Iris Flower

I had my first Iris flower bloom today. They are such a beautiful flower.

Clover and Nasturtium

Clover and Nasturtium growing wild in the back of my house. I should call my sight "My Jungle Garden."

Orchid Flower

This Orchid has been sitting in the corner just getting prettier and prettier. 

Jewels Of Opar

These Jewels of Opar flowers grow wild. In this region many folks see them as a weed, but I think they are cute. I generally do not pull them, because they provide cover for the top soil.

 

Costus Flower

I got a Costus flower cutting from a farmer's market months ago and planted it. I was not sure it would grow, because most flower cuttings do not produce roots, but remarkably this cutting did.

Costus originated in South American. There are many verities with interesting names, such as Spiral Ginger, Torch Ginger, Crepe Ginger. They are not actual ginger, but some verities are used in the production of steroids, snake bite remedies for animals and many other medications. The flowers are crisp and have a ginger flavor, slightly bitter with an aroma of citrus.

 

Plumeria (Flowers)

Plumeria are beautiful flowers and a nice decorative touch to any home.

 

Bougainvillea

These are Bougainvillea cuttings taken last year on 11 April. At one point the leaves dried up and fell off. I was not sure they survived, but pleased to find they all made it and some are actually blossoming.

 

Nasturtium Flower

Nasturtium flowers are in bloom. They are pretty, look good in salads and taste great. 

 

Canna Lily

 

Canna are easy to grow and they grow quickly. They take up a lot of space, so once they start to flower, I remove the flowers and put them in the house for decoration. Then I cut the entire stock to allow new plants to grow.

Celosia Flower

During a drive I noticed some Celosia flowers growing wild, so I stopped and picked one of the dried flowers to collect the seeds.

A lone Celosia plant is not that impressive, but when in groups and in full bloom, they are quite beautiful. 

There are many verities of Celosia in various colors. 

These are the seeds I collected from just one flower. They look like basil seeds, but smaller. I will plant them in the back of my house to add some color.

Hibiscus

 

My Hibiscus was full of flowers today.

Rain Lily (Zephyranthes Lily)

Rain Lilies grow wild around my area. There are a verity of colors, but generally I find white, yellow and pink. I'm propagating these in containers at the moment and going to plant them around my garden. They require little to no care and when grouped together are quite pretty. 

White Rain Lily

Yellow Rain Lily

Rain Lilies can be propagated by planting the bulb or seed. The bulb generates new bulbs quickly to create new plants. Each flower also produces tons of seeds. The flower will create three seed pods and each pod contains 15-20 seeds. 

The group of thin blades are Rain Lilies planted from seed. There is something else sprouting, but not sure what they are. They do not look like weeds, so will let them grow and if they are something I want, I will transplanted them. 

I planted bulbs in these containers last summer. They are growing well and already producing white Rain Lily flowers.

Japanese Sweet Potato Flowers

 

My Japanese Sweet Potato plants are flowering and they are so pretty.

Hibiscus Plants

Now that I moved my Hibiscus plants to a sunny location they are blooming daily.

Flowers

Okinawa is a sub-tropical region with thousands of flower varieties growing everywhere. Recently I was able to acquire the seeds of just a few; such as, Lobster Claw, Duranta and Peacock Flower.

The Peacock Flower (Caesalpinia Pulcherrima) is a small tree or shrub with a beautiful flower that resembles a Peacock. It is native to the subtropics and tropics of the Americas and part of the Pea family. It requires full sun and pores or sandy soil. The leaves and seed pods resemble that of many shrubbery in the tropics, so difficult to identify when not in full bloom.

Peacock Flower Seed Pod

There is a wide range of Lobster Claw Flowers (Heliconia Latispatha). The seeds I planted are like the yellow variety seen at the top right. Lobster Claw flowers are from the warmer regions of Mexico and South America. The leaves resemble a banana leaf and can grow 4 meters tall.

Lobster Claw Flower seeds

Duranta Erecta is an evergreen scrub with blue or purple flowers. Some verities have gold leaves and the ornamental berries that appear in the fall are a plus in any garden.

Duranta Seeds

(10/11) Lemon Tree 

Santan Flower (Jungle Geranium)

As I mentioned in a previous post, Jungle Geranium produce a berry like seed occasionally. I've been checking this plant for months and finally found one. I planted it and hopefully produce a new plant. Of course, you can also propagate these plants by taking cuttings. 

Aloe

This Aloe flower is starting to bloom, but quite surprised to see how tall the stem is.

Dragon Fruit

(08/21) The last Dragon Fruit flower did not make it, but hoping for better luck with this one.

08/22 (2pm)

08/22 (5pm) The flower will generally bloom within 8 hours from the time the white pedals can be seen through the pod.

08/22 (8pm)

08/22 (9pm) I prefer the flower drop like this. The pollen is large and will fall on the Stigma naturally. But, I did help it out using a tooth brush.

08/22 (9pm) Dragon Fruit flowers bloom at night and smell like honeysuckle. 

(08/23) The next day the pedals start to dry up and the wonderful honeysuckle aroma is gone. The base of the flower connecting to the branch will develop into a fruit if successfully pollinated. The fruit will be ready to harvest in about 35 days from the day it is pollinated.

(08/23) As I was checking the flower, I noticed more flower buds. I found a few, but will track this one since they are all about the same size. They grow quickly.

(08/24)

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(08/25)

(08/26)