Cydista aequinoctialis - Garlic Vine

The name does not refer to the fragrance of the flowers. I read that if you crush the leaves you will get the smell of garlic. I have not tried that yet and have no inclination to do so for smelling flowers is not something I do out of habit. In fact, I have been conditioned not to smell flowers as a kid.

Unfortunately, to this day, I have to make a special effort to appreciate flowers through the sense of smell and only if I remember to do so. It does not really matter as I my enjoyment of flowers is derived from looking and photographing them. This garlic vine outside a neighbour's house has been providing me with many visual treats since it started as a scrawny vine climbing up a tree.

Now it is well-trained around a wooden structure that the neighbour has built around the trunk of the tree. In the clusters of flowers you see the effects of age - purple for youth, lilac for middle age and white for old age.

Garlic Vine flowers

I never tire of this vine just as it seemingly never tires of flowering so frequently. These flowers are most enchanting when they are newly bloomed. Time drains them of their colour each day as if taking its rightful due. "A rose will bloom, it then will fade; so does a youth, so does the fairest maid." Snippets of a song from Romeo and Juliet years ago - the only song that I can somehow recall almost all the lyrics correctly. Looks like there are some things time cannot take away easily at will.

Garlic Vine - Cydista Aequinoctialis

These are the only flowers I am seeing these days. It does not matter that they do not belong to me. The owner loves plants and has a nurturing hand when it comes to growing them. My days are blessed because I get to enjoy these blooms since they are grown outside his house beside the pavement.

Some facts I have found out about the Garlic Vine: The flowers and especially the leaves have a strong garlic smell when crushed. I have smelled the flowers and it is true that they do smell like garlic although I do not go further to pluck the leaves. What would the owner think if I did that?

This vine is a good climber which is why the owner has painstakingly built a wooden structure to support the plant. I can imagine the day when the plant takes over the entire structure, what a sight that would be. It is said that the plant is a garlic substitute in cooking though I am not sure which part. It would most likely be the leaves. The flowers come in various shades of purple from dark to light as they age, till they become white and then brown before they die. I also saw a photo of the fruit which looks like a kind of long bean. I shall now keep a look out for the fruit, hopefully the owner does not trim the plant before the fruits appear.

Family: Bignoniaceae

Origin: Tropical America

Garlic Vine - Cydista Aequinoctialis

This is my first post for 2008. These garlic vine flowers were seen in the last two days at different times of the day.

Morning

Noon

Twilight

We mark time by the passage of the sun

Public holidays

Children's milestones

Work commitments and completion

Social obligations

We pass time and time passes us by

But the flowers will come and go

Another year, another passage

filled with hope, anticipation and belief

that things will be great in 2008.

Garlic Vine - Cydista Aequinoctialis

Around noon today I came across these attractive blooms in the neighbourhood. Though I have photographed them before, flowers are never the same at another time and place. These were new flowers judging by the deep rich purple colour. Older clusters have a more faded look with lighter shades of purple in other parts of the same plant. These were conveniently located under a tree next to an orchid plant that the owner has hung on one of its branches.

These pictures were taken to celebrate the wonderful day it was today because we had great sunshine. We enjoy nature's love in Singapore and are grateful for that. When I saw these flowers, I only wanted to show off their beauty and I feel privileged to have been there at the right time to witness such loveliness. Despite the heat that came with the generosity of the sun, we are blessed with warmth and abundance in just the right quantity in Singapore. What more can I say for the flowers have said all.

Five days later, these flowers are showing signs of aging:

Family : Bignoniaceae

Origin : Tropical America

Garlic Vine flowers - Cydista aequinoctialis

Garlic Vine flowers

Family: Bignoniaceae

Origin: Tropical America

For a change, flowers that are not red, yellow or orange.