Round up for R

R

With summer inching in, nature's palette is being filled up with colors and more colors. R is an easy letter in the flower world. It is the humble Rose that caught the eye of most Flower Fest participants. Here's the round-up for R -

Rose and Ranunculas from Sigma


Medium:Photography
Sigma's entry for this round is Ranunculas and a bunch of yellow Roses.

Ranunculus, pronounced as ran-UN-kew-lus, is a latin word meaning "little frog". It has its origins in the middle east, hence it is also called as Turban Butercup.

Ranunculus belong to the Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) and is the cultured cousin of the Marsh Marigold.

It has bright, rounded flowers atop dense green parsley-like foliage. It comes in a wonderful array of colors, with shades of red, purple, yellow, white, pink, and orange. You can even find copper ranunculus flowers and also ranunculus flowers with dark and yellow circles.


Medium:Photography


Rose from Anita


Medium:Photography

Anita's culinary and gardening skills bring the best in her with the Indian desi Gulab or musk rose (Rosa moschata). This is a very fragrant rose variety, closely related to the Damascus rose (Rosa damascena) that originated in Persia. It produces small flowers (2 to 3 inch across) with red or pink petals. The petals retain their delicate fragrance long after drying, which makes them an ideal ingredient for potpourris. The desi gulab is grown on a large scale for the ayurveda and cosmetic industries. Rose oil is an essential ingredient in itr, oil-based Indian perfumes.

Rose water is used in the preparation of many Indian and middle-eastern dishes. A hint of fresh roses is what makes the rasgulla taste so refreshing. Gulab ark (rose extract) is also a key ingredient in Hamdard’s ever-popular summer drink Rooh Afza.

Rudbeckia from Manisha


Medium:Photography

Manisha's entry for R is the bright and sunny Rudbeckia fulgida or the Black-eyed Susan, as it is commonly known. This is a very popular flowering plant. It is an easy-to-grow perennial that is native to the US. It is loved for its bright yellow/orange ray florets and its cone-like head of dark disk florets. This plant spreads aggressively by both rhizomes and seed.

Rudbeckia blooms from mid to late summer into fall. It does well at higher temperatures. So the hotter the summer, the more the blooms.

Rose from Coffee


Medium:Oil Painting

Coffee's entry into the Flower Festival is with this fabulous oil painting of a rose.

Radish Flowers from Giniann


Medium:Photography

Giniann had planted some radish plants last year. They are the simplest things to grow and give a very good yield. Apart from crunchy radish, they also produce the most beautiful flowers. For a newbie to gardening who wants some easy-to-grow plants, radish is the way to go. These flowers can also be used as garnish for salads.

Roses from Jai and Bee


Medium:Photography

Jai and Bee are avid gardeners whose favorite pick in their Rose garden are Lincoln featured above and Sheila's perfume featured below. Both these varieties of roses have a bewitching perfume.



Rose from Sushma


Medium:Photography

Sushma sends a beautiful pink and yellow rose as a thoughtful gift on Mother's Day for every mother who spreads love, comfort and happiness.

Round-lobed Hepatica from Shilpa


Medium:Photography

Shilpa's entry is the Round-lobed Hepatica, from the Buttercup family which is a small plant with small white, pink or lavender flowers. The leaves are three lobed and are shaped like the liver, hence the common names Liverwort and Liverleaf. The flowers bloom in early spring and are supported by hairy stems.

Hepatica was once used to treat liver diseases based on the doctrine of signatures.

Rose from Mythreyee


Medium: Photography

Rose is Mythreyee's favorite flower too and she shot a lovely white rose at her sister's place.

The rose is a flowering shrub of the genus Rosa. There are more than a hundred species of wild roses, all from the northern hemisphere and mostly from temperate regions. The species form a group of generally prickly shrubs or climbers, and sometimes trailing plants, reaching 2–5 m tall, rarely reaching as high as 20 m by climbing over other plants.

The name originates from Latin rosa, borrowed through Oscan from colonial Greek in southern Italy: (Source:Wikipedia)

Rose and Rhododendron from Priya


Medium: Watercolor on paper

Wild Roses, true to their name bloom in wild and large numbers and fill up the rose shrub leaving little space for the leaves to show up. The small variety of white wild rose emits a mild and sweet fragrance. These wild roses start blooming from April when they begin to savour the warmth in the air. The rose hips of these wild roses are used for brewing tea by Native Americans. They are considered to be a power house of Vitamin C. The scientific name of wild rose is Rosa Acicularis. The petals can also be used for tea.


Medium: Photography

Another flower from Priya is the Rhododendron. Its name is closely related to the Rose. In Greek, rhodos means "rose" and dendron means "tree". Azaleas belong to this family. When spring sets hold, Rhodos bloom in large numbers in the Northern hemispere. These flowers grow in Asia, Australia and Europe too. They are not found in South America and Africa. There are many groups and genus within this species. They have a high level of pollen. The pollen and nectar of some species are toxic.

Do send in your entries for this round and for upcoming rounds to flowerfestival@gmail.com.