Happy Friday everyone! Today’s flower of the day is the yellow rapeseed flower. We spotted these rapeseed fields on the way home from Athlone, Ireland when driving back up to the north. Furthermore, I have recently discovered many of these fields here in Northern Ireland also, having become very popular crops to be grown here. Many farmers are turning to these crops for their economic value as they have become increasingly popular for their producing of rape seed oil used in cooking.
I couldn’t believe we were seeing these fields. They are really stunning, the bright yellow can’t help but make you smile and brighten up your day. It was interesting to discover how common these have become here in Ireland.
Happy Easter everyone. I wanted to show case some tulips today that I spotted during the week. They can be symbolic of Easter due to their egg shaped blooms and they are one of the first flowers to return from winter, signalling a rebirth (Kanuckel, 2023).
Enjoy your day everyone and I hope you have some delicious food on your table.
Happy Friday everyone and it’s Good Friday today for those celebrating Easter this weekend. Today we took a walk around Hillsborough Castle as they currently have their Spring Spectacular event on display. Here they show case many new spring flowers in bloom, with particular emphasis on rare Northern Ireland daffodils.
Therefore, my flower of the day has to be the daffodil today. I never tire of seeing these brightly coloured flowers as they are a reminder that winter is over and spring is finally here. I always associate daffodils with Easter too, as I’m sure many people do.
I hope they manage to brighten your day as they did mine today. Happy Easter to you all and I hope you enjoy some time to unwind and spend time with those nearest and dearest. Best wishes.
Happy Friday everyone! That’s nearly the first week of 2023 over, can you Adam and Eve it?
Today’s flower is the amazing Butterfly Bush. I have never seen this before so I was delighted to have spotted this. I love its vibrant purple colour and the shape of this flower. Originally native to China and other parts of Asia, this flower can now be found worldwide, although can be viewed as a pest due to its ability to invade and outcompete other local species.
It is named butterfly bush as its flowers are a vital source of nutritious nectar for many butterfly species and I managed to catch a shot with a stunning butterfly in the frame.
Happy Friday everyone and welcome to the weekend. This little gem was spotted on our trip to Hillsborough Gardens last weekend. Thankfully it wasn’t covered in snow and we were able to spot this. It’s bright colour certainly does catch your eye.
Red Bistort, originally from the Himalaya Mountains, can be seen all over the UK. They can be found in meadows, pastures and along the roadsides. Traditionally they would have been used in deserts at Easter time, more so in England, I have never heard of this but fascinating all the same. These flowers can also be boiled, roasted and even used for making bread (The Wildlife Trusts, 2022).
Happy Friday everyone. So, I have showcased this flower before but recently I have seen a different variety and it looks so much different in another season and another country. You can see my previous poinsettia here from March when I was living in Sydney. This flower is always grown as a potted plant and is often used as a Christmas decoration due to its bright red leaves. This flower definitely feels Christmassy, more so as it is now the Christmas season and it’s cold here in this side of the world, unlike when I had previously seen this flower in summer in Sydney.
Have you ever given or received this flower at Christmas? It certainly blends in with our Christmas decorations.
Happy Friday everyone and welcome to the weekend. My flower of the day is the blueblossom and I just happened to spot this in my parents’ garden. I love the colour and shape of these flowers and the fact they can be found on an evergreen shrub, making the blue really pop with its green leaves. You can’t help but smile when you see these.
They are native to the west coast of the United States, however, here we see them in Northern Ireland thankfully. Birds tend to love these shrubs due to the protection they offer, as well as the seeds that the blueblossoms produce.
Happy Friday everyone. I spotted this flower in the Botanic Gardens Belfast and I loved its uniqueness. I have never seen this particular species before. I love the colour and find it a very uplifting flower. Have you ever seen a common borage?
Also known as beeplant or starflower. The edible leaves of common borage, said to have the fragrance and taste of cucumbers, are often used to make salads, soup, and sauces. Its blue, star-like flowers can also be used as an attractive drink garnish and as an ingredient in some gins (Picture This, 2022).
