting profiles, each as beautiful as the other. If you were Prince Charming, which would you favour and bring to the ball? Which is your princess, which your gipsy?

I would love to hear the answer to my questions above. Let's indulge in some fairy tale fantasy on this first Sunday of 2011's posting of Today's Flowers.
Thank you to Luis and company for this meme. Do visit the other blogs by clicking on the Today's Flowers' meme icon at the bottom of this page.

Blooming Friday -Plans For The New Year

I have been thinking of what to plan for my garden in 2011. I am in a state of panic because I have no plans. I'll see what my cow Daisy has to say to advise me.

Daisy:   Moooore vegetables, Rosie. Grow  enough to give to your friends and neighbours.
Rosie:   I know, I know...I haven't been seriously planting vegetables lately. I have lots of packets of seeds,
            though. I'll take them all out of the bottom drawer where I keep them and put them in a basket so I
            can be reminded of them. Is that a good idea?
Daisy:   Noooooo, that is not enough. You have to have a schedule of what to plant, and when to prepare
            the next crop.You want to have a continuous supply of a variety of vegetables, don't you?
Rosie:   Well, okay.
Daisy:   Have moooore pots of herbs on this window sill...you only have one pot of spring onions, not
            enough!  Put a pot of basil, a pot of coriander, a pot of parsley....
Rosie:   Right, right, I get the idea.
      

                   

Rosie:  What do you think I should plan for my front garden? I've already begun to add more
           flowering plants. You've seen my gladioli patches?
Daisy:  In case you haven't noticed darling, I am an inanimate holder for your kitchen towels. We may be
           having this conversation in your head, but the fact remains that I cannot move. Never seen your
           garden! I can only see out of your kitchen window.
Rosie:  You have a point there, Daisy. I'll go talk to the green frog chime on the patio. Thanks.




Rosie:   Hey Katak, can I pick your brains for a minute? I'll let you get on with your lunch in a while.
Katak:  Hey man, yo, watsup?
Rosie:   What should I plan for my garden in 2011? I want more flowers for sure.
Katak:  You're doing alright over there near the wall. I can see the flower borders taking shape.Go for
             bold colours I say, especially where the sun shines strongest all day.
Rosie:   If you say so, okay. Thanks err...dude.

          

Looks like I've got two huge tasks ahead in 2011.
1) Produce a vegetable plot that produces substantial amounts of produce.
2) Create a colourful border of annuals and perennials that covers the whole length of the wall.


This is a work in progress, beginning with the semi-shaded part of the wall where hydrangeas can thrive.
I began with this theme of lilac-coloured flowers. Will get bolder as I connect this to the gladioli patches which are in full-sun. Wish me luck for the rest of the border!

I am not daunted, however. My West Wall is not anything like the Great Wall of China. Besides, when the whole project is completed, the taste of success would be sweet. After which there's the Southern District of the Land of the Slopes to conquer in 2012. Happy conquests to all my fellow garden warriors. May each victory be recorded in history - or in the scrolls... of your blog pages at least.