Joyful Life

25/07/2023

13/10/2022

“I saw that you were perfect, and so I loved you. Then I saw that you were not perfect and I loved you even more.” —Angelita Lim

16/07/2022

“Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once.” —Drew Houston :)

04/07/2022

“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

18/06/2022

“If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.” -Carlos Santana ❤️‍🔥

21/12/2021

Fever Tree (Vachellia xanthophloea)

This subtropical tree is also known as its literal translation in Afrikaans as the koorsboom. It is so-named because it grows in warmer climes and swampy regions and was once thought to cause or spread malaria, but now we know better. Many animals and birds enjoy its leaves, and the tree can be found in throughout South Africa (Northern Province, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal) as well as many of our African neighbours, from Botswana to eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) to Mozambique to Zimbabwe and Malawi. It is a truly classic feature of African landscapes. A unique feature of this tree is that it doesn’t photosynthesise through its leaves, but through its bark.

10/12/2021

Dahlia Pinnata

Dahlia pinnata (D. × pinnata) is a species in the genus Dahlia, family Asteraceae, with the common name garden dahlia. It is the type species of the genus and is widely cultivated. Dahlia pinnata is a perennial herbaceous plant with a rhizome and tuberous roots, reaching a height of 70 to 120, rarely 160 centimeters. The stem is erect being branched only in the inflorescence. The leaves are usually simple, with leaflets that are ovate and 5–10 cm long. The plant is slightly shaggy.

The two to eight flower heads have a diameter of 6 to 10 centimeters on 5 to 15 centimeters long stems. The eight florets have a length of 3 to 5 centimeters, are ovate and coloured pink to deep purple.[2]

Dahlias are mid-year to late-year season flowers that grow in a lot of various colors and forms.

Hansen and Hjerting in (1996)[3] demonstrated that Dahlia pinnata should more properly be designated D. x pinnata. D. x pinnata was shown to actually be a variant of D. sorensenii that had acquired hybrid qualities before it was introduced to Europe in the sixteenth century and formally named by Cavanilles.[4] The original wild D. pinnata is presumed extinct.

Used as an ornamental plant, and was cultivated by the Aztecs before the discovery of America, and was introduced to Spain in 1798. Modern dahlias are often the product of hybridisation between D. pinnata and D. Coccinea.

The reason why dahlias are used as ornaments and/or as parts of decoration pieces is because there are around thirty species that are all known for their immense beauty and ability to survive once they have been cut. Their lifespan, once they are cut, is above most other flowers/plants lifetime, especial if they are kept in clean water with enough flower food to keep them healthy. They have also become crucial for many plant breeders specifically for their appearance, durability, and ability to easily breed. These factors, on top of how much knowledge there is online and in books regarding dahlia care, many everyday people can now plant dahlias, care for them, harvest them, sell them, and most importantly use them as decorative pieces, because of how accessible they are becoming.[6]

Besides being used for their outside appearance, dahlias tend to be used for their medicinal properties as well. This plants roots contain some "nutritious inulin stored inside them" and they even have "antibiotic compounds concentrated in the skin of the tubers." This was so much so that this garden dahlia was before such an "important root crop and medicinal plant among the pre-Columbian Indians of central Mexico,Yucatan and Guatemala."[7]

Like most plants, dahlias have their own preferences and necessities in order to blossom and evolve. They prefer rich soil (pH level estimated at around 6.5- 7.5) with enough organic matter. The roots must be kept moist since they are very shallow rooted which means they usually become dry fairly frequently and quickly. They bloom around mid-summer through the beginning of winter, they are able to survive a light frost, but anything colder/harsher than that, they will not be able to keep thriving. When the harsh weather of winter is approaching, the dahlias should be dug up and stored in a safer place for them.[6]

Many dahlia pinnata types can grow from seeds but more often they are cultivated by division of the tuberous roots or by stem cuttings. Providing the flower with some kind of plant food (mulch, growing media, nutrient food, etc) can really make the dahlia healthier and more likely to survive.

03/12/2021

What is Golden Wattle?

Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is Australia's national flower. The Golden Wattle blooms in spring, - beginning September - in Australia, with large fluffy, yellow, sweet smelling flower heads. Each Golden Wattle flower head is a bunch of many tiny flowers. Acacias are popularly called Wattle.

The tiny Golden Wattle flowers have five very small petals, almost hidden by the long stamens, and are arranged in dense rounded or elongated clusters. The Golden Wattle flowers are yellow in most species, whitish in some, and are widely cultivated as ornamentals.

