Have a Happy Christmas and Merry New Year from the Princesshotflash Homestead! A flora treat from Cora’s garden, poinsettias from the year before, doubled in size, with beautiful blooms. Her green thumb is at it again.
Happy Holidays!
Tag / Cora
In and Around Cora’s Garden: 08.13.20
Better late than never. A post that was hanging out in my draft folder.
Cora’s garden is blooming and fruiting as the summer gets hotter and hotter. It’s been hot and humid but with a breeze (my only hope for not melting).
Fruits
Our papaya tree ripening fruit about 1 every 3 to 4 days. Not as big as those giant ones in the beginning but still big enough for my parents to share for their morning breakfast.
The calamansi tree is hasn’t stop giving for a long time. There are new flowers and baby fruit on the trees so I don’t think it will stop for awhile. This box will be turned into marmalade.
I guess the hot and humid weather has been great for other people’s garden as we got some local oranges and lemons (ugly) which are super juicy and limes.
And we also got this long squash. It has delicate white insides and very mild taste. It absorbs the broth it is cooked in.
Flowers
Not a whole lot of flowers, they surprising me as I find the buds as I do my morning watering.
This orchid had 2 previous buds that the awful slug decide to eat one before it bloomed. Moved the pot to a higher position to spare it from slimy beast.
This on got repotted and I was surprised that it had a bloom. Really sweet heart blossom.
Cora's Garden: Papaya
The morning start to the day for Mom (Cora) and Dad (Joe) beginnings with coffee, toast, and papaya most days. The seeds and skins of papaya have been breakfast for the birds for many years. This relationship with my parent and the birds breakfast has brought them several papaya trees to their yard.
Their current tree is in a bit of an odd place, in the crack of the backyard walk area. You wouldn’t think this would be a good place for it but it seems to be doing well.
The homegrown papayas take a bit longer to ripen that the store bought ones. She supplements with one on sale when they are still sweetening up.
Sizes of the fruit varies on the tree, little ones without seeds to giant ones. Those giant ones are on the top of the tree. This giant one (left) is 2lbs, the one on the right is 1lb. There are even bigger ones on the tree.
Flower in the Front
Killing time as my parents get ready for an outing to Costco, I roamed around our small front yard and decided to take pictures of the flowers in bloom.
Desert Rose
There’s a row of these rimming the front of the yard. They are odd looking plants. The stem and base are grayish, gnarly, and tangled with leaves here and there topped with bright dark pink blooms. Mom likes these plants they are all over the yard. Notice in the bottom left corner of the image, the orange-yellow pile of stuff are the papaya that Mom feeds the birds in the morning and then turns into compost.
Bougainvillea
The bougainvilleas are potted and run up the side of the front yard. They are very old and a few have worked into bonsai by my dad. Most of them in old cement pots some of them made by my dad (That’s another post). There are all sort of colors from this fuchia to lilac to orange.
Cup and Saucer
The finches favorite, at different times of day they come to get the nectar from the flowers and play. These birds blend in with the plant and are hard to get on camera–no pictures. I usually know there because the cats are staring out the window at the tree.
Ice Flower Plant
This beautiful intense magenta colored flower is so delicate and last for a day. The plant looks like a succulent and I don’t know why it’s called ice plant when it seems to love the hot dryness of Waipahu.
CAT BREAK!!!
Lady’s Slipper
Since I arrived I wonder what those long leafy plants were. There were no flowers. Mom told me they were lady’s slipper and will bloom in the winter. As winter starts to arrive, buds start poping up. Then these fabulous flowers appear.
Hydrangea
Almost missed these, the flowers almost blended in with the leaves. Just that little hint of pink made me give it a second look.
Azalea
These bloom like crazy in NJ in the spring but it’s in the middle of February in HI there are few blooms on this azalea bush. Big blossoms.
Rose
Last but not least this pink rose plant. Two buds plus a bloom on the plant. The bloom was already spent so that’s why took a picture of the bud.
Princess Hot Flash 