Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Think Hot Tropical Hibiscus on a Cold Day

 

On a visit to Franklin Park Conservatory in
Columbus, Ohio for their Merry & Bright displays
in December some of the conservatory’s Hibiscus shrubs were in bloom.
I snapped pictures of them knowing that about this
time in the winter a lot of us, including myself, would be
craving to see some colorful flowers  especially those of us who lived in the frozen and snowy states.

Hibiscus_SnowQueen_Dec2

This was my favorite of the blooming Hibiscus because of the green leaves that had large white variegations running through  them.

Hibiscus2_VarSnowQueen_Dec2
With its bright red blooms  rosa sinensis  ‘Snow Queen’ was  just beautiful.
Its height ranges from 6 to 10 feet and is hardy to zones 9-10.

Hibiscus_Orange_Dec2
This lovely deep orange hibiscus was doing well in
a pot  just inside the entrance to the patio.

Hibiscus_Bloom_Dec2

I could not find name tags for most of the ones that
were in bloom so I cannot indentify them. So if you can
please let me know.
It does look like a rosa sinensis Hibiscus ‘Fiesta’  that
I saw online at Garden Pilot but I could be wrong.

Hibiscus3_Bloom_Dec2

Whatever its name it is lovely and a welcome pop
of bright, hot color on a cold winter day.


Hibiscus_Pink_Dec2

This beautiful tropical pink with a deep red center
remains nameless. I liked its delicate pink petals.

FPC_Hibiscus

This orange hibiscus had a shocking combination of
colors of a red and pink center and red veins running through its orange petals.

FPC_Hibiscus3

Though the combination of colors may sound all wrong
together, it did work on these blossoms.
I hope these hot colors will brighten a winter day for you.

Hibiscus2_Pink_Dec2

Our brief January thaw did melt all of the snow here
but I know it will all be back again soon  this early in the winter season. While some of you are being hammered
with snow and cold temperatures in some of the states that usually do not get it, 2011 has started out to be a  winter for the records.
My heart really goes out to our neighbors down under in Queensland, Australia where they are getting record flooding
in their summer rainy season.
Stay safe and our prayers and thoughts are with you all.
Until Next Time,
Lona

 

 

33 comments:

Unknown said...

You are making my heart sing with the beautiful hibiscus photos. My favorite is the 'Snow Queen' with its variagated foliage and smaller bright red bloom.

Unknown said...

Beautiful Lona and it did brighten an otherwise gray (and cold) day. You're right about that orange one with the pink and red colors. It works beautifully in a flower. I'll bet if I tried wearing it in clothes I'd get some strange looks though.
Hey I finally got your seeds ready and now to get them mailed. ;-)

Darla said...

Well didn't I just get my hibiscus fix, ahhh, I feel much better now.

Debby said...

Such beautiful flowers. I may just have to check them out. The sun here has been nice, hasn't it. I think we'll see snow again soon. Stay warm.

Roslyn said...

Beautiful hibiscus. I grow quite a few in my garden but can't help with names sorry. I don't know what any of mine are called.
Thanks also for the kind wishes for Queensland. Where I live is OK but a lot of our State is devastated and will take a long time to recover.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Oh, aren't those lovely!?

I find myself attracted to hot, hot colors when we're freezing up here in snow country. That orange hibiscus is such a yummy color.

I, too, saw the video of the floods on last night's news and my heart just went out to the residents of this area. Such a devastating mess. Very kind of you to make mention of it.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Lona my absolute favorite is the variegated one at the top ! That is simply GORGEOUS !!!
Yes .. we can all us a bit of colour in our lives about now eh ? LOL
Joy
woof woof .... hehehehe

Patsy said...

Thanks, I needed that

Anonymous said...

I've just got to get over there sometime soon! I am always so busy at Christmas time that I never get to see it then like you do. And I've never gone in summer either, only in winter. Silly me! I'm a member too!

Gardening in a Sandbox said...

