SPANISH JASMINE

Jasminum grandiflorum, also known variously as the Spanish jasmine, Royal jasmine, Catalan jasmine, Sicilian jasmine, Greek jasmine, is a species of jasmine native to South Asia, the Arabian peninsula, East and Northeast Africa and the Yunnan and Sichuan regions of China. The species is widely cultivated and is reportedly naturalised in Guinea, the Maldive Islands, Mauritius, Réunion, Java, the Cook Islands, Chiapas, Central America, and the Caribbean. It is closely related to, and sometimes treated as merely a form of, Jasminum officinale.

Jasmine has been made into a well-known scent around the world. It was introduced as a perfume in Europe in the 16th century. The flowers create an aroma that exudes a calm atmosphere, relieving mental and emotional strains. Due to the pleasing scent, J. grandiflorum are commonly made into essential oils, perfumes, soaps, and cosmetics worldwide.

Here it is seen growing in our garden, where it forms a luxuriant climbing shrub, flowering profusely in Summer and whose delicious perfume is intense during the evening. In the Summer afternoons, my grandmother used to pick the burgeoning buds of this flower and thread them with a needle, forming the festoon you see below, which was brought indoors. As the flowers opened later that evening, the perfume filled the house.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

TRUMPET VINE

Campsis radicans, the trumpet vine, or trumpet creeper (also known in North America as cow-itch vine or hummingbird vine), is a species of flowering plant in the trumpet vine family Bignoniaceae, native to eastern North America, and naturalised elsewhere. Growing to 10 metres, it is a vigorous, deciduous woody vine, notable for its showy trumpet-shaped flowers. It inhabits woodlands and riverbanks, and is also a popular garden plant.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

CLEMATIS

Clematis is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners, beginning with Clematis × jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly. They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese origin.

Most species are known as clematis in English, while some are also known as traveller's joy, a name invented for the sole British native, C. vitalba, by the herbalist John Gerard; virgin's bower for C. viticella; old man's beard, applied to several with prominent seedheads; and leather flower or vase vine for the North American Clematis viorna.

Illustrated here is the splendid hybrid Clematis 'Daniel Deronda'. Introduced in 1882, 'Daniel Deronda' still holds its own among modern varieties and has given the Royal Horticultural Society's prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in recognition of its outstanding excellence. It produces purple-blue flowers throughout the summer. These are semi-double early in the season and then single later on. The blooms are followed by eye-catching seed-heads which have a twist at the top.

To prune, remove any dead or weak stems in late winter or early spring and cut remaining stems back to the highest pair of strong-growing buds. To encourage blooms to cover the whole plant, train the stems so that they are evenly spaced on their support. As new growth appears in mid-spring, train this to fill any gaps. Plant in a sheltered position that is not north-facing.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CROWN-OF THORNS

Euphorbia milii (crown-of-thorns, Christ plant, Christ thorn) is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae, a native of Madagascar. The species name commemorates Baron Milius, once Governor of Réunion, who introduced the species to France in 1821. It is suspected that the species was introduced to the Middle East in ancient times, and legend associates it with the crown of thorns of Christ.

It is a succulent climbing shrub growing to 1.8 m tall, with densely spiny stems, the straight, slender spines up to 3 cm long, which help it scramble over other plants. The leaves are found mainly on new growth, and are obovate, up to 3.5 cm long and 1.5 cm broad. The flowers are small, subtended by a pair of conspicuous petal-like bracts, variably red, pink or white, up to 12 mm broad. The sap is moderately poisonous. Wat Phrik in Thailand claims to be the home of the world's tallest Christ plant.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

WILD CLEMATIS

In the Parklands around suburban Melbourne the wild clematis is blooming. Clematis vitalba (also known as old man's beard and traveller's joy) is a climbing shrub of the Ranunculaceae family.

The plant has branched, grooved stems, deciduous leaves, and scented greenish-white flowers with fluffy underlying sepals. The many fruits formed in each inflorescence have long silky appendages which, seen together, give the characteristic appearance of old man's beard. The grooves along the stems of C. vitalba can easily be felt when handling the plant. 

Due to its disseminatory reproductive system, vitality, and climbing behaviour, Clematis vitalba is an invasive plant in most places, including many in which it is native. Some new tree plantations can be suffocated by a thick layer of Clematis vitalba, if not checked.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

PODRANEA

Podranea ricasoliana, the pink trumpet vine, has been out of fashion in Australian gardens for a long time, for no particular reason seeing it is a very attractive plant. As well as pink trumpet vine, this showy plant is also commonly known as Port St. John creeper, after its place of origin in South Africa. Its genus name Podranea is an anagram of Pandorea, the genus name for a group of closely related Australian native vines all in the Bignoniaceae family.

It is a vigorous, evergreen scrambler with glossy compound leaves. The beautiful trumpet shaped flowers are pale pink with carmine stripes and yellowish shading in the throat. Flowering time is summer and autumn. The fruit is a bean-like capsule containing winged seeds. Pink trumpet vine will grow best in the warmer parts of Australia, and is well worth a try in inland areas. It has low water needs once established.

It looks good grown over fences or walls pruned into a shrub or weeping standard. Pink trumpet vine grows best in a sunny position, but will tolerate light shade. It needs a well drained soil and a strong support if it is to be grown as a climber. Water well until the plant becomes established. Prune to shape and control growth immediately after flowering. It is high maintenance if pruned as a shrub or standard. The reward is a lovely plant with hardy attractive flowers, very free flowering, virtually pest and disease free and drought resistant.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.