BENCH BESTIES

In Flagstaff Gardens in Melbourne.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

BROMELIAD

The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of around 3,170 species native mainly to the tropical Americas, with a few species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, Pitcairnia feliciana.

The family includes both epiphytes, such as Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides), and terrestrial species, such as the pineapple (Ananas comosus). Many bromeliads are able to store water in a structure formed by their tightly-overlapping leaf bases. However, the family is diverse enough to include the tank bromeliads, grey-leaved epiphyte Tillandsia species that gather water only from leaf structures called trichomes, and a large number of desert-dwelling succulents.

The largest bromeliad is Puya raimondii, which reaches 3–4 m tall in vegetative growth with a flower spike 9–10 m tall, and the smallest is Spanish moss. Only one bromeliad, the pineapple, is a commercially important food crop. Bromelain, a common ingredient in meat tenderiser, is extracted from pineapple stems. Many other bromeliads and their hybrids are popular ornamental plants, grown as both garden and houseplants.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

THE ALHAMBRA, SPAIN

The Alhambra (Arabic: الْحَمْرَاء‎‎  Al-Ḥamrā, lit. "The Red One"), the complete Arabic form of which was Qalat Al-Hamra, is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It was originally constructed as a small fortress in AD 889 on the remains of Roman fortifications and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Moorish emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current palace and walls.

It was converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada. After the conclusion of the Christian Reconquista in 1492, the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella (where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition) and the palaces were partially altered to Renaissance tastes. In 1526 Charles I & V commissioned a new Renaissance palace better befitting of the Holy Roman Emperor in the revolutionary Mannerist style influenced by Humanist philosophy in direct juxtaposition with the Nasrid Andalusian architecture, but which was ultimately never completed due to Morisco rebellions in Granada.

After being allowed to fall into disrepair for centuries, the buildings occupied by squatters, Alhambra was rediscovered following the defeat of Napoleon, who had conducted retaliatory destruction of the site, the re-discoverers were first British intellectuals and then other north European Romantic travellers. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant and well-known Islamic architecture, together with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden interventions. The Alhambra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the inspiration for many songs and stories.

Moorish poets described it as "a pearl set in emeralds," an allusion to the colour of its buildings and the woods around them. The palace complex was designed with the mountainous site in mind and many forms of technology were considered. The park (Alameda de la Alhambra), which is overgrown with wildflowers and grass in the spring, was planted by the Moors with roses, oranges, and myrtles; its most characteristic feature, however, is the dense wood of English elms brought by the Duke of Wellington in 1812. The park has a multitude of nightingales and is usually filled with the sound of running water from several fountains and cascades. These are supplied through a conduit 8 km long, which is connected with the Darro at the monastery of Jesus del Valle above Granada.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

XEROPHYTES IN GEELONG

Xerophyte |ˈzɪərə(ʊ)fʌɪt, ˈzɛrə(ʊ)fʌɪt| noun - Botany: Is a plant which needs very little water.
Etymology: Ancient Greek ξηρός (xeros, "dry") and φυτόν (phutón, “plant”).

Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, 75 kilometres south-west of the state capital, Melbourne. It is the second largest Victorian city, with an estimated urban population of 184,182 as at June 2014, having grown 1.4 percent since June 2013.

The Geelong Botanic Gardens were established in 1851 - over a century and a half ago land was put aside for what is now Eastern Park and the Geelong Botanic Gardens. What is now referred to as the Geelong Botanic Gardens is the detailed landscape and plant collection.

The surrounding Eastern Park is an arboretum, or tree collection. Both landscapes have different water requirements due to their plant collections. The Botanic Gardens conserves plants from around the world which often have higher water requirements. Plants grown in the newer 21st Century Garden and the Eastern Park Arboretum have lower water requirements similar to indigenous plants adapted to local dry climate conditions. Thus this collection is rich in xerophytes, which belong in the typical xeriscape of most of Australia, which is in fact the driest continent on earth.

xeriscape |ˈzɪərɪskeɪp, ˈzɛrɪskeɪp| chiefly US noun:

A garden or landscape created in a style that requires little or no irrigation or other maintenance, used in arid regions.

Etymology: Ancient Greek ξηρός (xeros, "dry") and Middle Dutch lantscap, from land ‘land’ + scap (equivalent of -ship).

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,

and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

TROPICAL

Lush greenery in Singapore, dominated by the "bird's-nest fern". Bird's-nest fern is a common name applied to several related species of epiphytic ferns in the genus Asplenium. They grow in a tight, nest-like clump with a lingulate leaf rosette and are usually epiphytic, growing in trees. Bird's-nest Fern may also be seen growing on rocks and they will grow in the ground, too. This is Asplenium nidus, native to tropical southeastern Asia, eastern Australia, Hawaii, Polynesia, Christmas Island, India, and eastern Africa.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

RED TORCH CACTUS

Trichocereus (Helianthocereus) grandiflorus, the Red Torch Cactus, native to Argentina, forms clusters of stems to 40 cm in height with beautiful clear red flowers to 10 cm diameter. Over the years, many hybrids of been developed in cultivation, resulting in flowers of nearly all the colours of the rainbow. Colours now includes yellow, gold, white, pink, light pink with rose midstripes, orange, red, and purples. Some flowers are actually bi-coloured. In a some cases, flower size has increased to 20 cm in diameter, rivalling some of the Epiphyllum or "Orchid Cacti".  Very few cacti can surpass the flowers of the T. grandiflorus hybrids for sheer flower power!

