The front left facade of my city home is graced by this variegated bougainvillea with deep purple flowers. It brought much gaiety and colour to my house during the Chinese New Year period as it was at its height of blooming. Its flowers are long-lasting and can withstand the heavy showers which was frequent then. The flowers of most types of Bougainvillea drop rather easily when faced with the onslaught of the elements.
February 2013
July 2012
Dec 2011
A Quisqualis indica (Rangoon creeper) next to it drapes the right side of the house.
Sunbirds are particularly partial to Quisqualis indica flowers.
After the nectary feed it flew away to perch on the glass edge but did not go anywhere near the bougainvillea flowers.
Sunbirds on power cables
Dec 2011
After the nectary feed it flew away to perch on the glass edge but did not go anywhere near the bougainvillea flowers.
The green-yellow variegated leaves are ...
just as pretty as the flowers.
Very beautiful and so exotic! Thanks for this quick trip to the tropics!
ReplyDeleteThis cyber world is simply amazing. We can have a virtual tour around the world and have a cuppa of coffee too. I count my blessings that I'm still around to soak in all these technological advances.
DeleteI love bougainvillea. It always reminds me of warm places and it is so colourful. The sunbirds are beautiful. What amazing colours.
ReplyDeleteSimililarly, this is how I associate roses, azaleas, clematis with cooler climes. I think the sunbirds have adopted my garden as their permanent homes. There are always a flock of them around and their chirping together with the others is incessant.
DeleteI can only grow bougainvillea if I bring the plant indoors for the winter. I would love to be able to grow it in the way you do where it enhances the building.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that you can grow it there in the first place as it is a tropical plant.
DeleteI would love to grow bougainvillea too, but although it would look great over the summer, it would not survive the winter and I have nowhere to put it during the winter. So, no bougainvillea for me, until they come up with a hardey one, that's probably coming, just as with many other plants.
ReplyDeleteI am planning to buy the first hardy gardenia grown in UK this year, it grows to 60-70 cm tall, has double flowers with the same gorgeous scent as the other ones and is evergreen here in UK. What more can one want from a plant?? I really want one!
Gardenias here bloom year round too. I have a few bushes as I love its fragrance.
DeleteGreat photo collection of Bougainvillea and sunbirds...
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks so lush and beautiful, it is so colourful !
Flowering plants are simply sun worshipers. There is plenty of sunshine here and heavy rainfall. The downside of the latter is that the petals are washed off before its time.
DeleteIt's a beautiful climber and looks gorgeous most of the year where you live, It looks as though it is in full bloom in Febuary,..how wonderful! Mine, which is the same colour as yours, is only just coming into bloom now.The colourful Sunbirds are
ReplyDeletea treat to see,.. wish I had them on my varanda!
I love the sunbirds too and they are always a joy to have around the garden. Their bright feathers and chirping brings life and vibrancy to one's living spaces.
DeleteI love the rangoon creeper. I have one but it is quite small. In my area for some reason it grows more as a shrub, doesn't really climb.
ReplyDeleteI love looking at your blog because the photos are all so familiar yet different at the same time - it's funny seeing most of my plants growing in someone else's garden half-way around the world!
Initially it is a bit tough to get it to climb. I start by staking it high up, pruning off all lateral branches exccept for the uppermost. Once it is established, the growth spurts are amazing.
DeleteI love peeking at your blog too to look at how the plants fare at different locales :)
Wish my bouganvillea was half as lovely as yours ! I nurture it, I love it and how does it repay me - by losing half of its leaves ! It is just not meant to exist in cold old England !
ReplyDeleteLooks like you have to put it in cold storage until the ambient temperature heats up. Btw we like out bougainvillea to be leafless but with plenty of flowers.
DeleteHi tumit tinggi..
ReplyDeleteyour bougainvillea look so beautiful..i like the purple colour ..did you put the plant container container in the balcony and it crawled down? which way is better crawl up or down..:)
The colour is actually a rich dark purple which is lovelier but somehow it look different in photos.
DeleteI planted it in the ground and let it grow upwards. This way it can get more nutrients to grow so tall. At the same time I do not have to worry about not watering it. This can't be said about container-planted ones.
Simply beautiful colours...lovely!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kalyan.
DeleteFlowers and birds - what more could you ask for. I love the flowers of the rangoon creeper, and yes the sunbirds are quite particular about their likes.
ReplyDeleteBesides its aesthetic appeal, the Rangoon creeper has the most lovely of smell - pleasantly sweet but not cloying or overpowering. In my garden, sunbirds love Hibiscus, Heliconiums and Australian Bottle-brush too.
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DeleteHi ElsieXie, glad to know your name. The photos are lovely and the flowers too. I am envious as we can't produce very nice plants with our water-deprived conditions. That bougainvillea is really lovely, and your house too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, actually we have too much of a good thing. It never rains but pours, very often cats and dogs. Along with the heavy downpour, my plants got uprooted and containers of tall palms, bougainvilleas and others toppled over. Recently, many of my large containers broke :(
DeleteWow!! Paradise is here to stay! Your natural "drapes" are outstanding! Is this Eva bougainvillea? And that bird is gorgeous, love her striking color combination. They seem to be in your home always, right?
ReplyDeleteThis is not Mrs Eva which though floriferous and lovely, doesn't retain its lovely lavender colour for long. In less than a week, it turns a dirty purple. This particular hybrid retains its rich deep hues for a long time and does not drop its flowers easily. Its from Thailand.
DeleteThe birds are permanent residents in my garden. They have gone through many generations and most probably think that I'm the intruder.
I just cannot get enough of those sunbirds. Beautiful!!! We have a similar bougainvillea here that does well in the summer. They make for attractive plants at an entrance. The only negative for me are the thorns on our plant!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Chris, you've made a point there about thorns. In some species, the thorns can be vicious and whenever I got pierced, I wowed to chop them off. However, every time when they bloomed, all my resentment melts off. Fortunately for this species, the thorns are more puny.
DeleteSo gorgeous! Bouganvilla is an expensive annual here. It died in our cold winters. Those birds are incredible! I love how vivid their colors are. :o)
ReplyDeleteBougainvilleas are very cheap here. There cost less than 3USD for three cuttings in polybags. The hybrids cost more depending on their size.
DeleteTheir sunny disposition and cheerful colours must have been the reason for them being called sunbirds.
It's always a great pleasure to visit your blog. You really live in paradise Stilletto
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic bird.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Thanks Marijke. I created a bird-friendly and generally fauna-friendly garden for them. Hopefully, this can be their paradise.
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