Wednesday, November 19, 2008



I did a walk about the yard yesterday and there are still so many flowers blooming. Most of them are red at this time of year. This one is Turk's Cap [Malvaviscu drummondi]

Although Turk's cap blooms off and on throughout the year, it always seems to look its best in early winter when its brilliantly bright red flowers are most appreciated. Displayed against rich green leaves, the flowers resemble wilted hibiscus buds hanging from the bush. But these buds never open! The entire plant resembles the hibiscus to which it is closely related. The 2 in (5 cm) long tubular flowers appear to be constructed of crimson crepe paper that nods against the rich green foliage. The large oval leaves are about 8 in (20.3 cm) long. This shrub can grow to 10 ft (3 m) in height.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Just beautiful!

The cranes on your previous post are so similar to the ones I've seen in India! I thought they were the same species, but the red pattern is a little different. Take a look here, if you like: http://mendoncajose.blogspot.com/2008/07/keoladeo-national-park.html

Karen said...

They are beautiful, JM and look like the ones you see painted on the Asian screens.. More white and the red covers both top and bottom of the head.

Mine are the common Sandhill Cranes. We have large numbers of them here and some do still migrate north but as many humans here have learned, it's easier to just stay all year round.