Monday, April 1, 2019

Worth waiting for!

I moved up here to live here just over 15 years ago,  One of the first things I started to do was plant a garden. I wanted lots of greenery around my house.  Some of the first things I planted were strelitzia - commonly called Bird of Paradise.  The first one I planted was the orange flowered one - strelitzia reginae - but the plant I put in did not do so well so I got another couple of plants and put them in a different part of the garden  I also bought the blue flowered one - strelitzia nicolai. This is a very tall plant and it has done well but I seldom get to enjoy the flowers because some of the honey-eating birds such as the Blue-faced Honeyeaters - love it and tear the flowers apart. It must have lots of nectar! All the strelitzia reginae have kept growing but never a sign of a flower. I admit I am not a great gardener - once a plant is growing I just leave it alone! As I drove down my driveway the other day I noticed a splash of orange. After nearly 15 years there was a flower. I took photos that first day but thought it was not as good as I expected. A couple of days later it had opened up further .  Definitely worth waiting for!!

For more pics from around our world go to Our World Tuesday.

13 comments:

  1. Worth waiting for, for sure! Its beautiful and exotic looking (kind of like your flying birds actually)... Paradise!

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  2. Lovely. Wish I could have exotic looking flowers like that in my garden.

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  3. Such lovely looking flowers. Super colours too. By the way - April Fool.

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  4. They are the most exotic of flowers. Lucky you being able to grow them. Hope you don't have to wait another 15 years for the next flower.

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  5. Hello, it is a lovely flower. I have seen them growing in more tropical areas. I wish I could grow them in my yard, it is too cold here. Lovely images. Happy Monday, enjoy your day! Wishing you a great new week ahead!

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  6. Glad your labor was rewarded with this beautiful flower. I have this in my garden on a pot and thankfully it has flowered last year.

    Worth a Thousand Words

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  7. I love bird of paradise - that 2nd shot is amazing.

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  8. I have one in my yard. It bloomed heavily for a while. Now, one blossom now & then. The guy in the nursery told me to thin it out. ME? HOW?

    Beautiful images. I would love to see the one with BLUE...never knew about them 'til now.

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  9. such a beautiful flower...
    have a great day

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  10. A lovely capture - so pleased your efforts were wonderfully rewarded!

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  11. It was a long wait, but it is a beauty.

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