Beautiful hibiscus. I have not seen a variagated leaf before.

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

Good to remember Austrailia, what a terrible mess.
I love that variegated foliage...but the ruffles on the petals are wonderful!

miruku said...

Beautiful colours. The white and green leaves Hibicus is sexy. I've just chopped off my Hibiscus, waiting for new shoots coming out :)

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Lona, the hibiscus are beautiful! I have two in my garage from the summer, don't know if they will winter over but they were a beautiful orange.

Eileen

Anonymous said...

The hibiscus are really pretty and such a variety too. The colors radiate and just seem to exude happiness.

Makarimi Abdullah said...

Hi Lona,
Just dropping here, after I read your blog on Blotanical. Great post. FYI Rosa sinensis (1st) picture is my national country (Malaysia). Hope not too late to wish you Happy New Year, Good Luck and All the best to you. Happy Gardening and Happy blogging ;-)

Tessa said...

Just beautiful to see that color this time of year- I like the pale pink one the best...I think, so hard to choose!

Happy New Year to you!

Tessa

Anonymous said...

I just visited one of my favorite greenhouses to escape the cold and was surprised to see they had some beautiful hibiscus blooming now too. I almost broke down and bought a couple! Your conservatory has some beauties. I wonder if they will bloom year around (and not have a "down" time or dormancy period?)

Malay-Kadazan girl said...

I like all the colours. Red hibiscus is Malaysia national flower.

Anonymous said...

Lona, all I can say is WOW!!! Those are some gorgeous flowers, and that variegation is amazing. Thanks for the shot of adrenaline. :-)
Frances

Anonymous said...

Lona, a refreshing sight for a long winter's day. Thank you.~~Dee

Brenda Pruitt said...

Such gorgeous photos! Oh, I'm ready for spring blooms!
Brenda

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I loved seeing all the Hibiscus! They sure do remind me of warm weather. I think the orange one is my favorite.
The snow is melting away here, and I have a feeling we'll be getting more too.

Jan said...

The orange one is fabulous...thanks for the quick 'fix' of warmth! I don't think I mentioned how much I like your argyle background on your blog...so cute! We just got a brown and pink argyle dog-color for our miniature dachshund. It matches her so well. Anyway, stay warm...and keep seeking out those colorful blooms!

Jane Doe said...

Hibiscus are such bright, bold flowers. As always, the pink just catches my eye.

We have absolutely no snow on the ground up here, but I'm sure we'll get some soon.

Have a wonderful evening!

Unknown said...

These are fabulous, Lona! I have a yellow blooming and nice buds forming on my orange with pink edging..they do really help warm up the cold winter days...Happy New Year!

Stephanie said...

Lona, love how you photographed them! The flowers look so lively. I like the orange one the most :-D

Balisha said...

I'm reading this post on a very gray dismal day...It surely brightened up my life...just looking at those beautiful...vibrant flowers. Thanks for saving these pictures till after the first of the year.
Balisha

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Girl, thanks so much for bringin' a breath of fresh air to a cold winter's day. My world is colorless and brown baby!!!

Your pictures are just beautiful!

God bless ya and have a marvelous New Year sweetie!!!

Pat said...

Ah..so nice to see color.
All the hibiscus are so pretty.
Now you have me thinking of spring.

Jim Groble said...

I have a 3 day seminar in Columbus next month. Guess where I'm going to spend 1 afternoon? jim

Anonymous said...

Hi Lona, thanks for the 'colour blast'which comes as a welcome relief on this dreaky english day, and i adore hibiscus....

Kate @ Gardening and Gardens said...

Hi Lona - these were beautiful and certainly warmed up my afternoon (as I'm currently watching the snow come down outside my kitchen window!). The variegated Hibiscus in the first photo is stunning! Thanks for sharing-

Barbara said...

I've never seen a variegated hibiscus before, and all the others are dreamy reminders of summer, and beautifully photographed.