Wisteria sinensis and buzz about flower constancy

No matter how I’ve tried,I’ve newer recorded such a success with my garden efforts as did I with simple act of planting Wisteria sinensis alba about ten years ago.I am absolutely noncompetitive gardener,but must admit that it feels good when my neighbors stop by our house in simple admiration of white waterfall,I’ve noticed even some envy in eyes of my dear next-door neighbor having blue variety of wisteria which doesn’t want to flower.But there is something I enjoy even more as flattery during May, when my wisteria is  just as magical smelling cloud-it is sitting on our wisteria terrace and observing many bees and bumblebees constantly flying among scented flowers.There are so many a buzz is becoming  a sort of music,vanishing with wind and appearing stronger again and again.The same one bumblebees are coming back to eat sweet nectar again and again,day after day!Well, this is called flower constancy (and not,as one might assume the constant beauty of my wisteria) although from my point of view it could be called bumblebee constancy!

Bumblebees will also tend to visit the same patches of flowers every day, as long as they continue to find nectar and pollen,^[11] a habit known as pollinator or flower constancy. While foraging, bumblebees can reach ground speeds of up to 15 metres per second (54 km/h).^{[12] from;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumblebee}

Wisteria sinensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Tribe:	Millettieae
Genus:	Wisteria
Species:	W. sinensis
Binomial name
Wisteria sinensis (Sims) DCfrom:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisteria_sinensis

White spider and lilacs

Syringa vulgaris or smell of spring

When May comes after a long winter, it looks like green hues are painting the landscape all over the place.Since always you remember the spring smell of new leaves opening all over the forests, gardens, parks.And, indeed, when then first fresh green tiny leaves are unpacked from buds ,it again feels in  spring of this year everything could be possible, even the almost forgotten smell of lilacs seems to become more as mere memory quite soon.And when  then comes the first tiny spring rain,washing down leafy smell from the air,you feel spring is already evidently here ,but then you open the window and sweet smell of lilacs embraces you.There it is, lilacs in fool bloom , and now you know for sure, this spring is real…… 

“Open Window Lilacs Study 1886″ oil on Canvas,Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov, from:http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_297499/Valentin-Aleksandrovich-Serov/page-1

“The Lilac Bouquet” oil on Canvas, location: Private collection.Serkis Diranian, from:http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_80221/Serkis-Diranian/page-1

“The Bunch of Lilacs” oil on Canvas.James Jacques Joseph Tissot from:http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_253706/James-Jacques-Joseph-Tissot/page-1

“Gathering Lilacs” oil on Canvas Daniel Ridgway Knight, from:http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_324463/Daniel-Ridgway-Knight/page-1

“Lilacs” oil on Canvas Boris Kustodiev, from:http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_204631/Boris-Kustodiev/page-1

Tiny stars

Prunus serrulata and Cherry blossom Viewing

Utagawa or Ando Hiroshige:”Cherry Blossom at Asakura” oil on Canvas.from:http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_210155/Utagawa-or-Ando-Hiroshige/page-1

Torii Kiyonaga: ”Cherry Blossoms at Asakayama near Edo” oil on Canvas.from:http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_203768/Torii-Kiyonaga/page-1

Pierre Amede Marcel-Beronneau:”Cherry Blossom” oil on Canvas.from:http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_368106/Pierre-Amede-Marcel-Beronneau/page-1

Ogata Gekko:”Cherry blossom Viewing at Kiyomizu Hall in Ueno” oil on Canvas.from:http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_286026/Ogata-Gekko/page-1

Spring makes me happy each year .This year the winter was cold and so long we almost forgot the colours of a spring sunny day. Yet it is now here, opening our hopes towards the future, making us believe sun will shine forever and all these vivid colours of spring flowers in breeze will carry us into some new days. Unexpectedly,this Japanese cherry in full bloom embraced me not only with the smell of new day to come, but with sweet memories of past days at the same time.Admiring pink cherry buds opened in early day I remembered how many years ago my son couldn’t wait cherry blossoms to fall down to make us a pink carpet on the pavement on our way to kinder-garden.And as these thoughts under cherry tree have carried me back into memories I’ve searched across some old art works with cherry trees catching my memories-to be transposed in future of the spring day again, staying fascinated with the impression of old and new times catching each other under a cherry tree!