Happy Friday everyone. It is another wet and wild day here in Northern Ireland. I may get used to this! Lucky we have some flowers in our garden that are pretty bright and cheery.
Pot Marigold – found in my parents garden. I love the bright orange colour and it’s perfect looking petals.
Happy Friday everyone! Today’s flower of the day was spotted at Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park when I was there last week. This flower really jumped out at me and I couldn’t believe it was another black eyed susan. You might remember I showed this flower last Friday but I feel that this flower looks very different from last weeks. Therefore, I thought it would be good to showcase this flower again. What do you think of this flower today? Does it look similar or different to my previous black eyed susan? I have placed the link to last week’s flower below my image.
My Friday flower of the day seen this week at Hillsborough Castle. How amazing are these? I love how they look like mini sunflowers and I also love the name, black eyed susan. Also can you see the little wasp on one of the flowers? These are super easy to look after and have even been known to be good for gardeners with brown thumbs (I love that saying!).
Happy Friday everyone. My flower of the day was taken in Bali. I was amazed to spot this as I have never seen anything like it before. It is a species of costus and is native to Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Happy Friday everyone. This flower was seen in the garden here at our hotel in Bali where we are vacationing for a few days before heading back to Ireland. I will continue to work on my New Zealand blogs over the coming days and hopefully share my Bali experience also 😊.
Aphrodite’s Phalaenopsis
“Aphrodite’s phalaenopsis is an orchid hailing from Taiwan and the Philippines. It is an epiphyte, which are sometimes called ‘air plants’ because they grow on trees or other objects, and get all the nutrients they need from debris that drops from the air onto those hosts. The delicate yet striking appearance of this flower has inspired the alternative common name of Goddess of Fertility” (Picture This, 2022).
Happy Friday everyone. Check out my flower of the day below. I think it’s amazing and I love the name! It actually does look like a little kangaroo paw.
Tall Kangaroo Paw – Native to Western Australia, spotted in Bronte on one of my walks 😊
Happy Friday everyone. Today I want to share with you these amazing flowers. The Bigleaf Hydrangeas I’m showing today are part of the decor of one of my favourite restaurants in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. The Chiswick in Woollahra offers a plant to plate experience where many of their ingredients are grown in their own garden. I love the outside setting, with a rustic, quaint and countryside feel.
I think the Bigleaf Hydrangeas really add to the ambiance of this amazing restaurant. You can spot them hanging from the outdoor roof in a variety of colours.
Enjoy your Friday and have a lovely weekend everyone.
Happy Friday everyone. It’s a wet one here in Sydney and apparently we are expecting a months rain in the next five days. Something to look forward too. Anyway, I spotted these amazing flowers on my walk a couple of days ago and was really mesmerised. The flowers come from the Matchstick Plant and it’s clear to see why, as the flowers look like they are made up of numerous little matchsticks, with a different colour for the head of the stick, just like a matchstick. How cool is that? Have a look for yourself below 👇🏼
How amazing are these 😍This is such a pretty flower. This plant originated from southern Brazil and is often used for landscaping and gardens.
Have a great day everyone and I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Happy Friday everyone. I am delighted to finally have that Friday feeling and have a whole 2 days off this weekend 🤗. You can see my flower of the day below. They definitely suit my mood today 😊.
Today’s flower of the day is the stunning orchid canna, also known as canna lilies (however, not actually lilies). I see these all the time doing the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. They are dotted along the walkway, specifically when leaving Bondi at the beginning of the walk. These flowers always mesmerise me every time I see them, the bright colours, especially against the blue backdrop of the sky and sea 😍.
Happy Friday everyone. Hooray for the weekend…even if I am working tomorrow but let’s not dwell on that. For today’s flower of the day I am showcasing the tea rose. It’s basically an ornamental, garden rose and can have a variety of colours. When I discovered these yellow tea roses, it just so happened that I was matching with the colour on this particular day with my bright yellow jumper. You have to love yellow, such a bright and cheerful colour.
