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Posts Tagged ‘gardenia’


It ‘s a bright and sunny morning. I lost interest blogging and reading blogs for a while. Oh yeah, sometimes this heat gets to one’s nerves and I just felt lazy to share. Been updated on my reading the past two days, gardened for a while in between. A friend from Tiaong, Quezon sent me some sunflower seeds from his garden. I hope they are the orange ones. He has dwarf varieties of yellow and orange blooms.

Finally, my Gardenia shrub is showing lots of flower buds almost in every tip of the plant. It is nearing May and that’s the month they are usually in full bloom. I used to write something about my memories of dad on his birthday and death anniversary. I also used to share delightful and sometimes funny conversations with Mom. Two decades ago, we brought her to an ear specialist at the UST Hospital to have her ears and hearing checked. The otolaryngologist suggested that she wear hearing aids and so we bought a pair, had her ears measured. Back then, more than twenty years ago, a 25K hearing aid was expensive enough. She never learned to use it so her hearing problems got worse until she died. You had to speak close to her ears and shout a little so she would understand.

One of her favorite flowers is the Gardenia. I remember our old house in the province where several Gardenia plants were planted surrounding the house. When we had a smaller house constructed for her and dad, I  never  noticed what happened to those plants. Yesterday while I was at the garden, I   noticed  three flowers in full bloom so I put them in a vase.

I do remember those days when mom would bury her nose in those blooms and smell the heady scent. Mom would always say, “agayla ya ah, agaylay balingit” in our dialect which means the flowers smell so sweet.

If she were alive today, she would be turning 95 on April 20. I miss you so much mom. 💛💜❤

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It rains every day now

and seeing these late Gardenia blooms reminds me of summer,

those days of lovely sunrise and sunset.

Life is good.

Life is wonderful.

And I always remind myself to take time and appreciate what nature brings.

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It was a busy weekend but days before that I was so lazy even to go out because of the summer heat. I finished three books in one week.

Fancy an early morning breathing  in the heavenly fragrance of Gardenia and Amazon Lily flowers mixed with the lemony scent of Calamansi (Philippine lime) flower buds.  It’s a perfect excuse to stay in the garden for a while. My Gardenia shrub is flowering again, a bit early for the month of May when it shows its blooms almost in every tip of the branches. I didn’t know that Gardenia symbolizes love, harmony and grace and it was named after Dr. Alexander Garden, an American botanist, until now. I just love Gardenia and when it is in bloom , I always take shots of the lovely white flowers.  Our two Calamansi trees are on their flowering stage too but the fruits are there all year-long.

Finally, one of our jackfruits was ready for harvest. I was as excited as Josef when we finally harvested it the other day and this morning, I sliced  it with a sharp knife and  separated the pulp from the rind. Josef just wants  it  fresh and cold from the ref.  One can cook it as “langka preserve” or marmalade, the way you cook other fruits in season.

Jackfruit, anyone?

Jackfruit, anyone?

The young green one is cooked as a yummy vegetable dish, either sautéed in pork or cooked in coconut cream with lots of chilis. Try it, it is best served a little hot and spicy.

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Every year, I am gifted with the heady scent of a gardenia bloom. The previous years, I was  just so happy seeing one or two, three at the most blooming all at once. This year though, they bloomed early and almost every tip of my gardenia shrub has buds. I can’t resist making a flower arrangement. These are flowers of my childhood,  mom used to grow them lined at the walkway going to our front door.

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The month of May is always something I do look forward to because I know my lone gardenia shrub would not disappoint. It always gives me that heady and intoxicating scent every time I see a new bloom. Here’s a first for this year and lots more coming because almost every tip has a bud just waiting to unfurl.

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Today, we are celebrating one of the loveliest feast in the Catholic calendar, the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Elizabeth, who was Mary’s cousin was six months pregnant with St. John the Baptist. This feast commemorates the second joyful mysteries of the holy rosary. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greetings, the infant leaped in her womb. In the gospel of Luke 1: 46-55, we find Mary’s Magnificat, the great worship hymn of Mary.

And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.”

I spent the early part of the morning weeding. There are overgrown unwanted weeds interspersed with our carabao grass.  Sometimes, it is really hard to maintain a garden no matter how small it is but the you can’t quantify the joys and fulfillment you find in digging the earth, letting the rich smell reach your senses. And it is even better when you find blooms all around.  The quiet time you spend in a garden just feels like you are meditating, learning about the wonder that nature brings. You may find a stray plant that you haven’t seen for quite a while. Annuals just sprout in a corner, more like, now you see them, now you don’t.

I now have several blooms of my lovely Gardenia plant. Almost every tip has a bud waiting to open. How enchanting and lovely to see the white flowers hiding behind the silky green leaves.  I was able to buy another type of Begonia last week.  I have two Semperflorens in white and red but I couldn’t place the name of the one I bought recently. Its flowers are elongated and are deep red and the leaves are somewhat thicker.

The month of May is ending.  I wish to see more blooms this coming month of June. And as always, I greet the new month with enthusiasm and joy.

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What a lovely way to start the morning!  Got a glimpse of my  first Gardenia bloom this year. How I love the heady, intoxicating scent of this beautiful flower. Can’t get enough so I took several shots.

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For several days now, I’ve been waiting for this bud to bloom.  I’ve been on the look-out for that sweet and heady scent of a gardenia.  It reminds me of childhood spent in the province.

My lovely gardenia!

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