Magnolia stellata

Euphorbia and ancient king Juba II of Numidia

Euphorbia forms one of the biggest genera of plants.It originates in tropical and subtropical Africa and America and its more as 2000 species show big diversity.Which fascinates me, is the same plant making my day brighter today, took attention centuries ago already. Isn’t it strange to know the plant I write about today (and your read it ) was named by husband of Cleopatra’s daughter ? King Juba II of Numidia named Euphorbia after his personal Greek physician Euphorbus!

Coin of the ancient kingdom of Mauretania. Juba II of Numidia on the obverse, Cleopatra Selene II on the reverse.from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra_Selene_II

Juba II (Iuba in Latin; Ancient Greek: Ἰóβας, Ἰóβα or Ἰούβας)^[1] or Juba II of Numidia(52/50 BC – AD 23) was a king of Numidia and then later moved to Mauretania.His first wife was Cleopatra Selene II, daughter to Greek Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony.

Juba II was brought to Rome by Julius Caesar and took part in Caesar’s triumphal procession. In Rome, he learned Latin and Greek, became romanized and was granted Roman citizenship.^[1] Through dedication to his studies, he is said to have become one of Rome’s best educated citizens, and by age 20 he wrote one of his first works entitledRoman Archaeology.^[1] He was raised by Julius Caesar and later by his great-nephew Octavian (future Emperor Caesar Augustus).

He is also known to have written a book about a spurge found in the High Atlas which he named Euphorbia after his personal physician. It was later called Euphorbia regisjubae (‘King Juba’s euphorbia’) in his honor (it is now Euphorbia obtusifolia ssp. regis-jubae).Botanist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus assigned the name Euphorbiato the entire genus in the physician’s honor.^[8] 

^{from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juba_II}

Citrus plants from Botanical garden Florence or big chino secret revealed

Memories from counties I’ve visited are like kaleidoscopic pictures made from vivid colors, music and noises from far away and-smells and flavors so different from what I know that I remember them forever.One such memory takes me back in eighties,when still living in socialist country but being lucky enough to travel abroad.Returning from our trips to Italy we would always stop in little shops just in front of border,spending last lira to buy some specialities to bring home.Among them was Chinotto,a  drink so different from our lives at that time that it remained in my memories as a  reminiscence of summers when everything seemed so far away..From those times  many things have changed, but the taste of this drink remained the same-sweet and bitter, a bit sour like nothing we’ve tasted before.

from:http://www.spuma.it/etichette.asp

from:http://spumapaoletti.blogspot.com/

Visiting Florence this march I remember by spring colors of Tuscan gardens, smooth flow of Arno river and wonderful smell of orange flowers in Botanical garden -Giardino dei semplici.They have a vast collection of citrus plants.  I’ve never imagined lemons  in shape of Buddha’s hand or in shape of a pear,that Jews have their own Citron, as  also Florence does ,but most intriguing of them all is Bizzaria , botanists needed three centuries to solve this chimera puzzle from Florence .And me? I’ve solved my chinotto puzzle in Florence:- among citrus trees!Citrus myrtifolia, the myrtle-leaved orange tree gives fruit which is used not only to flavor chinotto,but also many Italian amari !

Myrtle-leaved orange tree
Chinotto oranges growing on a tree
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Citrus
Species:	C. myrtifolia
Binomial name
Citrus myrtifoliafrom:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citrus_myrtifolia

Galanthus nivalis cultivars and Fibonacci sequence

Each spring  snowdrops are among the first announcing the winter is gone. Abundance of these little flowers paints whole white carpets under trees .What a view! 

But there is much more diversity  in these uniformly white galaxy as one could assume at a first glimpse.These white flowers may change shape,their pattern is far from uniform,mutations provide new shapes.But the sad truth is all these variants are mostly not stable in nature.So it actually is a hard work to cultivate a Galanthus nivalis cultivar of even a slight difference.And the good news? Once stable form will propagate with bulbs-by means of Fibonacci sequence which means:0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89 etc!

Galanthomania