Flowers in Australia - Acanthus (Bear's breeches)

These flowers remind me of the Bat Lily, a flower that I have photographed on many occasions in Singapore though the plant is not common as I have only encountered them in two or three parks. I have never seen flowers stacked so neatly and shaped like towers. I found pictures of this plant in one of my books 'The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Perennials' by Professor Marshall Craigmyhle in there were four pictures of different species of the Acanthus plant - the Acanthus dioscoridis, Acanthus hungaricus, Acanthus mollis and Acanthus spinosus. I cannot be sure which species the flowers in the photos belong to as that would entail closer study of their flowers and especially the leaves. It is too time-consuming for me to undertake this task, perhaps at a later time. I have taken many photos of this flower in various locations and I can see at a glance that they belong to more than one specie.

Flowers in Australia - Hydrangeas

I used to have hydrangeas in my garden

that bloom without much of my assistance
for I was only an admirer of flowers
delighted whenever the plants offer me presents
These lovelies belong to other people
I only stopped to photograph them as usual
and then when I looked at them on my computer
I discovered I had been missing a world of wonder
Sometimes we tend to look at the whole
and we take for granted the parts in our hurry
to get to where we are supposed to go
It takes moments like these to help us see

that not all hydrangea blooms are the same
if you bend to look closer they are different
and if you look them up for their names
the internet feature them in abundance

It was this very flower that got me searching
and in my looking for its name all around
the world, I came across so many beautiful hydrangeas
Wow! I am truly humbled by all that I have found

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Blaumeise' (Teller's blue)

Flowers in Australia - Weed flowers

When I took an interest in such a small flower
My friend said, friend it is only a weed
I said it is still a flower, being weed is secondary
I give all flowers the attention they need
and that makes me so very happy

Flowers in Australia - Oxalis corymbosa - Wood Sorrel

I thought I found a four-leaf clover
but it turned out not to be
It was just a pink Wood Sorrel
pretty flowers amongst the grass
and almost insignificant
except for its pretty colour
and so a day passed and it was great
because I saw these flowers.

Flowers in Australia - Anigozanthos "Bush Gem", Kangaroo Paw

These flowers are called Kangaroo Paws for their resemblance to the paws of the kangaroo and they grow naturally in the Eucalyptus forests of Australia. They will be great for my garden for they look like they are not fussy about their environment and they attract hummingbirds. I saw these flowers at the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne and Hobart in Tasmania.

Flowers in Australia - Yellow flowers

Yellow is the colour of the sun. On dull and gloomy days, these flowers lift one's spirit a notch higher and on sunny days, they brighten up one's life. I have no clue what the names of these flowers are but they have made my day just by their presence.

Flowers in Australia - Thistle

Two is company

Three's a crowd

Four makes a happy family

Flowers in Australia - Agapanthus - African Blue and White Lilies

I am blue and white
I am Ming
Porcelain you might think
I am but I am not
I am just petals blue
and I like my surroundings cool

Flowers in Australia - Morea vegeta (African Iris)

I have truly run out of interesting flowers in Singapore for this blog. So for the time being I shall borrow the loveliness of flowers from other countries to spice up this space here. Starting with countries I have been to alphabetically, that would be Australia. I saw these lovely flowers that I did not have a name for at first. Suspecting that they could be irises I googled on the internet and found their identity in no time. These flowers more than made up for the cold even in summer. If only flowers know no boundary or temperature but on the other hand if we have all that we can wish for, life would not be half as exciting.

Family: Iridaceae

Angelonia biflora 'Purple and white'

I have not seen all the flowers that are to be seen in Singapore. There are always surprises round the corner and here's one of them.

What struck me as attractive are the bold purple patterns that look like someone took the trouble to paint some purple onto a whole lot of white flowers.

These flowers will tell you that they are 100% genuine. Just look at the purple patterns and how they leave room for the white to make it look like the edges of the petals are lined with trimmings.
Flowers that look so playful you might half expect them to leave the plant and dance around you.