On My Walk This Morning 3m

 

"White Peace Lilies."  They do very well in the shade.

Bed of "White Peace Lilies" in deep shade beneath large shade trees on North side.

Now the "Crepe Myrtle Trees" are coming into bloom.  They come in many colors.

These are my favorite color, raspberry.

"Raspberry Crepe Myrtle Tree."  Once established, they are very hardy and

drought resistant, but they must be well watered the first year.

"Yellow Dazzler Hibiscus"

This Hibiscus plant has been blooming nicely for years, but this year they trimmed

it very badly and it now has this strange form.

There are at least six of these gorgeous "Blue Jacaranda" trees in Cypress Bend,

the community to the east of us where I go walking.  They grow quite tall

and you have to look up to see them.  I think many people walking this path never

notice them.  But they are covered in beautiful big clusters of blue flowers.

Close-up of clusters of "Blue Jacaranda" flowers.

The zoom lens on the camera is sometimes invaluable.

I walked a slightly different path today and got close to a side of this building

which I had never noticed before.  Two yards had lots of flowers, and the two owners

happened to be outside chatting, so I talked with them.  This is a single "Desert Rose,"

but it has both the pink flowers and the deep red flowers.  I have never seen that before.

On one of their trees they had this lovely cluster of "Jennifer"

Phalaenopsis orchids.

There was also this deeper colored "Oscar Wilde" Orchid.

Normal "Crepe Myrtle Trees" have cone-shaped clusters of small flowerlets, like

the "Raspberry Crepe Myrtle" above.  But horticulturalists have also developed the

"Queen Crepe Myrtle" which has stalks of large flowers which completely cover the top

of the tree.  They make beautiful specimens this time of the year.  This is one of about

twenty "Queen Crepe Myrtles" on the West side of my walk.

This is another of the "Queen Crepe Myrtles," but I am shooting the photo

not with the sun at my back, but into the sun, and so I get this wonderful effect

of sun-lighted flowers.

Here is a closer view of the stalks of "Queen Crepe Myrtle" flowers

covering a tree.  They do not grow very high, so you can see and enjoy

them easily.

Another "Queen Crepe Myrtle" in the parking lot.  They are striking.

Very close-up of a cluster of "Queen Crepe Myrtle" flowers.

And if the blue and purple are not colorful enough for you, the flaming

red-orange "Royal Poinciana Trees" are now in blossom all along my path.

A red-orange "Royal Poinciana" beside our Community Center, where I play cards

once a week.

I have been waiting for this tree to reach full bloom, and it has this morning.

It is a "Sweet Viburnum" and is covered with clusters of little white flowers

that have a lovely, sweet aroma.

Clusters of flowers on the "Sweet Viburnum Tree."

This is related to the "Snowball Bush," which you may know from up North.

The "Red Wax Begonias" are doing better this year and lasting longer than ever.

This is a very nice bed along my path.

"Red Wax Begonias."

Wow!  It was a very colorful morning walk and exciting this morning.

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