IXORA - 'PRINCE OF ORANGE'

Ixora is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. It consists of tropical evergreen trees and shrubs and holds around 500 species. Though native to the tropical and subtropical areas throughout the world, its centre of diversity is in Tropical Asia. Ixora also grows commonly in subtropical climates in the United States, such as Florida. It is commonly known as West Indian Jasmine. Other common names include: rangan, kheme, ponna, chann tanea, techi, pan, santan, jarum-jarum, Jungle flame, Jungle geranium, and many more.

The plants possess leathery leaves, ranging from 3 to 6 inches in length, and produce large clusters of tiny flowers in the summer. Members of Ixora prefer acidic soil, and are suitable choices for bonsai. It is also a popular choice for hedges in parts of South East Asia, like in Thailand. In tropical climates they flower year round.

The variety illustrated here is Ixora chinensis 'Prince of Orange'. It is an evergreen shrub with erect, densely packed branches and long pointed, yellow to green foliage and rounded heads of tubular, opening to star shaped, bright orange to scarlet flowers from spring to autumn. This is a beautiful plant, showy and elegant all in one. It is frost tender and likes humidity so can do well in a glasshouse. It should be grown in well-drained but moist, humus-rich soils with plenty of mulch. Scale insects can be a problem, but respond to treatment. Remove dead flowerheads, water well in hot conditions. The roots are used in Asian medicine to relieve some stomach problems.


This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

"M" IS FOR A MUSICAL MAGPIE

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” - Confucius

Here is a magpie. The Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen) is a medium-sized black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. A member of the Cracticidae, it is closely related to the butcherbirds.  Described as one of Australia's most accomplished songbirds, the Australian Magpie has an array of complex vocalisations.

I was listening to the radio today and they invited listeners to remember the first piece that “hooked” them on classics. Ever since I remember, music was part of our household. Whether the radio, stereo, TV or people actually singing live, music there was. When we moved to Australia, I remember having to live in a country town for a little while. This was quite a big change for us, because we had lived in big cities up until then.

One day, the school organised an outing to the Town Hall, where a full symphony orchestra in one of its country tours was giving a concert. They played several pieces, but the very first one was the one that impressed my young mind the most. It was Rossini at his most exuberant, an overture full of drama and a wonderful showcase of the orchestra’s colours. The piece was the overture to his opera “La Gazza Ladra” (The Thieving Magpie). This is an opera of servant girl accused of stealing her mistress’s jewels, whereas in fact a magpie has purloined them. Just as the poor girl is going to hang for her crime, the real “thief” is discovered and all ends well.

The orchestra begins with a drum roll and a march, which is quickly followed by a glorious Rossini melody that is so juicy and rich, that it is as if you are biting into a ripe plum. There are beautiful solos for woodwinds, Rossini crescendos, excitement and drama. What a marvellous introduction to the classics for an impressionable 10-year-old!

Here is the New Philharmonia Orchestra, with Rossini’s “Thieving Magpie” overture:

This post is part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Wild Bird Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

HIBISCUS

Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are often noted for their showy flowers and are commonly known simply as hibiscus, or less widely known as rose mallow. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as woody shrubs and small trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ἱβίσκος (hibískos), which was the name Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. 40–90) gave to Althaea officinalis.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis shown here, was probably native to Southern China and south-east Asia, then spread to the Pacific Islands long before Europeans reached that part of the world. Today it is very popular as an ornamental plant in most warm countries, and the original red flowered plant has undergone tremendous development. Hundreds of cultivars are now available, with double and semi-double flowers in all colours except true blues and purples.

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.

PIGEONS

This post is part of the Blue Monday meme.

VICTORIAN FAÇADE

Florid architectural details on a Victorian terrace house façade in Fitzroy, Melbourne.

This post is part of the Weekend in Black and White meme.

MORELL BRIDGE, EVENING

Morell Bridge, also known as the Anderson St bridge, near the starting point of The Tan running track. Completed in 1899 by John Monash and J. T. N. Anderson, it is notable for being the first bridge in Victoria to be built using reinforced concrete. It features decorations on the three arch spans, including large dragon motifs and ornamental Victorian lights. The gutters on the bridge are cobbled bluestone, with a single lane bitumen strip running down the middle.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Sunday Bridges meme.

