Cozy garden/Our World-Tuesday

 Growing up in a place surrounded by trees and flowers, I miss having my own garden, which I never have in over 20 years of living in the city.  So I was delighted when I got invited to this "weekend home" in Tagaytay.      

  Tagaytay is about 52 kilometers south of Manila, and its high altitude gives the place a cooler climate.  

The city is lush---flowers and fruits are everywhere.

It was about a two-and-a-half-hour drive---the long and winding road brought us to a house at the end of a dirt road in the middle of a pineapple plantation.  

This chair was calling my name!

I love the verdant foliage and cozy nooks surrounded by flowering vines.
Anthuriums graced the pathways around the garden.
Various species of orchids and other tropical flowers filled the property.  

The garden set provides a casual yet intimate space for new friends to get to know each other.

Tucked behind the cascading white and purple Angel's Trumpet vine is another set of garden table and stools.

A retired wooden cart  sits in the garden surrounded by orchids and bougainvilleas.

Linking to Our World-Tuesday

Church flowers/Blue Monday & Monday Mellow Yellows

Visited the historic San Sebastian Cathedral in Tarlac City on Saturday, and these flowers adorned the aisle and altar of the church.  The flowers were for a wedding ceremony held here on Saturday morning.  Will post more about this church in the next few days.:p

Linking to Blue Monday and Monday Mellow Yellows

Abstract 22/NF Abstract

The heart is forever inexperienced.

Linking to NF Abstract

Bird cages/Monday Mellow Yellows

Spotted these hanging bird cage flower arrangements near the entrance of the Malolos Cathedral.  I think these are pretty but a bit distracting when the bride was walking down the aisle.:p

Linking to Monday Mellow Yellows

Abstract 14/NF Abstract

I couldn't decide which photo to post so I'm posting both.  Let me know which one you like, ok?:p

"There is no abstract art.  You must always start with something.  Afterward you can remove all traces of reality." ~ Pablo Picasso

Linking with NF Abstract

Orchids for Easter

Easter spells beauty, the rare beauty of new life.

~ S.D. Gordon

Linking with Today's Flowers

Kalachuchi/Mellow Yellow Monday

Sonnet XVII

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way than this:

where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

— Pablo Neruda

 

Linking to Mellow Yellow Monday

By the bay/Watery Wednesday

Wildflowers by the bay

@ Edgewater, Subic Freeport 

Linking to Watery Wednesday

Shades of yellow [Photo Hunt]

@ mirandablue
gold hibiscus

Yellow is one of my favorite colors in nature.  Yellow flowers are especially warm and cheerful, and like bright sunshine, this color is energizing.

@ mirandablue
chartreuse Cymbidium

Chartreuse is halfway between yellow and green.  Other shades of chartreuse have been described as apple green, lime green, light grass green, light green with a tinge of yellow.

@ mirandablue
golden trumpet

The golden trumpet was blooming in my aunt's yard last summer.  I have been looking for the name of the yellow bud below---I thought it was hibiscus but it's not.  

@ mirandablue

Carambola or star fruit is a tropical fruit, the flavor is reminiscent of citrus fruit and varies from quite sour to mildly sweet.  It is usually used to flavor soups, salads, fish and meat dishes, also as garnish.  Looking at this fresh ripe carambola makes me crave for some.:p

@ mirandablue
carambola or star fruit

Enjoy Photo-Hunt

Home again...

@ mirandablue

Hello! I am back after an almost 3-week absence. Did you miss me?:p  It was an invigorating time away from my desk, from the noise of the city and daily routine.  I've reconnected with old friends and relatives, reacquainted myself with the place where I grew up, meandered through roads I've never taken before, and along the way rediscovered the many amazing things that I thought I have forgotten.  

Find what brings you joy and go there.

-- Jan Phillips

@mirandablue

On vacation

@mirandablue

In case you're wondering, I'm still on vacation...breathing in the sweet, juicy air of Negros.  See you in two weeks!

Red Passion Flower

@ mirandablue

Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive.  And then go and do that.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.  ~Attributed to Howard Thurman

Posted for Ruby Tuesday

Ginger [Ruby Tuesday]

@ mirandablue

Been absent at Ruby Tuesday for quite awhile.  For a comeback, let me share this vibrant ginger flower with you.  Took these photos at the garden in Eastwood when I took my 4-year old nephew and Fritz to watch the dancing fountain.  It rained earlier that afternoon---droplets of rain still cling to the petals.  I was delighted when I saw this ginger flower...my grandmother had this plant in her garden and I used to bring the flowers to school.

Ginger is a rhizome of the perennial herb which is indigenous to the South west coast of India and the Malabar coast of the state of Kerala. Gingers, a multifaceted herb,enjoy a special position in the botanical kingdom with their elegance in form, texture, sparkling color, and amazing symmetry. The word ginger conjures up images of an exotic oriental food flavoring; however, edible ginger - Zingiber officinale, is only one of approximately 1,300 species of the very diverse Zingiberaceae family.  Source:  The Flower Expert

 Ginger @ mirandablue

Posted for Ruby Tuesday

Orange [Photo Hunt]

@ mirandablue

An orange-colored flower called "Cosmos" and a blazing orange sky from my window at sunrise.

@ mirandablue

Posted for Photo-Hunthosted by TN Chick

LP: Bulaklak [flowers]

Stop and smell the roses---ang lagi kong sinasabi sa aking mga kaibigan na walang hilig magbakasyon, laging trabaho ang nasa isip at kung pa'no pa lumaki ang kita. Kahit sobrang abala tayo sa buhay, paminsan-minsan, kailangan natin namnamin ang mga maliliit na bagay na nagpapangiti sa atin.

Stop and smell the roses is my usual advice to friends who are too busy to take a vacation, who work all the time and are driven to get rich. Even when we are too busy with our lives, we need to slow down sometime and appreciate the small things that give us much pleasure.

Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul.
~The Koran

Flowers are love's truest language.
~ Park Benjamin

Posted for Litratong Pinoy