An Algarve Garden

Nice LoL.

 

Here it is, the beautiful Habelmoschus manihot in one of my "special" pictures and exactly the same flower this time in a better picture.
I must say that in real is much better.

(flicr.com)

 

Good morning, mira. Yes, the Flickr picture is far clearer. :rolleyes:

I have been reading up on it and it seems it has been re-classified from a Hibiscus to a Malva. It appears it is mainly cultivated for culinary reasons and here is a good article on it ...

http://www.hibiscus.org/species/amanihot.php

I wouldn't mind some seeds should you get them.

 

I will certainly bear you in mind if i will get some spare seeds, although being that they flower only for one day I will need quite a lot of them to build up a consecutive flower display !
Plus if I have to make coffee from the seeds....

 

Second picture is great Mira looks like Abelmoschus esculentus (okra)a cousin of Hibiscus and hollyhocks it is the mallow family known as a mucilaginous mallow which as LoL points out used to be in the genus of Hibiscus,used in soups and stews, it's a tropical perrenial but usually grown as an annual in colder climes.

 

Although sunny, we are still having very gusty weather, but when I went out to have a look around, I was delighted to see the first Freesias opening in the rockery ...



It's always the yellow ones to open first, but I prefer the rusty/orangy ones ...



And the BoPs continue to come and go ...



I had put the Solanum rantonnetii up for pip the other day, but I'll add it here as it's giving a little bit of colour for this time of year ...

 

Lovely, Sis. The yellow freesias have the nicest smell though, just like the yellow azaleas, can be quite heady at times.

I love that red abutilon that you put up a whole month ago and I just noticed that I didn't make a comment on What a lovely colour too.

 

Well impressed LOL.

I lost my standard BOP so all I've got left is my strelitzia reginae var juncea.

Serves me right for trying to overwinter it outdoors with a fleece over it

 

Very nice indeed LoL

 

Lol the blue Solanum looks good and talking of blue, have you ever seen or tried Durantia it's a shrub that would do well in your climate, I know you haven't got the room :D perhaps your GC has one, it is a stunning blue. Here they need overwintering inside but the Algarve would be ideal.

 

Thank you Sis and shiney.

Agaveman, apparently my BoP is a miniature but I did not know that when I purchased it several years ago.

One day, pip ........

Strongy, I have never heard of this Durantia but googled it and had to laugh at what came up top of the list ... may have to investigate this ...

http://www.gardenerscorner.org/subject053668.htm

Strongy, our garden centres are very limited still. However, my GC friend is coming for the weekend so I'll pick his brains on it and I can hear him now ... "well, doll, when you find out what it is, tell me about it!" :D

 

Lol, this is the Durantia I was thinking of, I took this at the Botanical Gardens in Washington as I had never seen one before and it was quite striking. It does look similar to Ceanothus and Solanum in colour. There is a variegated one now offered as a patio/container plant but would not be hardy here.

 

Ooh, strongy, yes, that's very much a S Rantonnetii colour for sure ... it's got that irridescent, glowing, pinky/purple colour that can only be seen in true sunlight.

Variegated would be lovely actually ... if I could find it, where would I put it ????? no, no, me ... don't even think about it.

My C vimilas (think I've left out a letter or two) is about to bloom and I want to strive for mine to look like walnut's (which is up on my screen saver whirly-go-round ... as is your wonderful cat on the fishtank).

My Meluleuca is huge now and must be 4-5 years old .. why is it not flowering?

 

The C. Viminalis, your lucky to have it flower so early, mine has a few leaf shoots opening, also early, but no sign of buds as the other eight Callistemon have. In the sub tropics it flowers on and off all year.
My Melaleuca had two flowers last year but as it put on four feet of growth I cut it back so I don't know if it will flower or not this year.
I might be wrong but I thought Walnut's was C.Rigidus/Linearis the normal red one.
I hope to have more flower on the salmon/orange one this year.