Autralia's Acacias vary in size but have a distinctive yellow colouring. Most of the species flower during the end of winter or the beginning of spring. The most common Acacia, the Golden Wattle (Arcacias pycnantha) is found in the South Eastern parts of Australia, and the hotter and drier climates.

The Golden Wattle tree, is a shrub of about 4-8 metres. The shrubs and trees genus, Acacia comes from the Pea Family (Fabaceae) and is originally Gondwanian. About 1300 species of Acacia abound worldwide, with about 950 of them being native to Australia. The Golden Wattle features prominently on the Australian coat of arms. Australia celebrates Wattle Day on September 1.

26/11/2021

Tulip

Tulips (Tulipa) are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly colored, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm colors). They often have a different colored blotch at the base of the tepals (petals and sepals, collectively), internally. Because of a degree of variability within the populations, and a long history of cultivation, classification has been complex and controversial. The tulip is a member of the lily family, Liliaceae, along with 14 other genera, where it is most closely related to Amana, Erythronium and Gagea in the tribe Lilieae. There are about 75 species, and these are divided among four subgenera. The name "tulip" is thought to be derived from a Persian word for turban, which it may have been thought to resemble by those who discovered it. Tulips originally were found in a band stretching from Southern Europe to Central Asia, but since the seventeenth century have become widely naturalised and cultivated (see map). In their natural state they are adapted to steppes and mountainous areas with temperate climates. Flowering in the spring, they become dormant in the summer once the flowers and leaves die back, emerging above ground as a shoot from the underground bulb in early spring.

Originally growing wild in the valleys of the Tian Shan Mountains, tulips were cultivated in Constantinople as early as 1055. By the 15th century, tulips were among the most prized flowers; becoming the symbol of the Ottomans.[2] While tulips had probably been cultivated in Persia from the tenth century, they did not come to the attention of the West until the sixteenth century, when Western diplomats to the Ottoman court observed and reported on them. They were rapidly introduced into Europe and became a frenzied commodity during Tulip mania. Tulips were frequently depicted in Dutch Golden Age paintings, and have become associated with the Netherlands, the major producer for world markets, ever since. In the seventeenth century Netherlands, during the time of the Tulip mania, an infection of tulip bulbs by the tulip breaking virus created variegated patterns in the tulip flowers that were much admired and valued. While truly broken tulips do not exist anymore, the closest available specimens today are part of the group known as the Rembrandts – so named because Rembrandt painted some of the most admired breaks of his time.[3]

Breeding programs have produced thousands of hybrid and cultivars in addition to the original species (known in horticulture as botanical tulips). They are popular throughout the world, both as ornamental garden plants and as cut flowers.

Tulipa (tulips) is a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, dying back after flowering to an underground storage bulb. Depending on the species, tulip plants can be between 10 and 70 cm (4 and 28 inches) high.

Flowers: The tulip's flowers are usually large and are actinomorphic (radially symmetric) and hermaphrodite (contain both male (androecium) and female (gynoecium) characteristics), generally erect, or more rarely pendulous, and are arranged more usually as a single terminal flower, or when pluriflor as two to three (e.g. Tulipa turkestanica), but up to four, flowers on the end of a floriferous stem (scape), which is single arising from amongst the basal leaf rosette. In structure, the flower is generally cup or star shaped. As with other members of Liliaceae the perianth is undifferentiated (perigonium) and biseriate (two whorled), formed from six free (i.e. apotepalous) caducous tepals arranged into two separate whorls of three parts (trimerous) each. The two whorls represent three petals and three sepals, but are termed tepals because they are nearly identical. The tepals are usually petaloid (petal like), being brightly coloured, but each whorl may be different, or have different coloured blotches at their bases, forming darker colouration on the interior surface. The inner petals have a small, delicate cleft at the top, while the sturdier outer ones form uninterrupted ovals.[3]

Androecium: The flowers have six distinct, basifixed introrse stamens arranged in two whorls of three, which vary in length and may be glabrous or hairy. The filaments are shorter than the tepals and dilated towards their base.[4]

Gynoecium: The style is short or absent and each stigma has three distinct lobes, and the ovaries are superior, with three chambers.[4]