Through hybridisation, the actual appearance of the plant as changed as well. The stems of the type species are somewhat slender, and sometimes become a bit prostrate. Many newer hybrids have thick, cylindrical bodies to 30 cm in diameter, with offsets forming specimens that span over a metre in diameter. This can be quite an awesome sight, with large, brilliant flowers open on each stem!. Porous cactus soil with adequate drainage should be used. Bright light is needed. Water thoroughly when soil is dry to the touch. Protect from frost.

This specimen is growing in the System Garden of the University of Melbourne and is a naturally occurring non-hybridised species, which nevertheless is very beautiful.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CACTUS SKY

Cereus is a genus of cacti (family Cactaceae) including around 33 species of large columnar cacti from South America. The name is derived from Greek (κηρός) and Latin words meaning "wax" or "torch". The genus Cereus was one of the first cactus genera to be described; the circumscription varies depending on the authority. The term "cereus" is also sometimes used for a ceroid cactus, any cactus with a very elongated body, including columnar growth cacti and epiphytic cacti.

The specimen shown here is growing happily in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens and is the species C. uruguayanus.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the  Friday Greens meme.

TREE FERNS

Dicksonia antarctica (soft tree fern, man fern) is a species of evergreen tree fern native to eastern Australia, ranging from south-east Queensland, coastal New South Wales and Victoria to Tasmania. These ferns can grow to 15 m in height, but more typically grow to about 4.5–5 m, and consist of an erect rhizome forming a trunk. They are very hairy at the base of the stipe (trunk). The large, dark green, roughly-textured fronds spread in a canopy of 2–6 m in diameter. The shapes of the stems vary as some grow curved and there are multi-headed ones.

The fronds are borne in flushes, with fertile and sterile fronds often in alternating layers. The "trunk" of this fern is merely the decaying remains of earlier growth of the plant and forms a medium through which the roots grow. The trunk is usually solitary, without runners, but may produce offsets. They can be cut down and, if they are kept moist, the top portions can be replanted and will form new roots. The stump, however, will not regenerate since it is dead organic matter. In nature, the fibrous trunks are hosts for a range of epiphytic plants including other ferns and mosses. The fern grows at 3.5 to 5 cm per year and produces spores at the age of about 20 years.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

SYDNEY CHINESE GARDEN

The Chinese Garden in Darling Harbour, Sydney, has undergone some changes with the help of Pixelmator (a Photoshop alternative program).

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footstep Digital Art Meme.

TREE FERNS

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

SHADY SPOT

A beautiful path in the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens. The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne are internationally renowned botanical gardens located near the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on the south bank of the Yarra River.

The tree in the foreground is the "Puriri" tree from New Zealand (Vitex lucens in the Lamiaceae family).

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme.

KANGAROO PAWS

Anigozanthos is a small genus of Australian plants in the Bloodwort family Haemodoraceae. The 11 species and several subspecies are commonly known as kangaroo paw and catspaw depending on the shape of their flowers. A further species, previously identified as Anigozanthos fuliginosus and commonly known as the black kangaroo paw, has been transferred to its own monotypic genus and is now known as Macropidia fuliginosa.

The genus was first named by Jacques Labillardière in his work, Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse, issued in 1800. The French botanist collected and described the type species, Anigozanthus rufus, during the d'Entrecasteaux expedition's visit to Southwest Australia in 1792. In recent years a number of numerous hybrids and cultivars have been developed. Kangaroo paws are much in demand as house plants and as cut flowers.

These perennials are endemic to dry sandy, siliceous areas of southwest Australia, but they occur as well in a variety of other environments and soil types. They are grown commercially in Australia, the United States, Japan and Israel. The plant grows from short, underground, horizontal rhizomes. The length and the character of these may vary between the species: some are fleshy, others are fragile. The sap in the root system allows the plants to survive extreme dry spells. In summer, a number of species die back to the rhizome, growing back in autumn.

The tuberous flower buds are covered with coloured hairs, giving them a velvety aspect. These long furry hairs also determine the colour of the flower, which may range from almost black to yellow, orange and red. Some species are even dichromatic (as Anigozanthos manglesii). The tubular form of the flower bud resembles a kangaroo paw, hence its name. The flower tip spreads fanlike into six petals. Full-grown plants can have up to ten flowers at the end of each stalk.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

GARDEN REFLECTIONS

In the System Garden of the University of Melbourne, the Botany Department buildings fittingly reflect the gardenscape outside...

This post is part of the Geometric Friday meme,
and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

GARDEN ITERATIONS

The first shot is a straight out of the camera image taken in the School of Botany's System Garden of the University of Melbourne. I then Photoshopped the image, taking it through several passes via a sepia filter so that the colour was almost completely neutralised. This is image 2.

I then used the saturation and colour balance commands to try to regain some of the colour, emphasising the orange and green. These are the third and fourth images, which have also been enhanced with some of the filters in the Photoshop art filter gallery. The last image shows the effect of more fine tuning of colour and an oil painting filter.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Inspiring Photography meme.

GRANDE AMORE ROSE

Rosa 'Grande Amore' is a standout among red hybrid tea roses, acclaimed for its depth of colour and exceptional disease resistance. It produces continuous flushes of dark red, pointed buds, which open into high-centred blooms of shiny, intense red, set against dark green, slightly glossy foliage. Resistance to blackspot and powdery mildew is outstanding. Awarded 5 International medals, including Golden Rose at the Hague Lyon, Rose Hills International and the ADR award. Winner of the International Gold Certificate in the Portland International Rose Garden in 2012. Flower Size: 10 cm. Fragrance: Moderate. Hybridiser: Kordes, 2004.

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,

and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.