Wild and Pasionate

Today the Trumpet Flower ( Bignonia magnifica) were in rich splendour as they reach over the aviary and onto the adjacent trees. I would like to team them with the colourful leaves of the Blood Banana. The purple flowers and dark red spots of the wild banana leaves seems to hold on to each other well, I thought.

For a simple arrangement I would name it.....Wild and Passionate.

Arrangement # 146

Purple Bignonia, White Caladium and Red Ti

Waking up early today, my spirits were lifted when I saw these purple flushes of the bignonia magnifica. Its bell-shaped mauve pink flowers were a good morning gesture after the heavy rains at pre-dawn over by my eco-farm.  Here I have planted them close to the aviary and trained them to climb over it for shade and much needed colour.

Then this spectacular leaf of the white caladium ( caladium X candidum ) had me excited over the opportunity of teaming it with the bignonia blooms. This caladium is exceedingly big i.e. about 40 cm long and 30 cm wide.  Its pure white leaf with green veins is a beauty in contrast.

Below are the stages of today's composition.

Arrangement # 117

With the help of the showy and bright light red leaves of the Red Ti ( cordyline terminalis) I have accentuated the ambience around the mauve pink colours of the bignonia to a higher level of brightness.  Then I used the leaf of the licuala palm as table mat for the glass bowl which is hidden by the white caladium leaf. In this particular instance I have sunk the center of the caladium leaf into the glass bowl together with the bignonia  blooms and Red Ti leaves.

Feeling happy and pleased, I name this composition...Today's Brightness.

The magnificent Bignonia

Arrangement # 103

Today I am enchanted by the popular climber,  bignonia ( Bignonia magnifica).

I have it grown over my aviary and is sure a vigorous climber.  When flowering and this happens very regularly, it produces big bell-shaped mauve-pink flowers.

Bignonia need to be planted in full sun and the sight of their flowers against the blue sky is indeed a joy to behold as often I sit by my verandah in the afternoon sipping my cup of  tea to the thought of its magnificence.

For all its splendour and rich colour i.e. both its flowers and its dark green leaves, I call this composition...

A Popular Splendour

Monsterous Passion

Arrangement#33

This arrangement is a variation from the previous one. A fresh spray of bleeding hearts flowers , four buds of Bignonia , a wild pineapple fruit and the very young bracts of the banana taken from its core are served on the leaf of the Monstera species. It appears that since the composition is served on the monstera leaf... I am tempted to call this display....a Monsterous Passion.

Bowl of Creepers

Sunday morning ( 6 June) is normally a day of rest for me. But somehow this morning I feel energetic and would not waste the cool and cloudy early morning hours whiling away my time. I therefore decided to clear some woody climbers around the chalet that have become unruly and out of control. Two climbers became my target. First, the Bignonia ( Bignonia magnifica) which has mauve- pink flowers that are bell - shape. I had them planted over the bird's aviary which is located by the southern side of my chalet. It is a vigorous climber. The flowers are large and showy, but wilt immediately if plucked. This remains my morning challenge. How to keep them good all day?.

Next, the Maiden's Jealousy ( Tristellateia australasiae) which has just started to establish itself on a wooden pole nest to the huge yellow bamboo clump. The Maiden's Jealousy is a slender climber and thus very suitable for chain link fence, pergolas or trellis. Its small yellow flowers are arranged in pyramidal sprays. I love them because they are free flowering and regularly producing big yellow masses of colour

The mauve-pink colours of the Bignona are very compelling to me and always seems to catch my attention. I was thinking, how do you put interest into them ? First mauve- pink is close to purple in colour and the next thing I think of purple is ' purple heart'. Then , again yellow as in the 'Maiden's Jealousy' invoke the very strong emotions of jealousy. What if you combine the two emotions? How could they become interesting? Water always add interest, I thought. Why not mix them in water?. Without much ado, I immediately set my foot indoors to look for a bowl that could sufficiently accommodate a few petals of Bignonia and Maiden's Jealousy and Jasmine . Below is how it turned out to be. This view taken from top, shows a frangipani flower added for that special interest and symmetry and also to magnify the small white flowers of the Jasmine. Thirdly, the frangipani provides a lively contrast to the whole composition and a lot more fragrant.

Arangement#26

Below is the bowl in its first stage with the Bignonia flowers floating in it. This alone is already a finished piece,I thought. However on second thought, it may appear too plain. Therefore I decided to add other flowers at make a contrast of colours interesting.

Bignonias are believed to be originated from Colombia, but grows very well here too because we enjoy the same tropical climate and lots of sunny days. ..I name the completed piece... Bowl of Creepers.