The Purple Flowers Cometh

Hey guys!!!

As most of you Asians may already know, the Lunar New Year is about to begin whihc is basically what the Chinese call the Chinese New Year which, I suppose is pretty amazing because I get to celebrate two new years in a single year! New Year usually means ang pow (money packets) and cookies for a lot of people but it also means house-cleaning and decorating in anticipation for recieving guests during the new year! As always my favourite spot to spruce up is the garden. Lunar New Year, amongst the Chinese families usually means a lot of lime plants and a lot of chrysanthemums and. while we're never short of limeplants in this household (I raise them for butterfly breeding) chrysanthemums are usually harder to come by. However, for a change of pace this year I decided to deviate slightly from the usual chrysanthemum flowers and grow something else a little more...delicate.

creeper

In a strange coincidence (with my fascination of bottles, jars and transparrent containers) I also have a particular preference for plants that creep, climb and tangle! True vines are my favourite, with their soft stems and curly tendrils but even the more woody and hard climbers (such as some species of roses) will also do in a pinch! What I like best about growing these creepers, however is that not only are they fairly easy to cultivate, they also provide lovely coverage for cement, brick or stone walls! Nothing more refreshing than waking up to a wall of green with little violet, pink or orange flowers sticking out here and there. And the flowers truly are abundant, and stricking and all manner of bees and sometimes small birds come to visit on a regular basis. In fact, some love it so much they choose to stay permanently! We have in the Garden, as of today, four hives of stingless bees that produce a rather bitter-sweet nectar that drips from their nests in the brick walls.


Stingless bees are a very welcome addition to my Garden for many reasons. The first being that I don't find their small size alarming at all! (unlike those horrible carpenter bees) and the others being that they make excellent pollinators and, of course, they do not sting! They truly are magnificent little creatures and to read more on my stingless bees, or watch a video of them swarming, simply click this link and follow. By all means though, the purple and blue flowers are amongst my favourite, which probably explains the mass growths of butterfly pea vines that I have cultivated endlessly in the Garden. The latest of which are probably these lovely morning glories which blossom in teh day and shut their flowers at night.


Violets are blue~

Beautiful, isn't it? And now that's a face that any butterfly, bird or bee would love!

Blue Lycaenid butterfly (Chilades Pendava) on Chilli Plant

On a separate note, I went out this morning to hunt for tadpoles but realised, upon arriving at my destination, that I had forgotten to pack my jars! Brilliant, just brilliant!

Little boy blue, come blow your horn!