The Flamboyant Bougainvillea 'Mrs Eva'

It is a witheringly hot, searing season with rainless days for almost two months now.  Thankfully there's enough stored water in the huge roof-top tanks to drench the plants once in a while. However, my bougainvilleas are not complaining. In actual fact they flourish while we fumed through heavy perspiration and pray for the sky to open up.

The almost leafless Bougainvillea 'Mrs Eva' in full glory. The green leaves are those of the orange Bauhenia kockiana.

This is the whole plant at the height of flowering.

The young bracts are slowly forming. The white-pink-red terminal flowers of Quisqualis indica (Rangoon creeper) also claim some vertical space in this massive  floral display.

 
Another view at another time.
 

A carpenter bee clutcthing on to a faded bract.

 

It was rather late in the evening, thus this blurred image of a hummingbird moth with its proboscis dipped into nectar.

At dusk, dragonflies returned to repose on trimmed stems and branches.

A container-planted B. Mrs Eva with a periwinkle sprouting from its trunk. A random seed found its niche in its crevice and grew as a parasite. The red flowers of Carphalea kirondron and the yellow-orange Codiaeum variegatum (Variegated Croton) add layers of colours.

Heliconia rostrata - Hot-red Lobster Claws

Clumps of Heliconia rostrata (Hanging Lobster Claw) have been planted around the garden for its long pendulous flowers as well as using them as a living screen. They are also wonderful as cut flowers in large floral arrangement.

Heliconia rostrata thrives in full sunlight,

producing bright red blooms trimmed in yellow and lime green.

The colourful parts are actually the bracts.


 
The green horn aka the bud. 



Ants are gathering in heightened anticipation even before the bracts open up.

This clump was planted in the ground as border plants to function as an effective screen.



As the pendulous flowers elongate, it can become rather heavy and tilting occurs.

I used tie-wires to pulled them upright.

Together with the variegated Crotons plenty of colour was introduced into the garden.

This H. rostrata. is thriving happily in a container.

Three containers of Heliconia rostrata by the poolside afford partial screening and a tropical ambience.

They grew to about 10 feet high in containers and look quite wild.

This common garden snail was found resting on the cut end of a frond.

"Remember when life's path is steep to keep your mind even."

- Horace 

The large frond provide a good platform for sunbathing and viewing for this grasshopper.

The fronds are used as a sliding plane for these living toys.

Up and down they go from one broad leaf to another. The last one left standing is the winner.

A plate of Char Koay Teow a popular Malaysian dish of fried flat rice noodles with cockles and prawns. For added zest, a squeeze of calamansi will do nicely.