Christmas Countdown Local 2022 #23 and #24 Flowers

#23 : Flowers ... It doesn't seem like Christmas in our garden until the first of the Corymbia ficifolia ( eucalyptus) flowers bloom. To me these beautiful gum blossoms just say " Christmas in Australia"

Petunias

In the garden, other red flowers bloom like geraniums and petunia which is such a summer favourite that it is easy to associate it with Christmas. During a storm earlier in the year, we lost our iconic NSW Christmas bush. We miss having this flowering at this time of the year in our garden, but a friend gave me a huge bunch of NSW Christmas Bush from her garden. It really wouldn't be Christmas without Christmas Bush!

NSW Christmas Bush

Corymbia ficicolia - red flowering gum

An all time festive favourite is the poinsettia, which I have in the house in a pot... I always think of poinsettia as the flower on Christmas cards!

Poinsettia

#24 : Less popular Christmas flowers. Oriental lilies are more likely to be chosen for weddings than for Christmas. However, I read that oriental lilies are associated with the Virgin Mary, as a symbol of purity and rebirth. These seem a very appropriate flower to decorate the house during Christmas.

This year, Chinese forget-met-nots are growing beautifully in our garden.... I wondered if they would have any connection to Christmas ? Blue Forget- me-nots are associated with Peace, healing, growth, development, intelligence, power, and communication.. My immediate response was yes - they are a flower of peace. Traditional forget-me- nots are symbols of love and remembrance. I think my hope that I could find the link between the festive season was that they merely bloom in Spring/ Summer.

Cynoglossum amabile - Chinese forget me not

I think these little blue flowers will have a place at Christmas , just because they will help me remember loved ones no longer with us at Christmas. There is always room for more flowers at Christmas.... but ...

Those bold red blooms of poinsettia, Christmas Bush and flowering gum will remain "Christmas " favourites for me.

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