Bird of Paradise

Bird of Paradise
Strelitzia reginae
(stre-LITZ-ee-uh) (ree-JIN-ay-ee)

I found this “bird’ blooming out on the streets of Avalon, California in November. It forms kind of a nice shrub and the foliage always looks good to me too. We have one in the glasshouse at work and after about three years it decided to bloom with a couple of weak flowers although I was grateful to have them. I never considered seeing this plant growing as a street planting but it seemed to like the conditions.

This picture was shot using the Nikon D70s and Sigma 24mm/1.8 lens.

Flowers from Today - Magic Bells Kalanchoe

Magic Bells Kalanchoe
Kalanchoe 'Magic Bells'
(kal-un-KOH-ee)
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Still working on the flower pictures I took in Hawaii here are a couple more. The Magic Bells Kalanchoe has been featured on his site before on Sunday, April 26, 2009, for Today’s Flowers ironically. It was a lot more fun trying to get the image when the Kalanchoe was growing outside in a rather large colony. The little bit of red on the buds really looks nice in a natural setting as opposed to the greenhouse where it was spotted before.

Bird of Paradise
Strelitzia reginae
(stre-LITZ-ee-uh) (ree-JIN-ay-ee)
Synonym: Crane Flower
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This second flower is known by almost everyone. It appeared a little different to me with the way he two blue petals were extended. I am not sure if that is the way all BoP are or it was a little different. It is always exciting for me to see this flower and this one was beautiful with the morning sunshine on it. I am not sure what it is about he Hawaiian sun but it’s light seems to make everything look a little more flattering and easier to take a picture of.

Orchid
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This final photo is of one of the more unusual Orchids we saw in our trip to the Islands. It was probably the most green colored one I have ever seen. Last week was the first Sunday I had missed posting to this meme in a long time. I truly missed everyone’s flowers but was a little incapacitated. I am continuing to make progress towards full health with a new regime of medications and a good set of doctors who seem genuinely concerned with getting me back to normal. Please excuse my typing as for some reason I am difficulty typing exactly what is on my mind. It isn’t that weird that my finer motor skills are not up to par. I have been assured that everything should be good to go when the gardening season starts. There hasn’t been a season that I have been more ready for in my 30-year career as a professional gardener. Each flower that I am going to grow this year is going to be special.

For more flower pictures from around the world check out:
Today’s Flowers .

Bird of Paradise

Bird of Paradise
Strelitzia reginae
(stre-LITZ-ee-uh) (ree-JIN-ay-ee)
Synonym: Crane Flower

Aloha. Yesterday we spent all day in the ‘upcountry’ part of Maui. Lets just say there were flowers everywhere. After attending the Scottish-Hawaiian Festival we drove over to the Winery and the Lavender Farm. The Winery features among other things Pineapple wines. The wines tasted good and the tasting was free. They had a nice garden at the winery also.
Tedeschi Vineyards

The lavender farm had a lot of lavender (go figure) and a wonderful garden. The garden is one of the best I have seen in the Hawaiian Islands. We ended up spending hours lost among the plants and flowers. That is were the Bird of Paradise picture was taken. This other picture is an Aloe bud that I saw on the side of the road as we walked up to the festival. Where we parked had a long Hibiscus hedge and when I opened the car door several branches and flowers poked into the car. My kind of parking spot!
Ali'i Kula Lavender Maui


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Giant Bird of Paradise

Giant Bird of Paradise
Strelitzia nicolai
(stre-LITZ-ee-uh) (NIK-oh-ly)
Synonyms: White Bird of Paradise, Natal Strelitzia, Wild Strelitzia

It is nice to have a flower that hasn’t been featured here before. This is, of course, a tropical plant. Well technically it is a sub-tropical. It is a species of Bird of Paradise and is much larger and more course than the more common orange flowered Bird of Paradise or Crane Flower (Strelitzia reginae). From a distance this tree looks like a Travelers Tree (Ravenala madagascariensis) but that tree’s flowers lack the blue tongue of the Strelitza. There are some other differences too, but that is the first thing that came to my mind.


The foliage gets huge and is subject to tearing in open areas. The tree itself gets to 20 to 30 feet tall but generally stays smaller in cultivation. It likes full sun or partial shade. It is recommended for USDA Zone 9B through 11. Bird of Paradise can take up to five years to reach its full flowering potential.

Here is a picture that I took at the next building over from the Bird of Paradise. Both were in Pacific Beach. This shot could have had better composition but I liked these poppies. You don’t see that shade of orange too much. This picture was cropped but lucky it was taken with D700. It still ended up larger than a D70 file.

Bartlett Arboretum Pictures

Unnamed Coleus.

Since I was out late last night here are a few pictures from my recent trip to the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford, Connecticut.

Classic Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) blooming the greenhouse.

I am not sure what this one is but it is a colorful plant that I have seen a couple of different times this year, any ideas?