{3 Hibiscus Varieties 'KONA' - 'CONFEDERATE ROSE' and a RED variegated}

In-between my silver Giovanni Raspini gifts, I love to show you what's blooming in our garden. 

First let me introduce you to this exotic beauty: Hibiscus 'KONA' which is available from Logee's in Connecticut as Hibiscus 'Kona' (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis hybrid). We have lots of special plants from them, just check them out.

Bring a touch of the tropics into your life with this exotic cultivar from Logee's. Large, rich fully double blossoms, resembling puffy crepe paper, adorn this vigorous grower.

This one shows a visiting insect...

This is where the two planters with the Kona hibiscus are; behind our gazebo on the small stone patio.

To the left of the gazebo, facing the back of our house.

Here is another planter with a variegated leaf Hibiscus in a flamboyant Red.

We did bring a cutting home from the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and voilà:

Pieter's hand for comparison, though it is by far not as large as the Kona variety.

It was on Friday, September 5, of 1997 that we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We had checked in early at 2:00 PM and were inside in time for the heavy weather in relation to Hurricane Erica near Puerto Rico. On Saturday morning at 4:00 AM we sat in our beds with the pillows propped up and the special curtains (triple!) closed to keep the noise of the raging winds with heavy rain out of earshot. We watched the funeral of Princess Diana... (she died on August 31). A day we never will forget. Our vacation was not planned at the right moment and being high in the tower with a huge balcony on two sides, did not do us any good!

But their gardens were lush and the hibiscus cutting flourished at our home; that made up for the heavy weather...

In our adjacent wood garden we also have since one decade this Hibiscus mutabilis 'Plena' also called: Confederate Rose. We obtained this from  Woodlanders in South Carolina. Another great nursery that has a huge variety and is in business for a very long period already.

This photo is from October 31, 2000. They are not yet blooming but I wanted to show it today.

Hibiscus mutabilis 'Plena' is a wonderful big mulit-stem deciduous shrub with leaves like a cotton plant and large double peony-like showy flowers in the fall that open white and change to pink as the day goes on. Freezes back in winter but does re-sprout here in the south.

Hibiscus mutabilis 'Plena'

{Giovanni Raspini 800/000 Silver Mini Frame with Angel from Italy}

How precious a gift for framing a golden moment in life... This unique Giovanni Raspini silver frame with angel is that perfect gift from Italy. From the vast silver Giovanni Raspini Frames collection you find the best offers for romantic moments, that need to be framed for holding on to it. This is item # 1251 and you can see more details by visiting my Zen Cart powered on line boutique: Mariette's Back to Basics.

Look at these cute 'angel' feet...

As usual this unique piece of silver comes in a beautiful gift box with satin lining and certificate. For more silver gifts from Italy, please enter Giovanni Raspini, in the search box, at the right side top of this blog. By clicking on it, you get all blogs with their silver gifts.

Sorry Sold out...

{Heavenly Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum}

Our years living and working in the tropical paradise of Indonesia, on the Island of Java, did leave of course several marks on us. If one loves nature; that is PARADISE! Right on the Equator, it is also called the Belt of Emerald, for it is so lush and green.

Next to our Villa, that the company rented for us in Wonosobo/Central Java, to live in, we found some interesting plants, fragrant and beautiful. So we dug them up as they were in an area that was abandoned and we would hate for them to wilt there. Turned out they were bulbs... and we did bring one home, washed off all its soil and prayed that it would survive the two-day trip home to the USA. We've made that trip in all, 21 times on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines!

Maybe it becomes clear to you why I just love ANGELS and ROSES; all things ROMANTIC. For having spent over 1,500,000 miles in the skies, MY thoughts are forever changed. More aimed at the heavens! Spending that much time above the clouds, makes you look different at this little world I guess...

Let me now introduce this fragrant gem to you:

Hippeastrum Fragrantissimum  

 Last year it bloomed on September 3

My husband Pieter, did bring this in on July 17 this year, but it turned out not being a great cut-flower...

Above shows an image of August 19.

This is the plant and from just one bulb we got some more over the years.

With a few plants you enjoy the different stages...

These images are taken before 8:00 AM with the dew still on their leaves...

Above image, before breakfast; Hippeastrum fragrantissimum looking at its very best!

This is at 5:30 PM... the edges start to turn brown and the bloom is going down fast.

Tomorrow another one will open up!

Buds for the day after tomorrow...

However short lived; but such an immense joy for having!

Besides, it brings back sweet memories of our life and work in Indonesia where we did live some three years and have done consulting for several decades. After all, we do have {Anita Anggraeni our Foster Daughter}, from Indonesia.
There have been debates about this being a Crinum lily but as I stated right in the beginning; this is a bulb. We do have Crinum lilies as well and they do produce their seedpods. This does NOT as it is a bulb.