As much as I loved the roses, particularly for their colour and placement, I also loved the architecture of this home and the white picket fence, which can be found in Centennial Park, Sydney.
Happy Friday everyone. Boy, am I glad to reach the weekend this week, it’s been a long, cold one here in Sydney. We’re all looking forward to a long weekend here in Australia for the Queen’s birthday, which isn’t actually her real birthday, so I’m not sure why that is, nevertheless, I’m not complaining for an extra day off.
I am not, in fact, showcasing a flower today but rather, I am showing you the berries of this shrub. The Golden Dewdrop (what a fantastic name by the way!) and I happened to pass this last week when I was looking at some doors in Darlinghurst. The flowers are a blue colour but I didn’t happen to see these, just the berries. I was really pleasantly surprised to discover these, even though in Australia the Golden Dewdrop shrub is known for being a weed. To me, it looks beautiful. It reminds me of the Leonardo da Vinciquote – “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. Let me know what you think?
Golden Dewdrops – I love the vibrant orange colour against the green of the leaves.
This poinsettia was discovered near my home in Bondi Junction, Sydney. It originates from Mexico and Central America and is today a very common decoration in the United States, specifically at Christmas time. This species is known for being a poisonous weed but also an ornamental flower. It just grabbed my attention with its striking colours and beauty. A classic example of how looks can be deceiving 😝.
Happy Friday everyone and I hope you all have a lovely weekend, whatever way you plan to spend it.
Happy Friday everyone. Today’s flower is the Mexican Sunflower. Named so, as it originates from Mexico and is a member of the sunflower family. This was spotted on my walk to Coogee in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. I couldn’t help but love the bright yellow. It is so cheerful and brings a smile to your face (mine at least 😃).
What an amazing looking flower. My partner and I thought this looked like one of those bottle brushes you see mothers having to clean their babies’ bottles with. When we found out their name, we thought it was very amusing. The crimson bottlebrush is native to Australia and is very popular with birds for its nectar, specifically lorikeets, which we see here in Sydney all the time.
Thanks for taking a look at my flower of the day and I hope you all have a very happy Friday!
Happy Friday everyone!! Today’s flower of the day is from the Coral Tree (Erythrina), also can be known as a Flame Tree. I think the flowers look really spectacular. The vivid red colour and their shape is extraordinary. What do you think? Have you ever seen a Coral Tree?
Spotted at Queen’s Park in the eastern suburbs of Sydney
Happy Friday everyone. Please see below my flower of the day. Todays offering is a China Rose.
China Rose – native to south-west China
This rose is significant for it’s ability to bloom almost every month of the year and therefore, it represents longevity. I like this idea of living a long life, through thick and thin.
Happy Saturday everyone. Usually I post my flower of the day on a Friday as I always think of Friday Flowers. However, I was pretty beat after work last night so I thought I would leave it for this week.
However, I was doing my usual walk today after work around the eastern suburbs and spotted this amazing flower on my way home from Bronte Beach. Even though it is Saturday, I really wanted to share this one with you all. It is known as Silky Oak and it’s botanical name is Grevillea Robusta. The Silky Oak is an evergreen tree and the flowers appear from spring to summer, which is quite funny as here in Australia it is autumn going into winter. Go figure! I was fascinated as I don’t recall ever seeing this one before. Let me know what you think? Have you ever seen this flower before? It honestly put the biggest smile on my face when I spotted it. I love the bright orange colour and the long looking tentacles.
Happy Friday everyone. This is the day of the week that I post some flowers that I have seen recently or I have managed to haul from the archives, as part of Cee’s Photo Challenges (you can find here).
Today’s flowers were taken at The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and are known as Wax Begonia. They are native to South America and are often used as ground cover.
