A Cheerful 2015 with Gerbera

Welcome 2015!

I’m hoping that everyone will have a cheerful new year…

so I’m sharing a variety of vibrant Gerbera flowers to brighten up the first day of the year.

This year is promising for my new garden residents – the beautiful Gerbera plants.

(My long time plant buddy/dealer Fronia delivered eleven of these beauties last December 1 and an additional seven last December 9, 2014 straight from a flower farm in Davao.)

Some curious people think the blooms are made of synthetic materials because the size of the flowers are 7.5 cm to 10 cm…

I really hope the blooms will be larger after they have adapted to their new environment.

Anyway, I’m glad that the stingless bees love the vibrant flowers…

These plants have no name-tags so I decided to name them with descriptive colors.

What I like about these plants are: [1] They bloom in a variety of colors – whites, creams, yellows, oranges, reds, pinks, purples, and bi-colors (except true blues and purples);

[2] They produce pretty large flowers;

[3] They are low maintenance plants;

[4] They grow well in a tropical garden (like mine);

[5] They look good in containers as well as in flower beds;

[6] They are nice cut flowers… florists say Gerbera ranks number 5 in the most popular cut flowers;

[7]  They are perennials… that is, they bloom many times in a year;

[8] They attract birds, bees AND friends (old and new)…

Thanks for Visiting

and

Have A Prosperous New Year

At Boging’s Garden

Meet Boging, a plant enthusiast/finder/dealer. I met her around 2005 when Tubod, LDN experienced a cacti craze; she gladly took off  several varieties of succulents from my garden. She’s been to remote private gardens or plant farms in the countryside. Hence, she’s aware of the latest plant craze in various regions for whenever there’s a town fiesta, Boging and her team would be there.

Here are some green residents in her garden:

3/4 orange, 1/4 yellow

February 13 – When my friend the “Plant Addict” (Dr. Opay-Villarmino) dropped by for a visit, she was so surprised to see the Daisy-like flower outside my fence. She noticed this:

Intriguing –  that’s her description as she attempted to explain how a Daisy-like flower-head came to have  three-quarters orange  and  one-quarter yellow petals.

Her reaction to this phenomenon amused me; it’s not novel to me as I’ve noticed this “playfulness of Nature” for the past decades… but I was glad that each time the “Plant Addict” turns up, she finds something interesting in my garden…

Dove-like elegeance

This Dendrobium crumenatum looks like a white dove perching on a branch. No wonder its known as the Pigeon Orchid, its silhouette really looks like a bird.

Here’s another angle of the Pigeon Orchid (Dendrobium crumenatum). This white flower with purple markings and a yellow tinted throat is fragrant too. However, its fragrance lasts only for 2 days!

I’m just grateful that this newly planted Dendrobium produces a single white flower. The abrupt drop of temperature and rain for the past days probably triggered it to bloom.

 

To sport with Amaryllis…

John Milton immortalized the name of this flower with his line “To sport with Amaryllis in the shade”.

And who wouldn’t admire the beauty of this large funnel-shaped flowers. The phenomenon is as exciting as fireworks when they start to bloom.

A bees’ eye-view of the center of the flower.

Plaid Cactus

When the word “plaid” is mentioned, oftentimes my brain projects the image of Scotland’s national costume.

So I googled this word and Merriam-Webster Dictionary came up with the following definition:

plaid -noun \ˈplad\ : a pattern of unevenly spaced repeated stripes crossing at right angles

I guess this definition fits on the description of Gymnocalycium mihanovichii, commonly known as the Plaid Cactus. The green-brown body of the plant has a pattern of banding and ridges. Moreover, this cactus produces pink flowers.

 

 

Phalaenopsis intermedia as medicine?

Before the Flanax Forte tablet came out of the market, the Phalaenopsis intermedia has been used by the traditional medicine-men here in Lanao del Norte as medicine for relapse and over fatigue.

For decades, these “medicine-men” would prepare the potion in this manner. Firstly, they would harvest the fresh flowers of the orchid in the late afternoon. Secondly, they would put 7 flowers in a glass filled with cold water. Thirdly, they would leave the uncovered glass of water/flowers overnight in an open area where dew could develop. Finally, in the morning before breakfast, they would administer the drink to the patient who is suffering from relapse or over fatigue.

I’ve tried this myself and it tasted like ordinary water; minutes after drinking the potion, I sweated a lot and felt relief and rejuvenated. Modern doctors may scoff at this practice but its traditional medicine.

Smells like chocolate

 

Watching the movie Kung-fu Panda 2 yesterday reminded me of my Oncidium Sharry Baby ‘Yellow-Panda’. Often referred to as Dancing Ladies, the flowers are garbed in red and white, (that is red with white lip and yellow tips.) Each blossoms doesn’t smell like a panda but emit a delicious sweet fragrance like chocolate.

Candy Stripes

This variety of Phalaenopsis Candy Stripes just bloomed this morning. Its two white petals and three pale yellow sepals have faint to deep purple stripes and dots.

I could say that one of the nicest upgrades in Phalaenopsis orchids is the introduction of hybrids such as  white, pink or golden flowers with stripes in pink, purple or brown covering the entire flower or just on the margins.

Rose Balsam

I think the Balsam (Impatiens balsamina Linn.) is a must-have plant in any garden.

This plant is locally known as Kamantigi or Kalamatigi. Its has pretty English common names though, such as Rose Balsam, Jewelweed and Touch-me-not. However, the name Balsam gives you an idea that this plant it is a medicinal as well as an ornamental.

The  Balsam flowers bloom in pink, white, red and lavender and variegated petals.

Though it is widely cultivated for ornamental purposes throughout the Philippines, I planted the Kamantigi for its medicinal purpose.

Whenever I have cuts or bruises, I would often get me some of the Kamantigi flowers, crush them and apply the extract directly on the affected parts of the body. Its anti-inflammatory properties alleviate any pain or swelling in my skin.

This plant is listed as one of the medicinal herbs in the Philippines. http://www.stuartxchange.org/Kamantigi.html