Strange Discoveries

My fake plant died because I did not pretend to water them -- Mitch Hedberg

Some gardeners like to have a fake flower or two in their garden. I was walking pass a house last week and saw a strange flower (not the pic below!) growing out from a cute little bush. At a split of a second, my friend and I concluded that it was a fake flower. We continue our walk and didn't think much about it. 

Actually many gardeners like to decorate their plants with plastic flowers. One of my neighbours hung up bright flower pots at their porch and those pots do get some attention. Some of my visitors do ask if they are real. What do you think of this kind of idea?

The pic below is my Sandpaper Vine (Petrea volubilis) -- not fake at all, haha... Its brilliant blooms also get lots of attention :-) The true flowers in dark purple that include one petal (of five) with white splotch of certain calyces falls quickly leaving the light purple five-petalled calyx to grace the garden for a longer period of time. 

The plant that has gotten the most attention from me last week was my new fern, an Adiantum sp. The new fronds that rolled out looked just like new fronds of my other ferns. So graceful and pretty...

And I discovered that the young leaves have toothed margins. Ferns are wonderful plants. They are easy to grow and very pretty. I love them all. Read my article on ferns, click here.

I have strange Kalanchoes and notorious ones. These plantlets of a Kalanchoe sp. are weeds now. I pull them out once I see them. 

Unlike Kalanchoe orgyalis and Kalanchoe tomentosa (background), they are really adorable and very likeable. They have outstanding shape, color and texture. 

Here is a snapshot of one part of my garden... I took the picture on a very sunny day. My orange hibiscus and Chinese Hat Plant looked too glaring...

My most awesome find of this week is my dwarf Azalea. The little shrub was so floriferous!

So is my florist Gloxinia... Yippie!!

I woke early one morning and saw my Hibiscus acetosella 'Panama Red' blossoming. This is the first time I was able to snap the flower fully opened. When the sun is up, even in the morning, the petals will be half closed.

My orange Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is ever-blooming. Sometimes they are bigger, and sometimes smaller. 

Here is a pic of my hibiscus, Chinese Hatplant, Bougainvillea and Sandpaper Vine blooms... still very outstanding although the flowers are smaller for Chinese Hatplant, Bougainvillea and Sandpaper Vine :-)

Have another great weekend!