A Late Blooming Beauty

As green foliage softens to allow hues of gold and russet to appear, nature gifts us with one final shout of colour. During Autumn, Tibouchina trees burst into bloom with rich purple flowers gracing every landscape. These fabulous plants, Tibouchina lepidota,  grow to become an evergreen shrub or a small tree of 5 metres or 15 feet in height. Their vibrant displays of purple blooms are surrounded by small green velvety leaves, each with a pale reverse. The trees require a slightly acidic soil in a sunny open space, thus making them ideal as a street or specimen tree.

Tibouchinas originated in the rain forests of Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. They have a strong association with Brazil, as people used masses of the purple blooms to decorate their churches during the Easter season. Tibouchinas are known popularly as the Glory Bush, and they thrive because no pest or disease ever troubles them. It is only in Hawaii they are considered to be noxious weeds, probably because of their potential to become an invasive species. We are thankful however that their abundant, late blooming beauty has saved them for so many to enjoy.

Advertisements

Read Full Post »

Echoes of Autumn

an early morning chill
sunrise later – day’s end sooner
the turning of the leaves –
like a gentle mist
autumn slowly tiptoes in

Read Full Post »

Tiger Lily, 3 of 3

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand, and what dread feet?

What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread  grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water’d heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

William Blake, Songs of Experience

Read Full Post »

Easter Lily, 2 of 3

The beautiful white Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum) is a true lily that grows from a bulb to produce large trumpet shaped, outward facing flowers. These long flowers appear in a range of colours to include: white, yellow, orange, pink, red and purple, and occasionally they decorate themselves with  spots and brush strokes. Many other plants have ‘lily’ in their common names, but are not related to true lilies. Though most species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, they have also made their way into the southern hemisphere sub-tropics where they thrive in abundance.

Lilies are exquisite as a cut flower—are long-lasting, look elegant in a vase, and their perfume is divine. The Lilium longiflorum is known as the Easter lily, as in the Christian tradition it has become the chosen symbol of Christ’s resurrection. Jesus himself, referenced this flower saying, “Consider the lilies and how they grow: they toil not, they spin not: yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these.” (Luke  12:27) Whether on not Easter is part of your tradition, I  send my Best Wishes to you and yours, for a Peaceful and Happy Easter, filled with blessings.

Read Full Post »