The Amazing Giant Water Lily - Victoria amazonica

 

THE AMAZING GIANT WATER LILY

VICTORIA AMAZONICA

It is a remarkable sight and every Botanist’s and Naturalist’s Delight – to see the Giant Water Lily, with its awesome 3 meter or 10 feet in diameter leaves and the enchantingly beautiful huge Creamy White Lily Flowers – 40 centimeters in size.

Currently blooming in the Lily Pond of the Mahatma Gandhi Botanical Gardens, Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (GKVK) campus of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore is this Show Stopper – the Giant Water Lily – Botanical Name: Victoria amazonica.  

                                               The Giant Water Lily - Victoria amazonica

The lily plant was brought from the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata by Dr. A N Sringeswara, Curator, Mahatma Gandhi Botanical Gardens, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore.

The Giant Water Lily:

Victoria amazonica is an ornamental plant and highly prized both for its giant leaves and for its stunningly beautiful white flowers. It is the world’s largest water lily and is the largest known member in the Nymphaeaceae family.

           

Giant Water Lily Buds                                 

The leaves of this water lily attain an average diameter of about 10 feet (3 meters) and the remarkable feature of this fascinating plant is that the leaves are attached to underwater stalks as long as 26 feet (8 meters) in length.

                   

The surprisingly gorgeous blooms of the awesome Victoria amazonica are a botanist’s delight; these blossoms typically reach a diameter of about 40 Centimeters or 16 Inches and appear as white on their first day, then change to deep pink afterwards. The flowers begin to open as the sun starts to set and can take up to 48 hours to fully open.

                                       The Flower - Giant Water Lily - Victoria amazonica

The fragrant flower of Giant water lily only blooms for few days. The first night, the flowers are creamy white color.

Pollination mechanism:

 Due to the thermochemical reaction happening in flower, it gives off heat. The flower’s pineapple and butterscotch scent as well as heat attract native pollinating beetles, such as the scarab beetle of the genus CYCLOCEPHALA. By evening, the flower closes itself and beetle spends one night inside the flower, covering itself in the flower’s pollen. The second day, the flower reopens, turned into beautiful pinkish color. Beetle then flies off to some other Water lily flower carrying the essential pollen to ensure cross-fertilization. This process keeps Giant water lily species alive.

It was originally named Victoria regia and was described by Tadeáš Haenke in 1801, it was first discovered in Bolivia and is indigenous to the Amazon River basin’s shallow waters. It was subsequently names Victoria amazonica.

                                                    The Stunning Giant Water Lily

The common names for the water lily include Amazon water lily, Victoria-lily, or Giant water lily.

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MAGNOLIA GRANDIFLORA @ IISc

 

Stunning Lotus like Flowers of the Magnolia grandiflora tree at IISc

Currently blooming in the 400 acre wooded campus of the Indian Institute of Science, IISc, Bangalore are the large showy, lemon-citronella scented white Magnolia flowers.  Popularly called “Tree Lotuses” for their exceptionally large size flowers.  

Botanical name: Magnolia grandiflora.

This medium sized evergreen tree is native to the Southeastern parts (Virginia, Central Florida and Texas) of the United States, also called the “Southern” Magnolia.

The genus is named Magnolia honoring Pierre Magnol a French Botanist, with grandiflora derived from the Latin words, grandis-big and flor-flower.

The Hindi name for the flowers of Magnolia grandiflora is HIMA CHAMPA and in Kannada - the Dodda-Billi-Sampige.

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SUMMER DELIGHT IN NAMMA OORU BENGALURU - HEART OF FLAME - BROMELIAD

 

THE HEART OF FLAME - BROMELIA BALANSAE

It has been a scorching summer this year in Namm Ooru Bengaluru and bidding adieu to the summer are these stunning blooms of the “Bromelia balansae” or the “Heart of Flame”, plants.

These plants are often grown as hedge plants because of their almost impenetrable razor sharp leaves, because of which they often referred to as the "Barbed-Wire-Fence-Bromeliad".

 

Come summer and these often ignored hedge plants begin to blossom with the leaves turning bright vermillion red and from the center rises, the inflorescence filled with lovely lavender colored flowers, truly a stunning sight to behold.

Captured these images in the 400 acre wooded campus of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. India. The IISc Campus is a Botanist and a Naturalist's Delight.

The genus is named after the Swedish medical doctor and botanist Olof Bromelius (1639-1705) – for Bromelia and after the French botanist and explorer Benedict Balansa (1825-1891) - for balansae. The plant is native to tropical South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay).

 The most famous example of the Bromeliaceae family is the edible and delicious fruit - The Pineapple (Ananas comosus).

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SUMMER DELIGHT IN NAMMA OORU BENGALURU

                                         SPRING IS NATURE'S WAY OF SAYING LET'S PARTY

                                                                                                      ROBIN WILLIAMS

                                             

                                 

YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR SOMEONE TO BRING YOUR FLOWERS.

 PLANT YOUR OWN GARDEN AND DECORATE YOUR OWN SOUL.

