“Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection,
not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime” Martin Luther
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Leaves of the fan palm Licuala cordata. Photo: David Clode.
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Pink torch ginger, Etlingera elatior.
Pink Torch, Etlingera elatior, Cairns botanic gardens. These flowers have a waxy, cabbage leaf feel to them, and the young flower buds are eaten and considered a delicacy in Indonesia.
Red Torch, Etlingera elatior.
Red Torch.
Honeysuckle in the rain. Lake Barrine. David Clode.
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Flame lily Gloriosa superba. Photo: David Clode.
The Flame lily is the floral emblem of Zimbabwe.
Cunjevoi leaf – a giant solar panel. Photo: David Clode.
Cunjevoi leaf.
Pitcher plants. Photo: David Clode.
Pitcher plants at the conservatory in the Cairns botanic gardens.
Moss growing on the knobbly trunk of a cycad.
Moss photo.
The ginger, Alpinia zerumbet from S. E. Asia.
Alpinia zerumbet
Orchid.
The largest orchid in the world, Grammatophylum papuanum, Cairns Botanic gardens. Photo: David Clode.
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Dendrobium canaliculatum, tea tree orchid, with very small and graceful flowers. Photo: David Clode.
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Phalaenopsis orchid. Photo: David Clode.
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Orchid, Cairns Botanic Gardens. Photo: David Clode.
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Portulaca grandiflora. Photo: David Clode.
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Portulaca grandiflora. Photo: David Clode.
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Poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima.
Poinsettia
Tithonia diversifolia. A shrubby sunflower native to Mexico.
Tithonia diversifolia
Yellow gerbera and petunias.
A yellow gerbera and petunias in a garden I made.
Pink gerbera and petunias.
Pink gerbera and petunias.
Brazilian walking iris.
Brazilian walking iris, Neomarica gracilis.
African Iris Dietes bicolor.
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Dietes bicolor African Iris. Photo: David Clode.
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The striking foliage of Alcantarea imperialis (prev. Vriesia imperialis), one of the largest bromeliads. Atherton Tablelands, North Queensland, Australia.
Podranea brycei
monocostus uniflorus.
Monocostus uniflorus
Heliconia. It is hard to beat a flower which looks like this, and is called ‘Sexy Pink’!
Heliconia ‘Sexy Pink’ flower
Heliconia ‘Sexy Pink’. Photo: David Clode.
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Heliconia cv.
Heliconia cultivar.
Heliconia cultivar.
Heliconia flower
Yellow Heliconia. Photo: David Clode.
Heliconia flower.
Hekiconia flower. Photo: David Clode,
Heliconia flower
Heliconia cultivar – Crab claw or Lobster claw.
Heliconia cultivar.
Heliconia psittacorum. Cairns Botanic Garden.
Heliconia psittacorum.
A gecko on a heliconia flower. Cairns Botanic gardens.
A gecko licks up nectar from a Heliconia flower.
Gecko on a spiral ginger flower.
A gecko on a spiral ginger flower.
Everlasting daisy. Upwey, Victoria. Photo: David Clode.
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Fuchsia ‘Lord Byron’. My sister’s garden in Upwey, Victoria, Australia. Photo: David Clode
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Mussaenda philippica white form. Cairns botanic gardens.
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Johannesteijsmannia altifrons palm leaves. Photo: David Clode.
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The delightfully symmetrical leaves of the palm, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons.
The beautiful leaves of the fan palm, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons.
Fan palm leaves, Cairns Botanic Gardens.
Fan palm
Fan palm foliage.
Fan palm
Johannesteijsmannia altifrons leaves.
Fan palm
J. magnifica
Johannesteijsmannia magnifica. The underside of the huge leaves is white.
Licuala cordata
Licuala cordata
Licuala cordtata leaf
Licuala cordata
Licuala leaf. Photo: David Clode.
Licuala
Licuala ramsayi, the Daintree fan palm, Cape Tribulation beach.
Licuala Palm Leaves. Cairns Botanic Gardens. Photo: David Clode.
Licuala leaves.
Bismarck Palm, Bismarckia nobilis from Madagascar.
The glorious silvery-grey fronds of the Bismarck palm.
The scented, camellia-like flower of Gustavia superba
Gustavia flower
Gustavia superba flower.
Gustavia close up.
Gustavia stamens.
Gustavia stamens
Gustavia
The unusual pink and orange flowers of Aphelandra sinclaireana. Flecker Botanic Gardens, Cairns.
Aphelandra sinclaireana, Cairns botanic gardens.
Calliandra ‘Pink Poodle’
Calliandra cv. ‘Pink Poodle’ in my garden.
Thorns close up, Ceiba speciosa
Close up photo of the thorns on a Ceiba speciosa (Chorisia speciosa) tree.
Thorny tree trunk.
Another thorny tree trunk (a different type of tree – Hura crepitans, Sandbox tree).
Thorny tree trunk.
Thorny tree trunk.
Ornamental ginger, Alpinia purpurata.
Ornamental ginger, Alpinia purpurata.
Zinnias in a vegetable garden in Cairns.
Zinnias in a vegetable garden in Cairns.
A flower in the ginger family.
A flower in the ginger family.
Chinese ground orchid.
Chinese ground orchid Bletilla, with plumbago Plumbago auriculata in the background.
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Pride of Burma. Amherstia nobilis. Photo: David Clode.
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Melastoma affine. Photo: David Clode.
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Kalanchoe blossfeldiana. Photo: David Clode.
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“More than anything, I must have flowers, always, always.”
Claude Monet, talking to his gardeners at Giverny.
