Hello everyone! Welcome to the Sixth Edition of this personal series called My Plant Of The Week. For those who are reading this for the first time, every week I feature a plant from my wife's garden, from a friend's house or office, or a plant I see along the way to somewhere. The aim of course is to showcase plants on this side of the world, their uses and benefits if any, or simply for their aesthetic and ornamental value.
For this week I am featuring a plant that has been in my wife's garden for quite some time now if my memory serves me right. It is called the
The Bleeding Heart Vine's (Clerodendrum Thomsoniae) other common names are: Bleeding Glory Bower and Glory bower. The plant is called "Bleeding Heart" because of its flowers which look like a drop of red blood exuding from the heart-shaped calyx.
It is important to note that this should not be confused with another variety of plant known as the Bleeding Heart. That plant is a totally different species (as was pointed out to me by a friend @ewkaw when I mistakenly thought our Begonia was a Bleeding Heart). This Bleeding Heart Vine is a climbing plant which can reach to as long as 13 feet. Its most interesting feature is its flowers which occur in bunches of 10 to 20 appearing on thin and long stalks. The color pattern is stunning. The outer part can vary in color from very white to pale purple and any combination hue in between while the inner portion is usually a bright red color which create a very pleasing contrast.
Last month I visited a friend and was pleasantly surprised to know that she had a small garden with so many different flowers. And guess what I found in her garden? A Bleeding Heart Vine with white flowers! Here's a couple of shots I took. Too bad there weren't much flowers at that time.
I will most definitely be asking for some planting materials of this variety to add to the garden. Meanwhile, the flowers could also be dried and used as decoration for floral arrangements as in the case of this framed arrangement which my wife and daughter did in combination with other dried flowers - roses and bougainvilleas.
Can you guess which ones are the dried Bleeding Heart Vine flowers? Yes, they are the brown ones.
And that's about it for this week. Thanks for dropping by. For those who missed some or all the previous editions here are the links should you wish to read up on them:
First Edition - A Superhero Marvel
Second Edition - A Pungent Beauty
Third Edition - Gentle Giants
Fourth Edition - Suffused With Succulents
Fifth Edition - A Ti For Two Or Three Or Four
Do follow me as I feature the different plants this side of the globe. Meanwhile please stay safe. Hope to see you again in one of my weekly features.
(All photos are mine.)
That is gorgeous! Great photos, too! I wish it would grow here.
Thanks @melinda010100. Glad you like it. I don't think it can stand those cold winters of yours. But not to feel bad about. I wish those bulbs of yours can grow here too but they won't survive the tropical heat. Thanks for the engagement.
!ENGAGE 30
ENGAGEtokens.It is a beautiful plant. I hope you and your family are doing well1
MAGGIE! It is absolutely wonderful to hear from you again. How are you? We are doing quite well in spite of the pandemic, healthwise. But business is not so good as it was severely affected by the current crisis. But the Lord compensates and the timely rise in the prices of the other Blockchain has helped keep us afloat. But not to bother you with that.
You. How are you? What have you been up to all these time? How is your dad? And son? I hope they are doing okay. Do tell please. This is a pleasant surprise to hear from you again.
We are all doing well. My Dad is fully vaccinated and we are actually able to see him now! Easter was the first holiday we were able to spend together in over a year. The weather was on our side so we could eat outside. DJ and I were able to get our dose of the vaccine before Easter.
DJ and I have been fortunate and have been working during the pandemic. I have been crazy busy teaching. Some of the students came back to school this week! It is great to have students in class again, as remote learning has not worked for a lot of kids.
I have decided I need more balance in my life, I can not keep working 14 to 16 hours a day. I'm looking forward to school vacation the week of April 19th.
I am hoping to have some time to write a few posts during vacation.
Wonderful news. So happy to hear you all doing well and sharing Easter together. Our vaccine roll out here in our country is expected next quarter. So until then we just have to do things the way they were done the past year or so.
It would be nice to have you posting again, spending a little more time with Hive. I look forward to it.
They are super pretty! I haven't seen one like that.
But... I spotted 2 kitties too :D
I knew you will notice the kitties 😄. There were actually three. Epi, Soap and Gray. They usually play under the plants when not sunning themselves or chasing birds that perch on the trees.
I tagged you on this because I didn't want you to miss the post, what with all the work you do. You're so busy. Also I had a feeling you still haven't seen one like this. Thanks for the appreciation @ewkaw. Much obliged.
I always notice the kitties :D
Very cool flowers. :)) But I LOVE the leaves!
The leaves are also one of the distinct beauty traits of this plant, wide and long with lines that mirror closely the human palm. But they are seldom noticed or overlooked because the attention is oftentimes drawn towards the flowers.