uh oh!!!! I have seeds of this!!! Only a very very few, the trader sent less than five, but please tell me how to start them. If I am fortunate, I will share with all when I get seeds next year. Would like to start these now.
Nation Flower Zip
tiG, You're very lucky to have those seeds, I'm telling you how difficult is to get seeds over here. I know the Gov. now allows the exportation of seeds to outside but I believe they, (seeds merchant) sell them very dear.
I mail you 2 differents method to start the seeds. It takes some years to have them to flower but they're beautiful, that's true and even the leaves are different...
cristina
wow,wonders created in here every day!
not a long time ago i overheared that a gang of kids gathered together in the washroom chatting where the climite is the hottest
in the world.one kid said "the south is the hottest,and when you go farther to the south pole you will be fired to ashes."heheheh (being a teacher,shame,shame.).well,hearing the spring makes me feeling warm up now.
Yes Christina, You send WARM FUZZ's our way saying that you are in the middle of spring.....And planting all of the seeds.....Need to keep telling us there is hope...DOWN THE ROAD.......and Jianhua, it is strange, north and south could be so different down there...from up here...heheh....love it....Mom Wantabe..
Thanks for all the warm-hearted gardening friends.without your unselfish contribution,this thread started by me could not Zippppppppppppp on.and thank Master Dave who invents this excellent forum for us.wish more and more nation,state,province and city flowers are displayed in here!some day a wonderful picture netbook of nation,state,province and city flowers maybe come into being .
Jianhua... i think this will be an interesting site for u to take ur student to see images from different parts of the world --->>> http://www.imagesoftheworld.org/
MavieRose:
i have entered the links.i am sure the kids will like the pictures.but now...goose feathers are falling silently from sky.behold!some are learning skiing on the cement ground;some are playing snowballs--\**squish**////.i am standing nearby seeing their little hands are becoming carrots and their shoes are wet.oh, the poor old principal ,for fear of kids'hurting,is shouting and shouting.but the kids seem to have been dumb.fine,isn't it?
Being a flowerfan makes my kids into little fans.there is a little brook before our school.one of them picked a nice weed and and plucked it in an inkbottle with a note on it,saying:no scent of a flower/no tall as a tree/i am a unknown weed/spring breeze awakes me/sun shines over me/...
This message was edited Monday, Dec 3rd 8:00 AM
Jianhua... are u sure :D??? i think u made the mistake of inviting me to join in... i will be ur worst nightmare in such an occassion . i will be far worst in behavior compared to ur students, or if not, i might initiate all the activities for us to have more fun. it's not only the principal that will have problem restraining my behavior, u'd be sorry u ever did ask me to join.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
did u know, I AM the favorite playmate & companion of my nephews & nieces and their friends when it comes to being rambunctious, cause i have the tendency to be more sillier and playfull than they are ;)! we had lots of fun thou, to the dismay of my brothers & sister's in laws.
i may have reached a matured age, but still very young at heart & mind. often times, my own children would pull me to the side, and tell me to grow up some. my 2 grand daughters find me to be more fun than their own parents, uncles & aunties. i do not think i have grown a day older from my teenage years.
i can see u now :D), shaking & scratching ur head. hehehehehehehe!!! probably saying to urself "oh, ohh what did i do now?" sansejin ;)
MavieRose:
Why not?if i invite you just as a gardening friend.but the name of the game is from Goldgate to China it is thousands of miles away--15 days by boat.'fraid the snow would have been melting to null.heheh
Thanks again for the great links!
South Africa's National flower: The King Protea (Protea cynaroides)
http://protea.worldonline.co.za/sugar7.htm
oh no Jianhua, u've forgotten the jet age. am sure u're students will appreciate immediate arrival by plane ;)! LOL! i sure can calculate the air travel, but do not know how long the trip from the airport to ur town.
it sure is so nice to fantacise of one traveling again. i've always dreamt of one day to see the Great Walls of China, wondering about the great garden musiums and nurseries - u're part of the world has to offer. fantasy sure works wonders. dream, dream, dream,sansejin ;)!!!
Oh Maddy that is wonderful....Reminds me of a blooming artichoke ....but pretty, not green. Sure I am in different family....but.....So pretty....Thanks...! Wantabe.....
Maddy:
Wonderful indeed!
Wonder how big's the king flower head .
And do you have the seeds available?
Thanks!
MavieRose:
Better by ship--slowly but steadily.