SUNRISE

"What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?" - E. M. Forster

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

QUEEN ELIZABETH ROSE

The Queen Elizabeth rose is a beautiful grandiflora rose. It was hybridised by Dr. Walter E. Lammerts and its year of introduction was 1954. This rose has achieved much recognition with the Portland gold medal in 1954, AARS award in 1955, NRS PIT in 1955, ARS gold medal in 1957 and Golden Rose of The Hague in 1968. It has maintained its place in the top 10 roses for the last 40 years and is one of the favourite roses among rose breeders across the world. Its parentage is the Floradora and Charlotte Armstrong. Charlotte Armstrong is a dark pink color tea rose whereas Floradora is an orange blend floribunda rose.

The Queen Elizabeth rose is a great pink coloured Grandiflora that appears singly on the stem. The bloom of the flower is large size with 26 to 40 petals. They form high centre and elegant cup-shaped blooms. To add to the beauty of this flower the blooms range from single petals to fully double petals. Average diameter of the bloom is 10 cm and bears a moderate fragrance. The blooms of the rose are profuse and repetitive throughout the season which is from mid-Spring to mid-Autumn. Normally a bush can attain the height of 2 metres and a width of about 1 metre. The bud formation is normally pointed. The rose has an upright and bushy growth. Foliage is dark green, glossy and leathery to touch.

The rose requires a little pruning to train it to grow out. Removal of dead canes is the only regular pruning required. Other pruning need to be done is once in several years so that the plant starts off with new canes. There are a large number of blooms on new canes. This pruning could be done in the winter. The plant is susceptible to diseases and not very resistant to blackspots and mildews. But with proper cultivation techniques and little care this drawback can be avoided. The rose requires partial sun to full sun for its growth. The soil should be loamy and moist. The rose is hardy for USDA zones 6b to 10a.

The Queen Elizabeth is a charming beauty is an exhibition rose that looks excellent in any flower arrangement like bouquet or table centrepieces. The medium pink coloured heavy blooms blend easily with any surrounding plants and flowers enhancing the beauty of the garden.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

"L" IS FOR LABYRINTH

In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (Greek λαβύρινθος labyrinthos, literally the building complex at Knossos "the house of the labrys" [double axe]) was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, a mythical creature that was half man and half bull and was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. Daedalus had so cunningly made the Labyrinth that he could barely escape it after he built it. Theseus was aided by Ariadne, who provided him with a skein of thread, literally the "clew", or "clue", so he could find his way out again.

In colloquial English, labyrinth is generally synonymous with maze, but many contemporary scholars observe a distinction between the two: maze refers to a complex branching (multicursal) puzzle with choices of path and direction; while a single-path (unicursal) labyrinth has only a single, non-branching path, which leads to the centre. A labyrinth in this sense has an unambiguous route to the centre and back and is not designed to be difficult to navigate.

In Christian symbology the labyrinth stands for our journey through life and that walking it can take us on a journey to the centre of our own beings. It is also widely known that in the Middle Ages walking this sacred path of the labyrinth was seen as a pilgrimage and, indeed, prayer labyrinths were called "Chemin de Jerusalem" (Roads of Jerusalem).

This labyrinth here, is in the garden of the Catholic Church of St John in the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg.

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

RED HOT POKER

Kniphofia, also called tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily, knofflers or poker plant, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Xanthorrhoeaceae, subfamily Asphodeloideae, that includes 70 or more species native to Africa. Herbaceous species and hybrids have narrow, grass-like leaves 10–100 cm long, while perennial species have broader, strap-shaped foliage up to 1.5 m long.

All plants produce spikes of upright, brightly coloured flowers well above the foliage, in shades of red, orange and yellow, often bicoloured. The flowers produce copious nectar while blooming and are attractive to bees. In the New World they may attract sap-suckers such as hummingbirds and New World orioles.The Kniphofia genus is named after Johann Hieronymus Kniphof, an 18th-century German physician and botanist.

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.