Tabernaemontana orientalis - The Perennial Bloomer

Tabernaemontana orientalis is a shrub that can be groomed into a small tree. This is a popular garden plant mainly because it is year-long profuse bloomer. It thrives well in almost any soil types and commonly seen growing robustly by roadsides. Pampered with good soil and plant nutrients it will flourish in all its glory.

  

A male Hypolimnas bolina jacintha (Jacintha Egg Fly) settled on an inflorescense before deciding to partake of its nectar. 

It continued to perch on the flower and basked in the sunshine.

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough" ~Rabindranath Tagore  

These numerous buds will in no time burst into large inflorescences.

  

The five-petaled white flowers are pin-wheel in shape.


This shrub branches readily forming an umbrella-like canopy. Lower branches have to be trimmed off for grooming into a tree.

The shiny, dark green leaves will bleed a milky sap when removed from the stem.

A shot at dusk of Tabernaemontana orientalis.

An ant scrambled at a frenetic pace to get at the goodies before night fall.

 

Caladium leaves growing cheek by jowl with the dwarf Tabernaemontana.

The dwarf variety needs no trimming.  It just grow into a bigger round bush. it needs minimal maintennance and is most ideal for the lazy gardener.

Tasha having a romp on the grass.

Tabernaemontana and Magdagascar periwinkle flowers afloat. Unwilling to relegate freshly-shed flowers to the compost bin, they were collected for watery baths such as this.

 

My goldfish went to piscean Happy Valley, so the bowl became a vessel for my flowers. 

Tabernaemontanas afloat with fragrant tea lights for a dreamy night ambience by the porch.

Posted from Cork, Ireland (I'm on a one-month sojourn in Ireland for the whole month of October)