Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Tecoma Stans - Cheery Yellow Bells


Tecoma Stans are cheerful and showy flowers to brighten the day. They bring on the sunshine even on dull days. 
 
I've rooted many cuttings and have them planted in as many spots as possible.

 
The cluster of delicate flowers are borne on racemes. 


A young and tender bud just prior to flaring out its petals.
Blurred images of lilac Hydrangea and red Alpinia purpurata are seen in the background.

 
Maroon striae runs down the throat.


 The flowers last about 2 to 4 days,

 and are replenished by newly bloomed ones so that the bush appears to be perpetually flowering. The blurred images of hot pink Madagascar periwinkle are seen inthe background.


Heavy showers bring down many of its delicate flowers.


Beans form rather easily with a row of viable seeds in each of them.


 
It is actually a climber so the stem is not strong and needs staking. It branches easily and I make it a practice to trim off most of them to maintain a sturdy stem.



This bush is container-planted to be trained into a two-tiered standard. Next to it is a Bougainvillea plant of green-yellow variegated leaves and white flowers.

This Pygmy Grass Blue (Zizula hylax pygmaeabutterfly perched tentatively on the tubular part of the flower and peered over its rim, as predators abound.




On the other hand, the ants threw caution to the wind and scrambled right in.


There is no shortage of visitors.

A tiny transparent spider lies in ambush on the side of a flower, waiting for ...


... the kill before striking a predator's pose in anticipation of its next meal.


A myraid of aphids have colonised this bud. The tiny white ones look like their babies or some other critters. This must be a new infestation as ants are not seen yet.

Another tender bud has been heavily populated by aphids making it look like a sequin-encrusted Christmas tree ornament. Aphids come in a variety of colours ranging from pale yellow, green, grey and black.

This cottony stuff covered a nest comprising numerous cells. As it was an empty nest, the ID of its inhabitants remains a mystery.


A soldier beetle rested on the underside of a leaf with its cast-off moult. It was very possessive of its shroud. When I turned the leaf over, it moved to the dorsal side of the leaf, but immediately came back and stayed closely next to it. I was told that it would later consume it for energy and growth.

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” 
― Søren Kierkegaard


My sweet Tasha posing Marilyn Monroe-style between a Philodendron xanadu and a Tecoma stans bush. She was making an attempt to smile for the camera but ended up looking coy and langourous.

"The only disability in life is a bad attitude" - Scott Hamilton
 

A raceme of Tecoma stans and some Thunbergia erecta flowers in a Giant Clam shell.

A hot bowl of Cauliflower-Potato-Leek soup and Butter-Cheese toast for supper satiates the stomach for a good night's sleep.


33 comments:

  1. Belle foto ma quella con il cagnolino è eccezionale!!!

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    1. Hi Simo, I love the photo of Tasha too. She has that wry smile which makes her look so cute.

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  2. Żółte kwiaty, to jak słońce na niebie przy niepogodzie i szarym niebu. Zrobiłaś wspaniałe zdjęcia zarówno kwiatów jak i owadów. Pozdrawiam.
    Yellow flowers, like the sun in the sky when bad weather and gray sky. You did great pictures of both flowers and insects. Yours.

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    1. Thanks for the compliments. I read your current post and your green photos were fascinating. Best regards.

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  3. I love this plant too. It always looks so cheerful!

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    1. This plant is good to have if you want to colour up the garden. It is so wonderful because it blooms year round. I love how you gather the photos of pink-purple flowers in your garden for your current post.

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  4. I enjoyed the beautiful blooms, and Tasha is adorable with her cute little pose. All the best! :-)

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    1. Glad that you dropped by. Actually I wondered what on earth crosses Tasha's mind for her to appear rather coquettish. Best regards to you.

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  5. What a lovely cheerful plant. The insects certainly love it too. With those seed pods you could have lots if you wanted too as well. That's a good plant.
    Tasha is so sweet - give her a rub on her tummy for me.

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    1. Planting from seeds takes time for it to mature into a flowering plant. Since it roots easily, I rather take cuttings. Tasha loves tummy rubs and always belly-up at every opportunity.

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  6. Truly its a beautiful colour contrast of the blue & yellow in the shell.
    Do watch and eradicate those alphids before they infest into other plants.
    They are truly a menace.

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    1. I've always like purple and yellow combination. Whenever I come across any aphids infestation, I'll remove all afected parts completely.

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  7. The color yellow makes me feel cheerful indeed. I like the photo of the flower looking downward with dew drops. Tasha is such a charming company. I can’t think of anything happier than the life with the garden full of flowers and insects, delicious foods, and good canine friend.

    Yoko

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    1. Water droplets often make the flowers more photogenic. I agree with you that all these things that you've mentioned can contribute to a charming existence - la vie en rose.

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  8. What a lovely dog you have! Those yellow flowers brightened my day. It's so dark and grey here in Finland.

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    1. Its the wet season here in Malaysia so very often we get dark, grey skies just before the heavy downpour. Here it rains in buckets, thus the plants get throughly drenched. The downside is that the flowers are washed off too.

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  9. There's nothing like yellow flowers in the garden to brighten ones day.These bell like flowers are lovely and cheerful looking.Super shots from every angle.Good job!!

    Your little dog is so cute!!

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  10. I love the way this post begins with the flower, covers the variety of insects present at the moment, a photo of your sweet gardening companion (pose and all), a bouquet arrangement and even dinner! You have taken us on a visually delightful, full-sensory trip, thank you!

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    1. Wow! you have a keen eye and have seen through my scheme of things for the blog in general. Actually this is basically the structure of most of my posts :) Thanks for the kind words.

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  11. What an awesome plant! There's like a whole ecosystem growing on that single plant. Simply, amazing!

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    1. Yes, its rather amazing how these critters discover and select certain plants according to their preferences. I've seen huge carpenter bees zooming into the flowers.

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  12. Mellow Yellow!

    You captured your flower perfectly pretty.
    Good weekend

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    1. Thanks and I'm glad that you dropped by. Have a good weekend too.

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  13. Replies
    1. We dote on Tasha so much that I'm afraid that she is rather spoilt. She has become very manipulative so as to constantly gain our attention.

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  14. That's beautiful tecoma flower! So many insect and pest on the plant! wow!
    Anyway your dog is really cutie!

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    1. Its a really good flowering bush to add to the Malaysian home gardens. As Ive mentioned above, Tasha has been indulged in so much that she has become a veteran attention-seeker.

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  15. Beautiful blooms! Tasha is adorable, we have a little Chinese Crested whose tongue is constantly sticking out, very amusing.
    Always enjoy your posts, including the insects.

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    1. I read of this Chinese Crested dog which has very unusual looks. Tasha as you can see from the photos actually need orthodontic treatment :) I'm honoured and glad to hear that you enjoyed the posts.

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  16. Love this plant. Attracts lots of butterflies and hummingbirds. Beautiful!

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    1. They do attract lots of butterflies but there are no hummingbirds in our part of the planet.

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  17. ..warmly written the ending soup for supper gave me ideas to try..of course Tasha is MM..btw I want to ask if the you g race of Tecoma Stans was green first then whitish then later yellow as matured? The reason I grow Tecoma is honey smelling aroma of the flowers inviting not only me but a swarm of bee as well..well written thank you!

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