Flowering Amorphophallus campanulatus Blume ex Decne

The stinking flower

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Chinese Leek Blooming

Chinese leek, Allium tuberosum, also known as garlic chives,
Oriental garlic or Chinese chives in bloom:

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Lucky Bamboos are blooming!

My lucky bamboos (dracaena sanderiana) are blooming, as usual, in this period of the year :)

This is also a good opportunity for me to blog again after a couple of years.

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Cactus bloom

There's some pictures of my cactus(anyone got the ID???) blooming this year. It bloomed twice this year. The first attempt was right before a tropical depression(a.k.a cyclone) visits Mauritius. The cactus sent a bloom that started to open during the cyclone. Unfortunately, the winds broke the flower off. Notice the grey sky, it was a clear sign that the cyclone was near.

 

5th Feb 2009

7th Feb 2009

By the 8th February, there were no flower on the cactus, the wind wiped it off. I though that I would have to wait the following year for the next bloom.

Fortunately for me, my cactus was kind enough to bloom again in April 2009!! And this time, I had a better camera to shoot the flowers :-)

 

18th April 2009

  

19th April  2009

  

Same day. Look attentively, there are two flowers

  

The beautiful flower, open at last

This time, the flowers bloomed well and could be observed without any problem. The flower doesn't last long and dies(turns black) the following day. I didn't try to collect the seeds as this cactus is easily propagated. If you're interested in seed collection, I'll try it next year during the next bloom.

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Turmeric(Curcuma Longa) Flower

That's the first time I have noticed turmeric flowers. Each time I plant turmeric(curcuma longa or common turmeric), I dig it after its growing period, but since a couple of years ago, I have left a couple of plants untouched. I let them grow for a season, dry out and grow again to get a bigger rhizome.

I had completely forgotten about those plants (I don't even water them as it is raining quite often), and today, while weeding(Neglect your garden a couple of weeks, and they'll come harrassing you) that part of my garden, I got gobsmacked: Two of the turmeric plants have flowers. They were awesome!! Have a look:

Two flowers of Turmeric plant

This one seems older

Looks like a newer flower

The flower stalk emerges from a leaf stalk

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African violet

The African Violet is a simple hardy plant that can be kept by everyone. This plant does not stays quite small in size and is suitable for a small pot.

Velutina Variety

However, it should be kept out of rain though. When watering, never let water fall onto its leaves. The leaves will rot. I usually leave a small empty area in the pot for watering.

The soil should be always moist and the leaves tending upwards.

Related links

Propagation of African Violet

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Marigold - Tagetes erecta

The Tagetes erecta is also known as the African marigold or Aztec marigold.

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