Pampas Practical Joke

If you happen to be driving by a grass field you won't miss the Pampas, the tall fluffy cottony feather dusters.

As a little girl i fell victim to some meany's practical joke. The kid appeared to me to be nibbling at the stalk of this grass and enticed me to try it out to taste the 'sweet nectar" if i did (a Garden of Eden moment, if you will). The moment i pursed my lips on a stalk, he pulled the stalk end, with me ending up with a mouthful of the flowers' fuzzy parts. I almost cried. Such is my association with the pampas grass. Needless to say, my eyes were opened. 

Lady of the Night

Picture yourself in a garden beneath the stars. The house beside the garden is ancient but homey. The cicadas' sweet song reaches your ears while the soft breeze has a gift for you. It is the captivating scent of the dama de noche, those fragile white flowers which release their powerful fragrance at night. Though there is no one there but you, you do not feel lonely. You feel nurtured and rested.

Every single night you come out again and again to catch the magical mystery of why the fragrance is available only at nighttime.

Read the legend of the dama de noche.

Edible Katuray

Katuray flowers are rarely found in Manila markets. If you want to purchase them for your salad or as a side dish, you would have to go to the provinces such as Bulacan, Pangasinan, and Ilocos. Or perhaps at some weekend organic market.

These flowers are also called Hummingbird Tree /Corkwood Tree or Wisteria Tree flowers. Since they resemble petite birds alit on the tree i think it would be best to go by Hummingbird Tree flowers. If i had a big yard i would have this planted in it. Not only is its flowers edible, its roots, bark, and leaves are all useful.

So if perchance you find these edible blooms, go make yourself a salade fleur. It may relieve you of your headache, cough and colds.

Angel's Trumpets

photo from exoticgarden.com

What lovely ladies these flowers are. They look fabulous in their flowing gowns of yellow whose hems seem to channel Marilyn Monroe's photo where her pendulous hems were lifted by wafts of air coming from the subway. One can almost sense that had they been personified, they are stepping out for a night of ballroom dancing. 

But let not these dainties fool you. They possess a power so strong that its ingestion can send you to a different plane. I remember thrill-seekers in Baguio would smoke these campanilla as they call it and get themselves high.

An overdose causes death as every part of this plant, beautiful as it is, is poisonous. Just look. Don't touch.

Chain of Love

photos from citynoise.org

photo from mgonlinestore.com

The Coral Vine/Queen's Wreath or Antigonon leptopus is a much unappreciated plant. Nobody needs to attend to them as they thrive so easily just like grass. Left on its own, it will provide a covering for everything they can get their tendrils on -- your walls, your arches, your trees, your fences --- they are not picky.  No wonder the MMDA has chosen this lowly vine to somehow prettify the metropolis.

Its flowers are heart-shaped and they come one after another in chain-like fashion. Hence, the name cadena de amor or Chain of Love. Pretty.

They used to have a Cadena de Amor Festival at the University of the Philippines where annually (before classes ended second semester)  junior and senior students gathered linked together in masses of human chains by passing the garlands. It symbolised a turn-over of responsibilities and bequeathing of values and what the university stood for from the older to the younger. Links and continuity. But sad to say, the tradition  is no longer there. It was last held in 1968. 

Golden Blessings

photo by Katg

I have these sunshiny cascades in my garden. I first saw such flowers in Casa San Pablo where we were having a workshop. They had hanging planters of the Golden Garland as accents in the garden and nearby sheds. The plants were so lush and healthy you'd think they were artificial --- i could not keep my eyes off them. Gold does that to  you. All because the owners are such green thumbs. This led me to bug my husband to ask the helper at the country inn if we could bring home some to plant. Good thing they had some young plants for sale. 

photo from pinoyexchange.com

Surfing through the net i found the above photograph -- a pathway with an overarching trellis of the Nong Nooch Vine as they call it in Thailand. I was blown away by the possibility of one day having to walk under such profuse golden showers. That would be a wonderful blessing indeed. Already, though i have yet to make my plants as lush as i would want them, its yellow petals have already attracted a couple of birds with a needle-like beak. They were sipping nectar as i was having my morning coffee. Such a pleasant surprise.

photo of hummingbird from Only Positive.Net

Now i'm not sure what the pair of birds were because i am only used to seeing the ubiquitous mayas in our area. But it sure looked like the hummingbird. Divine.