Gulmohar

Gulmohar (Delonix regia)




I'm very lucky to live in a house surrounded by trees, and luckier that majority of them happen to be Gulmohar, my favorite flowering tree. In the flowering season, we get awesome views from almost every window in the house, including the bathroom windows. My favorite is the kitchen window where I have spent many moments enjoying cups of chai admiring the flowers with the squirrels and parrots to keep me company.

the flowers make for gorgeous bokeh too

the view from our balcony looking at our street

the squirrels like snacking on the silky petals

my baby likes it too

The cheery flowers never fail to put a smile on my face. My hard disk is groaning with the number of photos I have taken of these flowers last summer. The photos here are all taken from inside my house.

the individual flowers are stunning too

Gulmohar is from the Fabaceae family and flowers from April to July. It is grown as a street tree mainly for its ornamental properties. An Indian summer is incomplete without the flamboyant flowers.

This is my entry for orange at flower fest.

Flower Fest - W for Wisteria

In May this year, I got to spend a delightful afternoon in the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Despite the bustling tourist activity, I had a good time. While walking around the well maintained garden, with its manicured bushes, trees and stone sculptures, I spied these beautiful hanging Wisteria.

Wisteria is a climbing vine with purple-blue flowers that hangs down like a bunch of grapes. It flowers in the beginning of spring. We had plenty growing in our neighbourhood too, but it did not occur to me to take pictures. I was busy looking for spring wildflowers then!


Google tells me that this plant is not very popular as it is invasive and suffocates other native plants, which in turn affects wildlife who depend on these native plants for food.

This is my entry for the letter W at Flower Fest

Flower Fest - V for Vicia sativa (Common Vetch)

Another flower that I found growing, un-welcomed, on the sidewalk outside my house, is my entry for V. Common vetch, as Vicia sativa is commonly called, is a weed that grows on roadsides and fields. It is a small plant with attractive purple-pink flowers from the pea family.

I find the delicate plant beautiful to look at and love the tiny flowers. The leaves are a lovely shade of green growing on stems that taper off into tendrils. The flowers bloom from April to August and are very attractive to bees and butterflies.

This is my entry for the letter V at Flower Fest

Flower Fest - T for Trifolium repens and Trifolium pratense

My entry for this round of FF is from the clover family. I have white and purple/pink clovers.
Clovers are native to Europe and introduced in the US as a pasture crop. They can be found throughout the US in warm weather. Clovers have three oval leaflets with V shaped markings on them. The ball-shaped flower head is made up with many small flowers, and is very attractive to bees. Some flowers are edible and used in salads and to make tea.

I found both these on the pavement outside my house.

The white clovers are called Trifolium repens. The flowers look like a little white ball and once a bee or other pollinating insect has visited it, the petals droop and reveal the red center indicating that it does not have to be visited again.



The pink or the purple clover is Trifolium pratense and is considered nutritious food for livestock. The flowers and leaves are slightly bigger than the white clover.


This is my entry for the letter T at Flower Fest

Yosemite Wildflower Photo Journal

Although Yosemite does not really get carpeted with flowers, I got to see plenty scattered around, which accentuated the beauty of the meadows and riverbanks. I came back with a collection of flowers that I had never seen before. I took these pictures for my records and learning, so I'm parking them here even if some are not post worthy!

California Indian Pink (Silene laciniata)

Wild Blue Flag

Snow Plant

Mountain Misery

Blue Dicks

Indian Paintbrush

Spring Beauty

Storksbill

Yellow Violet

Woodland Star

Yellow Salsify

Pride of the Mountain

Mountain Pretty Face

Fiddlesticks

Fairy Lantern

Lupine

California Poppy

Birdsfoot Trefoil

Bird's Eye

Wild Bleeding Heart

Blue Larkspur

Flower Fest - S for Sanguinaria canadensis

The only species in the genus Sanguinaria, Sanguinaria canadensis or Bloodroot, as it is commonly called, is a plant indigenous to United States. Blood red juice can be extracted from its root, so the name Bloodroot. Native Americans used this juice as body paint, dye and as an herbal remedy to treat various diseases of the skin.

The flowers are white with oblong petals with a yellow center. The plant prefers shaded spots and produces flowers in March and April. An interesting fact about this plant is that the seeds are spread by ants in a process called Myrmecochory. (Phew, who knew! Thanks FF for improving my GK like this with every round!)

This is my entry for the letter S currently on at Flower Fest - The A - Z of Flowers






Tags: Flower Fest

Flower Fest - R for Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica americana)

Round-lobed Hepatica, from the Buttercup family, is a small plant with small white, pink or lavender flowers. The leaves are three lobed and are shaped like the liver, hence the common names Liverwort and Liverleaf. The flowers bloom in early spring and are supported by hairy stems.

Hepatica was once used to treat liver diseases based on the doctrine of signatures.
No points for guessing how I came across these beauties!

This is my entry for R at Flower Fest - The A - Z of Flowers









Tags: Flower Fest

I'm going to live in an RV (Motorhome, Camper, Caravan) for a few days. See you when I come back!

Nature Walk

It rained most of the weekend and took away any chance of us enjoying our usual Saturday morning hike. Instead of being cooped up in the house, we decided to throw on our raincoats and head out for an easy urban walk. We decided to walk in a nearby trail, which runs alongside a creek, not very far from our house. By the time we reached the place, the rain had reduced to a slight drizzle, the sun had decided to peek out and check on things.


The rain had given the trees and plants a fresh washed look and everything was such a vibrant green. We soon realized that the area around the trail was teeming with life. Birds chirped in the trees, squirrels were bustling around looking for food, turtles were out on the logs, colorful bugs were everywhere and there were plenty of wildflowers.

Needless to say, my husband and I went crazy with the camera! The pictures here are all taken by me with my camera.

A bug on a buttercup

Mallard in the swamp looking for fish? worms?

Another bug on grass

A Honeysuckle bloom and bud

Carolina Cranesbill

Ladybug

Dandelion with insects

Wild Strawberry
Fleabane

Wild Roses

Not sure about the name of this bird

Update: after checking my field guide, I've come to the conclusion that this is a Wren. Correct me if I'm wrong.