Welcome all my gardening friends and of course
including you to the Great Wall and the peonydom--
the city of Luo Yang.I can act as your guide and
interpreter.):
No I haven't got any seed of the King Protea, I am not growing it myself, and I hear it is rather difficult to start from seed.
It's a woody shrub, and the flower can measure up to 30cm (1 foot) across. P.cynaroides has the largest flowers of all the Protea.
I agree, a magnificent flower!
Maddy
Jianhua, I'm posting you the floral emblems of Australia, the country that adopted me and I adopted it, means that I live there and that's home. I'm residing in Chile only temporarily .
http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/index.html
cristina
Maddy:
Thanks!after hearing your comment, i've had an idea
the Protea flower is at least as big as a sunflower ,if not bigger.no wonder our chinese flower magazines call it'feizhou diwang hua'(African King-size Flower).
Yeah,many woody shrubs do not like to bear seeds.
And even if you get seedlings,they often lose their fine-quality features.and in addition,it will take some years to see flowers.
Jianhua
ohhh Jianhua! u forgot i've been suffering with vertigo, besides ships make me sea sick which is why i prefer to fly.
WOW! that is a very nice idea! DG member's taking a cruise ship to China! everyone will have a chance to meet one another, have a relax voyage & enjoy each other's company, and learn plants growing in China. Plus an interpreter! what a bonus!!!
Cristina__my Australian gardening friend living in Chile,
Thanks again for your great contribution.in the eyes of most gardeners,the separated oceania is full of exoticism--
the kangaroo's claws,the deseart rose...
If possible,i will have a visit--to looth some seeds,heheh.the country is very near to us.
MavieRose,
You are really so warm-hearted.okay, then,open both my arms to welcome all the ladies and gentlemen to China.i am expecting to 'dance with wolves'.
Jianhua
Jianhua... if i could have my way, if lucky enough to win the Lotto [sweepstakes], i will take everyone to China & the Philippines. Watch out though! they might enjoy the orient, they might not want to go back, prolong vacation! ROTFLOL!!! u will not only 'dance w/ wolves', u're liable to sing the 'the sound of music' too! HAHAHAHAHA.
okay,let's start...do-re-mi......for all the gardening friends.do-re-miiiiiiiiii)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))(sorry for my ducksound)
This message was edited Sunday, Dec 9th 2:55 AM
there u go ;)! don't u start me to sing, all the mirror are bound to break. ROTFLOL!
i haven't seen u around for a bit, i was so concerned. i wrote u an email. hope everything is okay! is ur school year on winter break? i hope so, u deserve some rest.
i've been trying to find url for other countries flowers, but to no avail am i lucky to find any... as yet!!! won't give up though. maybe am out of focus these days. hmmmmm!!!
Months & Flowers(western countries)
Jan--carnation,snowdrop
Feb--primrose,voilet
Mar--Jonquil,voilet
Apr--daisy,sweet pea
May--hawthorn,lily of the valley
Jun--honeysuckle,rose
Jul--larkspur,water lily
Aug--gladious,poppy
Sep--aster,morning glory
Oct--calendula,cosmos
Nov--chrysanthemum
Dec--holly,narcissus,poinsettia
Months & Flowers(China along the Huanghe River valley)
1.winter sweet,plum,narcissus
2.plum,camellia,winter jasmine
3.weeping forsythia,clivia,chinese papaya
4.peach blossom,rhododendron,peony
5.rose,mogollia,purple vine
6.pomegranate,four o'clock,indian shot,cape jasmine
7.balsam impatient,lotus,rose of sharon,plantainlily
8.wolfberry,morning glory,crape myrthe,gladious
9.water chestnut flower,China aster,Dahlia,scented osmanthem
10.chrysantmum,gingko,fortunate,
11.cottonrose hibiscus,solanum
12.winter sweet,narcissus,nandina
Although I am a Texas resident, my heart is still partly in Louisiana, which has one of the prettiest state trees: Magnolia Grandiflora. http://www.hortpix.com/pc2666.htm
Aimee, are those the kind that produce big white gardenia like flowers? when i first came to Calif. i had a doctor in Beverly Hills. each time i visit him, he always have a huge white Magnolia flower floating on a dish... one flower alone perfumed the entire room. i wonder! flowers, specially with fragrance just amazes me ;).
WOW JIANHUA!!! that was quiet a list!!! i don't even recognize some of them. hmmm research time i guess ;)!!! i have to get on the ball hah???
