Thursday, July 15, 2010

Passion flowers



Good afternoon Friends ~ I hope you all are keeping cool as much as possible, in the hot parts of the world. July and August are really awful down here, and September, October can be rather miserable too. I always think cool weather should start in September, but that's not so down here in the tropical climes.

Today it is hot, humid, breezy, partly cloudy. Sure wish it would rain, but so far it is going around us. Other parts of FL are getting rain, they are blessed.

This morning I went out to trim the hedge on the north/back side of our secret garden and sweat buckets. Again I had to take breaks, drink water, and try not to over extend myself. I saw more I wanted to do around the property, but NOT in this kind of weather. It was around 10 and I'd had enough.

As I was trimming, I came upon some passion flowers. I love this vine. We have two kinds. This is my favorite. I believe it is 'Incense'.

I was hot and sweaty, tired, and the sun was beating down, so these pictures are not the greatest. It was just about all I could do to set the macro setting, point and shoot. :-)

Click on pictures for a larger view.








This is a bloom starting to unfurl.
As the petals open everything else starts spilling out.







"Blessed be the Lord
for the beauty of summer and spring,
for the air, the water, the verdure,
and the song of birds."
Carl von Linnaeus




Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL

21 comments:

Sandy said...

Thank you for sharing your
beautiful passion flowers.
They are exquisite. I love
the quote. That's how I feel
about Father's seasonal gifts.

Lona said...

Hi. It is just so hot everywhere now but especially in your area. It is good to work in shifts in the garden when it is so hot LOL! I run around in the morning and of an evening.
You Passion vine is so pretty. I think they have the strangest and prettiest blooms. Stay cool Lady.

Nancy's Notes said...

Oh my, I don't think I have ever seen such a gorgeous flower! It's looks like a lovely piece of art, suppose it is!! Thank your sharing!

Nancy

tina said...

Your photos looks as cool as a cucumber-too bad it couldn't translate to us huh? Hot here too. I don't mind the heat but the humidity-urgh.

Sandra said...

Oh how beautiful! I just got a cutting from a friend and I hope it makes it. :) Have a wonderful day.
Sandra

Floridagirl said...

Flowerlady, these photos are awesome! Love all the wonderful views of passionflower from different angles. We had a flood here today. July has been quite rainy here in the valley. Hope it finds you soon.

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Jealous! I love this flower! Lucky you. Hopefully someday I will have some of these beauties!

FabricandFlowers said...

Wow, beautiful photography. My passion vine is making it's way over the pergula. The blooms are amazingly intricate. Love it.

Hot here in Houston too. I watered this morning and am doing it tonight also. Remember, we look younger because of all this humidity.

Darla said...

Yes my dear Florida friend, it has been HOT in North FL too. The humidity is stifling. We did get 6/10 of an inch of rain last evening Thank the Lord. I do not have passion vine, it's very pretty.

Morning Glories in Round Rock said...

Dear Flowerlady,
I know what you mean! September and October are always the hardest months for me, because it should be cool by then! But, it never is in Texas. LOL!

Your Passion Flowers are beautiful! I have tried to grow them from seed, but with no success--although the gardener I got them from said they were so easy, they were like weeds. I will try again next year! They are too beautiful to give up.

Enjoy your weekend, and stay cool!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your comments, your prayers for Gina, and putting beauties of the Lord back into a broken world!

Summertime Best,

Unknown said...

Love,love,love Passion Flowers!
Hot here in our neck the woods,too.But we had rain all afternoon yesterday,and a gentle rain most of the night.so the garden is happy.

Susan said...

Passion flowers are so tropical looking and beautiful. I don't venture out much in this heat...mostly keep it to mornings or evenings. We are getting regular rain which does help cool things down a bit...sorry to hear that you're not getting much. It's hard to keep plants going without the rain in summer.

Sandra said...

Now those are stunning flowers, my goodness, I've never seen anything like it.

Nina Suria said...

WOW gorgeous. Ur passion flower looks so exquisite and I can smells the soothing scent coming out from the opening petals huhuhuhuhu *jealous*

Love 'em

Priscilla @ Homegrown Delight said...

Gorgeous Passion Flower, thanks also for the beautiful quote. Have a great weekend! :)

Scentsy said...

This flower is beautiful! I live in Seattle and I am new to the area. I moved from a zone 6, so I'm looking forward to being able to work with more flower varieties. I will definitely be looking into this one.

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi FlowerLady,
It's been hot here, too, but I'm sure not as hot where you are. Still, I've been in by 9:30 or 10:00, too, and don't always make it back out in the evening.

I've been doing some cleaning out, and while I'm making progress, I have a ways to go.

I love your photos! The passionflowers I planted last year never bloomed, and I didn't try any this year. Normally one can't tell from photos that it's hot out, but, in a couple of your photos, the flower looks like it is steaming hot.

NanaK said...

Great pictures of your passion flower. I have incarnata which pops up every spring wherever it pleases. Last year it grew huge and took over the back fence even while supporting many Gulf Fritillary and Zebra Longwing butterflies. This year, the caterpillars have kept it eaten down to the ground so no blooms for me. I'll just enjoy looking at yours.

Rebecca said...

If I've ever seen a Passion Flower, I've not taken time to notice it up close. I wonder how much else I've missed???

It seems to be hot all over! Seems I wear out more quickly and operate at a slower pace in general...

Rhonda said...

I love Passionflower..I discovered it when we lived in Florida..it would grow wildly through the undisturbed areas. Alas..as much as I tried I couldn't get it to transplant! Unbelievably, when we moved to TN i discovered it here too..in the woods..again no luck with the transplanting..so I decided I'd just visit it and admire it as it apparently did not want to be with me..:( Ahhh...Fl summers...I remember them well and I feel your pain!! I've taken to whining pitifully at the slightest hint of humidity which we've had an overabundance of this particular year..nothing like yours of course, but then I've become a bit of a weeny about that since moving up here..lol