Spring Plant Festival

It has been a while since we were at the USF Botanical Garden. So this year's Spring Plant Festival seemed like an opportune time to revisit this garden at our backyard, so to speak. And it happened on April 12, 2009, a typically sunny afternoon at this time of the year.

While many of the visitors were either lugging pots of flower/plants or pulling a wagon/trolley of similar purchases, we were criss-crossing the make-shift stalls practically empty-handed, except for the digital camera in my hand. Only our eyes were feted to the colorful display of the plant kingdom as captured in the following digital tapestry.

A butterfly clinging to a flower, no surprise there.

Wify and her favorite painting subject, the bamboo.

As the name plate indicates, this is bonsai territory.

Hooded pitcher plants.

A hibiscus hybrid, unbelievable indeed, covering Wify's both palms.

Another unbelievable hibiscus, wielded in the same hand as above.

This is actually a cut plant affixed to the tent pole.

Another flower species seemingly spanning across the sky.

Wify knows the Chinese name translated as the embroidered ball flower. And I did the rest using the Internet search to come up with, viola, Hydrangea.

An Australian import: Ptilotus exaltatus.