Hibiscus blooms and herbs.

I enjoy playing with my cameras almost as much as sewing machines, fabric and thread.  This morning I was greeted by a stunning floral display courtesy of the dining room hibiscus plant.

It is always a challenge to capture the beauty of flower blooms, especially in the house.

This plant loves direct sunlight, which means most of the photos are back lit.

 Hibiscus blooms only last about 24 hours.

They sure are pretty.

 I used a flash to capture the back yard greenery through the window.

It actually has two different kinds of blooms on it.  The other kind is red and yellow striped, which I will photograph soon.

The Hibiscus is Hawaii's state flower.  I think it is pretty cool to have a wee bit of Hawaii living in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.

 

This hibiscus plant was purchased in May 2013 after our vacation to Hawaii in April.  Since then it has been infested with spider mites twice!  The first time was the end of June.  I put it outside beside the Saskatoon berry bushes and sprayed it with dishsoap diluted with water.  By the end of July it looked lush and wonderful.  In mid August there was a threat of frost so I relocated my plant to the garage overnight.  The next day it was moved to a flower bed which unbeknown to me had spider mites!  Again the leaves were turning yellow and dropping by the dozens.  In early September, I purchased insecticidal soap from a greenhouse, with the plant in the bathtub, I sprayed daily for three days.  Then it was repotted and returned it to the dining room.  I have now sprayed all the houseplants with insecticidal soap and will continue to do so once a month.

On September 16, I dug up these parsley and rosemary plants from the garden.  I potted them to use in winter.  Fresh herbs have so much more flavour than dried.

These three plants are basil.  The little leaves and tiny flowers is a also a basil plant.  They smell wonderful.

Houseplants are messy, but they do a wonderful job of cleaning the air. I love having plants in our home during Manitoba's long frozen winters.  Currently, I have ten houseplants:

• three hibiscus - the other two are in the master bedroom.
• three basil
• two rosemary
• one parsley
• one ivy  

My dear readers, do you have houseplants?  If yes, what kinds and how many?  Do you use fresh herbs?