I really need to return to the Botanic Gardens soon as they have such an array of flower and plant species and it’s a really beautiful spot to take a relaxing stroll through.
Such a stunning backdrop with the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge seen in the distance.
Have you ever seen these flowers? Have you ever visited the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney?
Please do let me know and thanks for checking out my FOTD.
Not your typical Easter flower but it’s a great backdrop for celebrations. I hope you all have a lovely Easter break. I am really looking forward to a glass of bubbles or two.
My Friday Flowers are back again this week! Sometimes I will post a flower of the day on a Friday but if I have a few to share, I will call the post Friday Flowers 🤗. I think it’s a nice way to end the working week, splash a bit of colour through WordPress and it’s a good opportunity to appreciate the little things in life that we can often take for granted. We are still having A LOT of rain here in Sydney and through NSW. I can’t even complain about it as some people have it much, much worse then me. There are severe floods here, people losing their homes, their livelihoods and sometimes even their lives. Plus we still have the war in Ukraine that is in my thoughts every single day. When will it all end? 🙏🏼 .
Please feel free to check out my Friday Flowers below and hopefully they can make you smile and add a little colour to your day ☺️. I will tell you their name and where I have seen them 👇🏼
Scarlet Star – Bellagio Resort, Las VegasFlame Vine – Vaucluse, SydneyAngel’s Trumpet – Wendy’s Secret Garden, SydneyPride of Madeira – Vaucluse, SydneyChinese Hibiscus – Kogarah, NSW
I have to say, I am in no way a botanist but I have an amazing app on my phone that can tell me about a flower species by simply uploading a photo. I cannot believe how amazing it is that we can learn so much from a photo. The app is called Picture This if you want to have a look for yourself.
It also gives you the botanical names, where they originated and other common names. It can also identify weeds, birds, insects etc. – simply amazing 🤩
Ps. This is not an advert for this app. I just want to share as I think it’s fantastic if you want to know more about the flowers you are photographing. You can check them out here at https://www.picturethisai.com/
I hope you enjoyed my Friday Flowers post. Have a great weekend everyone and if you’re in Sydney, good luck staying dry 😬.
On this very wet Friday morning in Sydney I want to share with you my flower of the day….Frangipani, a small tree or shrub, native of Central and South America. This beautiful species definitely lifts my mood when I see it and they are everywhere in Sydney. Also today is the 1st of April. Can you believe it! For many people across the world, this means spring is on its way. For us Down Under, autumn has well and truly arrived.
Thanks for checking out my Frangipani pictures. I hope you like them as much as I do ☺️.
I want to share with you today some flowers from a very popular place here in Sydney at The Grounds of Alexandria. Presently they are showcasing their Secret Garden, where lots of people come to take some pictures and pose with the flowers, mainly girls for their social accounts but it is a really impressive spectacle. I’m unsure if the flowers are real or artificial or maybe a combination of both but it really is a feast for the eyes either way. You can see more information about the event here.
Let me know what you think 🤗
A little video to capture your imagination ☺️This was when I visited the event last year.
Today I am show casing the sunflower as it is the national flower of Ukraine. I cannot stop thinking of this country, it’s people and it’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Hoping for a miracle.
Cee from Cee’s Photo Challenges has a Flower of the Day challenge. You can check it out here. I thought this would be a fun post to show some of my flowers as I have quite a lot on my camera roll. They just aren’t popular on my Instagram feed for some reason, therefore, they are rarely seen. I’m delighted to show them off here on my blog. A big thank you to Cee for creating this challenge 🙏🏼.
Tulips from the Walled Garden at Glenarm Castle, Northern IrelandOrange Coneflower, Swords Village, IrelandMontbretia, Cremorne Reserve, SydneyGuarianthe skinneri, Fiji Fire-star Orchid, Fiji Bird of Paradise, SydneyDaffodils from Queen’s University Belfast
Thanks for having a look. All photos taken by me. I have so many more if this post becomes popular enough 🤣.
WrookieSchU 