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(Bougainvilleas and some other...) Flowers of Đà Lạt

Bougainvillea (Hoa giấy) at the entrance to Đà Lạt's Flower Park Bougainvilleas abound; but they originate from far away South America The climate that Đà Lạt enjoys is not only almost perfect for humans, it exactly meets the demands of so many flowering plants - as they demonstrate at every turn. Here some images hopefully give you an idea of the profusion and abundance you can meet on visiting the area. The photos are from spring and mid-summer. They are not in any way a representative sample; bougainvillea is just too tempting, as is the 'Flower Park' in Đà Lạt City. My friend Duyên helped me with the names, some of which do not have easy English equivalents. Bougainvilleas come as
bushes, vines and trees The leaves of cây dong cảnh (Latin phrynium parviflorum) used to wrap food in Vietnam (known as lá dong). In front, a salvia. Cây bướm đêm translates
as the 'night moth plant'
Đà Lạt is in no doubt about the importance it attaches to plants - the local economy is driven by them - so having a park dedicated to flowers is natural Up-lit fountains in the Flower Park Hoa cẩm tú cầu literally 'elegant spheres' in English. Hydrangeas, to us, in our Greek influenced world Hoa cúc mặt trời literally 'sun daisies' Hydrangea head set off by the red of hoa xác pháo could be translated as... ...cannonball or firecracker tree. English knows it as Salvia splendens Bougainvilleas are inescapable - this one trumpets the park's entrance Hoa bong bóng has no English name, the Vietnamese translates as 'bubble flower', the Latin is Gomphocarpus fruticosus a plant from South Africa and common in New Zealand. Wikipedia warns that it can be poisonous. The importance to the area of plants is illustrated by this landscape of glass and polytunnel Cabbage patch. Flowering plants catch the eye, however, Đà Lạt is also the South's vegetable garden Our familiar impatiens, but no frosts here. They appear to be so called (impatiens is the Latin for impatient) as they seem eager to burst open their easily disturbed seed capsules A general view of the Flower Park More impatiens with a dragon-fountain as background Hoa đại hồng môn - anthurium - familiar as pot plants in the west, it too comes from tropical America Naturally orchids abound - although not always displayed on trees as they would be naturally Hoa sao đỏ literally 'Red star flower', kown to us as red passion flower.
Latin Passiflora coccinea Dictionaries render Hoa lưu ly as forget-me-not. So different from our flower, but maybe of the same family Another park, another raft of impatiens Cây huỳnh anh - Latin, allamanda cathartica - Golden Trumpet Might this inspire a headline such as: Bougainvillea Eats House Floating display of daisy-like flower heads Hoa phượng literally translates as 'flamboyant flower' a not unreasonable name for the state these trees can reach. Wikipedia claims it is the official tree of Vietnam, however, this is a claim not endorsed elsewhere. It originated in Madagascar and is known to us in the west as the flame tree or royal poinciana (delonix regia). Whatever its official status, it is said to be special in memory as it blooms at about the time that schools break up for the long summer holiday, and is thus associated in people's minds with the thought of coming leisure Trailers... The next page is about the way nature is being encroached by human activity in southern Vietnam. The next page of the Mosaic Section is headed 'Formless in Form'.
Or go to the contents of the Mosaic Section.

Connections...

The last page showed some of the (relatively) muted flora of Iceland The park that forms the heart of Hà Nội - with its flowers The tropical gardens at Logan in southern Scotland Or go to the page which was added two years ago.

Saturday 14th March 2020 ...guide to this site