Fruit: The tulip's fruit is a globose or ellipsoid capsule with a leathery covering and an ellipsoid to globe shape. Each capsule contains numerous flat, disc-shaped seeds in two rows per chamber.[5] These light to dark brown seeds have very thin seed coats and endosperm that does not normally fill the entire seed.[6][4]

Leaves: Tulip stems have few leaves. Larger species tend to have multiple leaves. Plants typically have two to six leaves, some species up to 12. The tulip's leaf is cauline (born on a stem), strap-shaped, with a waxy coating, and the leaves are alternate (alternately arranged on the stem), diminishing in size the further up the stem. These fleshy blades are often bluish-green in colour.[7][8][9]The bulbs are truncated basally and elongated towards the apex. They are covered by a protective tunic (tunicate) which can be glabrous or hairy inside.

19/11/2021

David Austin Rose

A David Austin Rose, Abraham Darby is named after the man who built the very first iron bridge which is near Austin's Rose Nurseries in the UK. It is one of his most famous and most fragrant English Roses. A truly beautiful addition to any garden which requires a fragrant climbing rose.

The beautiful old fashioned cup-shaped rosettes on Abraham Darby are 4 to 5 inches across, with up to 70 or more petals in apricot, yellow, cream and pink tones, with a superb fruity fragrance. The heavy blooms have a delightful drooping or nodding effect.

This wonderful fragrant climbing rose will grow from 8 to 10 feet in height with showy mid green foliage. It is a repeat bloomer through spring and into summer. It can be trained to climb just about anywhere - even against a wall.

David Austin used the fragrant climber Aloha and the Floribunda Rose Yellow Cushion to create this amazing English Climbing Rose. On top of its other amazing qualities, it is also highly disease resistant, making it just about perfect. It is also suited to the Australian climate, especially in the Temperate Zone.

If you want to try to grow some of these fragrant climbing roses very closely against a wall, you can do it by learning how to 'Espalier'. Better Homes and Gardens. Fascinating! My Father always had espaliered roses on a fence, and other espaliered shrubs as well. Many plants lend themselves to this technique. And then there are Rose Arbors, Pergolas, Archways, Trellises, Pillar Roses ... so many ways of displaying your fragrant climbers and ramblers.

12/11/2021

What is Ferns?

Ferns are far better at coping with dry periods than either algae or mosses, but still need very wet conditions to reproduce. This limits where they can grow. You will not find a fern in a desert!

Bracken is an especially successful kind of fern in countries with a cool, wet climate. It spreads quickly by using underground "creeping rhizomes" and can cover many acres very quickly.

In Devonian times, many millions of years ago, ferns were the dominant land plant on our planet. Instead of forests of fir trees or oaks, there were forests of huge tree ferns. Later on, many familiar dinosaurs like the Triceratops would be happy to dine on ferns.

05/11/2021

Livingstone Daisy

Cleretum bellidiforme, the Livingstone daisy, is a perennial succulent that is a member of the Aizoaceae family. This hardy little plant is native to South Africa and has green-grey, fleshy leaves and daisy-like flowers in pink, purple, cream, orange, and yellow.

The plant has a low, creeping habit, reaching about 3 inches tall and spreading up to 2 feet. They flower in summer and must be cut back after they have stopped blooming. Livingstone daisies are deciduous, going dormant over winter.

Livingstone daisies are easy to grow from seed – sow them in late winter or early spring. They enjoy growing in loamy, chalky, or sandy soil that has enough drainage. These plants are low-maintenance and pest-free for the most part. Slugs and snails can be a problem.

29/10/2021

Sida fallax

Sida fallax, known as yellow ilima[1] or golden mallow,[2] is a species of herbaceous flowering plant in the Hibiscus family, Malvaceae, indigenous to the Hawaiian Archipelago and other Pacific Islands. Plants may be erect or prostrate and are found in drier areas in sandy soils, often near the ocean. ʻIlima is the symbol of Laloimehani and is the flower for the islands of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, and Abemama, Kiribati.

It is known as ʻilima or ʻāpiki in Hawaiian[3] and as kio in Marshallese,[4] te kaura in Kiribati, idibin ekaura in Nauruan,[5] and akatā in Tuvalu.[6]

In Hawaiian religion, the ʻilima flowers are associated with Laka, the goddess of the hula, and the plant's prosrate form with Pele's brother, Kane-ʻapua, the god of taro planters.[7] Lei made from ʻilima were believed to attract mischievous spirits (thus it's alternative name, ʻāpiki), although some considered them to be lucky.[8]