Bird of Paradise

thats a beauty! look at that gleam!

Just what I need to chase away the winter blues Sticki!

Should have something else in bloom tomorrow that is also rather nice!!!!

oooooooh that sounds good

i think that bird of paradise would chase all the blues away ~ they always remind me of an aircraft taking off ~ an aerodynamic design!

Such an amazing looking bloom, looking forward to tomorrow's pic!!

me too!

The blue part is actually the petals, the orange are the sepals. I'll post a close up of the petals (which are actually fused together).

i hadnt realised that ~ funny how some flowers are almost back to front to my way of thinking!
the blue is good too though

You've just taken me back to our first holiday in the Canaries Keith...they had these in the gardens about 15' high! I remember thinking I probably did the right thing getting rid of mine! It was so lovely to see the flowers in January though!

Its beautiful Meanie.....Unfortunately ours has to stay in the greenhouse as our house is just not light enough...

Thanks Karen! It is what it reminds me of too.

Milky - I never think of this house as being very light either.

So, that's what a bird-of-paradise looks like. LOL! :>)

My large plant in the front yard is loaded with flowers right now. I'll have to post some pics soon.

Showing off again!!!

Actually, you can't really show off some that is taken for granted here. Virtually every neighbor has a plant or two or three or four in their yard (I'm not kidding).

My other house had seven very large clumps of bird-of-paradise. Three in the front yard and four in the back yard.

Whereas I can show off!!!

Stunning Meanie ,absolutely beautiful :o)

Thanks Amy!
It's just getting going - it looks better by the day.

Meanie:

That's very true! We have many medians that are filled with many hundreds of bird-of-paradise flowering right now. I see them every time I drive to work. Many are planted under Jacaranda trees.

"Many are planted under Jacaranda trees."

There you go - showing off again!!!!

Is the jacaranda tree the one with the purple flowers? I'm sure someone once gave me a jacaranda as a plant, nice leaves but no flowers!

Meanie:

Jacaranda trees are planted in the medians along the boulevard for almost four miles. Jacarandas are one of the most widely planted street trees in California. They're a dime a dozen. :>)

Stickitoffee:

Yes, Jacaranda mimosafolia (Jacaranda tree) is the most commonly planted purple/blue flowering tree in California. There's millions of them here in San Diego, CA. San Diego becomes purple/blue from late March - July.

Lots in Seville too, the most beautiful city I ever visited! But none where I live! :-(((

Yes, Sevilla has a subtropical Mediterranean climate like here in San Diego, CA. Although, the climate here is much milder and warmer in winter because San Diego is at 32º latitude.

Just been watching a program that showed how central London is 4 degrees warmer that outer london ~ they had thermal cameras on the buildings which they think are reflecting and preserving the heat ~ very interesting

That's called a "urban heat island effect". Almost all large cities have that effect.

Im sure they do ~ always known london was warmer ~ its not surprising really but it was interesting to see the figures!

they also did an experiment to show that plants lower the temperature!

Yes, during very hot weather (which I don't think London gets much of) big trees can lower the ambient temperature.

We have lots of large trees here in inland San Diego. The temps in inland San Diego are much higher than downtown San Diego (where the official temp is taken). We on many days (inland S.D.) get temps above 90ºF (32ºC) or much higher, to 110ºF (43.3ºC).

I have a 50ft (16m) tall Jacaranda tree (with a huge spread), 85ft (25m) tall Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) and a 35ft (11m) tall Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) which provide nice shade in the front yard.

Sounds amazing but thats too hot for me.

London can feel quite humid sometimes

It can get very humid here in summer. Last summer it was so super hot and humid. I felt sick on some days when it so very hot and humid, even with air conditioner running (24/7) which wasn't able to keep the house cool at night.

its not nice being cold but if i had to choose one or other it would be cold ~ at least i can put another jumper on and cook something warm but if its too hot i dont feel like doing anything!

I guess it's just what you're used to. I don't like cold weather at all; however, I don't like really hot weather either. When temps stay over 95ºF (35ºC) for to many days in a row I start complaining...especially if it's humid.

over 95? i expect we have had that temperature here but not exactly often!

Yes, last August, September and October we day after day and week after week of 95 - 105ºF (35 - 41ºC) weather in inland San Diego...some areas further inland were hotter (which is typical). The desert areas of far eastern San Diego County, like Borrego Springs were cooking at temps around 125ºF (51.6ºC), which isn't too unusual.

phew! have you all got air con in your homes?

In all inland areas of California, homes cannot be built now without central air conditioning (because of city ordinances).

Yes, most people in San Diego County have a/c. Some older homes right along the coast don't have a/c, though.

The low subtropical deserts of California like Palms Spring, Borrego Spring must have a/c or you'll literally die! The temps in these deserts areas never go below 85ºF (29ºC) or 90ºF (32ºC) at night, almost all summer long...and of course, the daytime temps average 110ºF (44ºC) or greater.

i really dont think i could live in that heat! hadnt realised quite how hot it is there!

Right along the coast it's always cooler. However, inland areas of California are very hot. The low deserts of California and Arizona are among the hottest in the world!

Death Valley, California is now again considered the hottest spot on earth. "Death Valley holds the record for the highest reliably reported temperature in the world, 134 °F (56.7 °C) at Furnace Creek on July 10, 1913.[4] The previously-claimed world record air temperature, 136 °F (57.8 °C) in 'Aziziya, Libya, on September 13, 1922, has been officially deemed invalid by the World Meteorological Organization". This information is from Wikipedia. This was a big story here in the U.S. last year

sounds as if it has the right name!

You're exactly right! Only the craziest people in the world travel to Death Valley in the summer. Many times during summer the temps get up to around 127°F (52.3°C)! I can't imagine living or visiting there during summer.

Nor any living thing! Plant or animal!

There's actually quite a few plants/trees and animals that live out in the Mojave Desert. I know, you would think there would not be a living thing out there in that extreme heat. Many plants go dormant in summer...and the animals are mostly nocturnal.

hibernating from the heat!??

those animals must be specially adapted even if they do only go out at night?!

The below link is a very interesting read; the climate portion will blow your mind

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Valley

thanks for that delonix, its really quite intriguing, i was thinking it was no coincidence that it is the hottest and lowest place on earth ~ the article explains that better. it could be a whole geography project in itself.

love the road runner ~ i take it he is fast because its too hot to put his feet down?!

the picture of the desert blooming is really pretty and very unexpected.

'furnace creek' sounds like a juxtaposition ~ sounds a bit like hell!

You're welcome. :>)

Death Valley, CA. is truly one of those very interesting, unique places on earth.

I was really surprised to read about last April's 113 °F (45 °C) temp. It's amazing it was the highest temp ever recorded in April in North America. Also, the overnight low of 107°F (41.7°C) temp which ties the record for the world's warmest low temperature ever recorded.

Certainly we seem to be working towards more extremes. It's a bit scary!

It certainly appears that way.