EVERYTHING HAS BEAUTY YOU JUST NEED TO SEE IT.

                                                                                          ANON

FLOWERS ARE THE MUSIC OF THE GROUND. 

FROM EARTH'S LIPS SPOKEN WITHOUT SOUND.

                                                    EDWIN CURRAN

 

JUST LIVING IS NOT ENOUGH........

ONE MUST HAVE SUNSHINE, FREEDOM AND A LITTLE FLOWER

                                                                 HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

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PARADISE ON EARTH - KEUKENHOF - THE MECCA OF TULIPS - OPEN VIRTUALLY THIS YEAR

 

KEUKENHOF: PARADISE ON EARTH

(Photographs from my 2019 Visit to Keukenhof)

 

For the 2021 Keukenhof Virtual Tour Please see:

 

Welcome virtual visitor! | Keukenhof 2021🌷 - YouTube

 

 

        As the bus wound its way towards KEUKENHOF, in the heart of Holland’s tulip land, a spectacular sight unfolded, stretching for miles on-end were tulips in vibrant rainbow colors – pink, yellow, red, white, orange and much more. Then came the road sign “PANORAMA – TULIP LAND”, and I knew I had reached “Paradise on earth”. Willkommen (Welcome) to KEUKENHOF -The most beautiful spring garden in the world.

        Just imagine, a historic parkland of 32 hectares (about 80 acres) brimming with flowering tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and all the other spring bulbs; a staggering 7 million in all, including an astonishing 600 different varieties of tulips. A feast for your eyes, and in the midst of all this overwhelming display of colour: objects of art, special theme pavilions and events to celebrate the spring season. Keukenhof is an overwhelming experience for people of all ages. For keen gardeners and for people who simply enjoy a day out.

 

A lucky coincidence - The Tulips in the Pic are named Mrs. Scheeper's and as luck would have it the lady in the Pic was - A Mrs. Scheeper's, who happened to pass by and I got her to Pose with the Tulip with her namesake.

The Beginning:

         Keukenhof is located in South Holland, between the towns of Hillegom and Lisse, south of Haarlem and southwest of Amsterdam. The name Keukenhof - literally means “Kitchen Garden”. In 1850 Zocher, a landscape architect from Haarlem made the original design for the garden.

It was the then mayor of Lisse, a small town south of Amsterdam who thought of having a flower exhibition where growers from all over the Netherlands and Europe could show off their hybrid tulips; this was back in 1949.

 

       

Keukenhof:

The total area of the park measures 32 hectares, that’s about 80 acres, and every year 7 million flower bulbs are planted, of these there are 600 different varieties of tulips, and other varieties of flowers such as, hyacinths, narcissi and crocus. The method adopted for planting is the multi layer type, this means that different kinds of bulbs are planted in layers and will bloom on the same spot alternatively in Spring. The bulbs are supplied by 90 bulb growers all from the Netherlands, the so-called Court Suppliers.

        The park has an amazing 15 kilometers of walking paths and along the entire length of thes paths, strips of turf grass are laid out and tulips are arranged in different patterns and themes.

You’ll see Marilyn and Rambo and meet Prof Rontgen; then there’s Rembrandt’s favourites and mine too. There are Red lips and Valentine’s; Blusing ladies and Mistresses; Fancy frills and Foxtrot, all names of TULIPS of course.

                             

        Among the many varieties of tulips on show, encompassing the whole colour specturm; were an astounding variety of colour combinations - there were the reds and the whites appropriately named Flaming Parrot; the fiery red and yellows aptly called Rambo. The new varieties included the dark lilac almost black looking – Queen of the night Tulip, it is the most sought after and photographed tulip at Keukenhof.

Ms.Annemarie M.M. Gerards-Adriaansens – Keukenhof’s Public Relations Manager informed me that the total staff at Keukenhof is 40, consisting of 30 dedicated gardner’s and 10 administrative staff.  She said, “Planting of the tulip bulbs begins sometime between September and December so as to have the tulips in full bloom around the third week of March”.

It is time for me to head back home, one last glance as the sunsets and I know I must come back again and again. The tulips at Keukenhof have an enchanting hold on you.

Alas, this year’s Tulip Show – Keukenhof 2021 is online, please enjoy the Virtual Tours provided everyday on the official website:

 

http://www.keukenhof.nl/nm/english.html

 

Video by Sharath Ahuja:

KEUKENHOF PARADISE ON EARTH - YouTube

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SUMMER BLOOMS IN NAMMA OORU BENGALURU

 

SUMMER BLOOMS IN NAMMA OORU BENGALURU

“Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul.”– Luther Burbank

 

“Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower.”– John Harrigan

 

“What a lonely place it would be to have a world without a wildflower!”– Roland R. Kemler

 

“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”– Walter Hagen

“Live life in full bloom.”– Unknown

“Earth laughs in flowers.”– Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Every flower blooms at its own pace.”– Suzy Kassem

“A flower is a smile from heaven.”– Unknown

“Do something today that will encourage you to blossom.”– Unknown

 

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