Yes, MaVie, that is the one! There are many different kinds, including the little tree we call a bay magnolia, but the grandiflora is the one La. chose as its state tree and its state flower! Years ago, the Louisiana Iris Society decided the La. iris should be the state flower, and a great debate resulted. I am allergic to the fragrance of the magnolia, so I wanted the iris to win. But the magnolia won, and later the La. iris was chosen the state wildflower. The ivory petals of the magnolia flower will turn brown from the slightest touch, and it is extremely rare to collect one for display without causing at least a few small brown spots. The huge leaves are often sprayed gold or silver for holiday decorations, and they are used by florists in floral arrangements. They will last quite a long time in arrangements.
Aimee... i guess, i've been pretty lucky in my lifetime to be blessed & grow up with lots & lots of fragrant flowers. i could remember, growing up as a teenager, elders in the family would always make me wear fragrant flowers on my hair. suitors & admirers alike also pampered me with fresh bouquets of flowers. having been exposed to all the fragrance the Phil. flowers has to offer, my whole system is well adjusted, that i am not allergic to any of them.
sad to admit, i have exposed to many of them, but only knew the local names from the Philippines. the awareness of their Latin name is now beginning to open my eyes to their real identity! i think, much as i would hate to admit it, nostalgic memories of days gone by, makes one crave to know what they really are. but! it is never too late to learn, as life goes on, it is always a learning process.
my curiosity to the real names of the flowers & plants, leads me to explore & research their real identity. in the hope that i could pass on to my children what they miss or about to miss, cause a lot of species of plants are slowly diminishing.
all these years, i have been ever so curious as to the real name of the Magnolia i once was exposed to. i have seen many magnolia flowers around, but none of them, ever came close. thank you so much for giving me the opportunity of knowing the real thing ;)!
MaVie, you might also have been thinking of the gardenia, or Cape Jasmine. This is a smaller flower, with a somewhat sweeter fragrance, often worn by the ladies of the south. I have been sensitive to it since early childhood when it grew all over the island where we lived and gave me many a headache. But I still tried over and over to grow it. Outside the master bedroom of the first house we bought was a lovely specimen of gardenia, and I really wanted it to stay there, but after months of waking up with a headache, I had to give it away. However, not everyone is sensitive to the same thing, and you are indeed lucky. There are quite a few hybrids of the gardenia, which, incidentally, is native to some parts of the Orient, and some are even grown in hanging baskets. Others can be grown in pots, but do not thrive inside. Florists sell them as house plants, but the plants suffer inside. They are good in shady spots and on porches or patios. I can only imagine what a difficult time I would have if I went to your land and tried to find the plants I know so well, but didn't know the local names. It's difficult enough coming from ancestors who called things by names like butter and eggs, granny's bonnet, baby blue eyes, blue curls, lickety split, and spider toes. I'm still trying to sort it all out!
glad to know i am not alone in finding & learning info about the odd names of plants. it sure is a challenge to uncover plant's real identity, yet very rewarding to know their mystery. i love doing research, and at same time sharing info. in the process, i learn more than i expect to know.
i love gardenia. in the Philippines, they are called Rosal as in roses. a lot of people have great difficulty in raising them. in my experience of growing them, i guess the secret lies in adding tea pulp from the tea one drinks. the tea pulps does wonders to the gardenia. also the coffee pulp does help too. i guess the acidity from tea & coffee is what makes the gardenia to grow nicely.
take care... will talk again sometime!
Love the way smell Magnolia that, I have two (drawf) bush been had this 8 years and always looking for the Magnolia Trees could not find it around here so, my friend Combodia live across the street from us and they have one magnolia tree and wondering does it have seed or grow baby tree or how? Anyone you know about this tree? Let me know! Thank You~
Thank you MaVie for send me the hyperlink and so glad to know about this, You are so sweet help me thanks again =)
It reminds me of a famous chinese song when hearing that you are talking about the Magnolia.here are the first few lines:
The icy snow has melted into the river/
The Mulan flowers(purple magolia) are coming out/
The spring of the northern states
Is walking towards us/
My elder kin brother treats me like Father/
Though we are departing each other for the moment/
Yet our hearts are linked forever......
Yeah,Magolia is loved by many people.here in my school
gardens there are four plants of magnolia.the lotus-like flowers really bring us good feelings.as far as i know that China's Shanghai,Guangzhou,Dongchuan and shashi--these cities choose the mogalias as their city flowers.
According to 'Cambridge Encycopedia',Louisiana,
Mississippi---their state flowers are magnolias too.