HELLO ROSELLE

It starts off with a flower...

... to fruits

Anything to do with beauty and anti-ageing earn my marks especially with a pretty sweet name like Roselle.  I don't think anyone would mind being called Roselle.

Roselle leaf and fruits

So if you haven’t heard, Roselle is a wonderful medicinal plant that bears fruits chock full of vitamins and antioxidants. 

Fleshy calyxes

 

Seed pods

Do bear in mind that although this plant carries some health and beauty benefits, it is not suitable for those with low blood pressure and like any other things / products, it should be taken in moderation.   

Having said that, if you’re a fan of sugar laden drinks /colas and you pity your waistline, Roselle tea is the perfect perk me up alternative!  It’s fabulous as a thirst quencher.

Making that cup of tea is so simple.  Tear of the calyxes, wash, put them in a cup and pour boiling water over them.  When I first started making Roselle tea, I added water and boiled the calyxes for a few minutes.  The water turned a fiery red and tasted a bit tart so I added in some honey.  However having now acquired the taste, I prefer to pour boiling water onto the calyxes, let it seep for a few minutes and drink it as it is.  On days that I crave for a sweet drink, I’ll add a dollop of honey to it.  Whichever way you choose, it’s delicious on its own.  Enjoy it hot, chill or add ice to your Roselle tea.

Sow some seeds in a pot or scatter some in your backyard.  Imagine the convenience of plucking this spike like fruits as and when you feel like having a cuppa!  When I plant and harvest enough Roselle fruits, I'll be on my way to making jams too. 

Oh and to share a little piece of news from the grapevine...  Heard that because Roselle tea is high in Vitamin C content, it is supposedly better than red wine in warding off free radicals in the skin.  So cheers to smooth skin and bye to winkles!  

Okay, bye bye to fewer winkles.

MEET OUR FRIENDS

Being in the country side / garden is the best introduction to nature that anyone can get especially for city dwellers who are confined to the walls around them. 

Friends are never lacking in the garden; here they come and go.

 

Taking a break from the heat

Feeling on top of the world

Home is a flower pot

  

Keeping my balance is easy when they happen to be my favourite food

Lots more of other creatures / insects that probably cannot be counted even with your fingers and toes. 

The insects can be such a pest gnawing on their favourite leaves or flowers but they too need to eat in order to survive.  As long as the destruction is minimal I learn to shut an eye and be forgiving.   

SHARING A PINCH OF JOY!

Here's a little story...

These are not paintings but a series of real flower shots which are very special to me.  

I was given this cluster of a rare stunning orange bloom (was told there's only one tree on this island) recently by an islander in the compound of a temple.  I just had to take some shots there and then!  There was a red table nearby and as much as I love colours.... well, red and orange don't seem like the best combination.  So I found myself emptying my nylon bag and using that as a backdrop for these shots, much to the amusement of the islander who must have thought I was a little craycray.  Let's pretend you didn't see the creases in the background ;)

The beautiful shade  of orange flowers speckled with those black seeds were so mesmerizing.  I was so fascinated by them and completely blown!  

I like to think that these are my lucky charm because today I received an email to advise that this print has been included in the Society6 Shop (http://society6.com/products/STUNNING-ORANGE-BLOOMS_Print where these pictures will be reproduced as art or framed art prints and also printed onto other merchandises.  

Just in case you're wondering what's on Society6 Shop... 

"The artwork on Society6 is created by hundreds of thousands of artists from around the world."

When you buy a product from Society6, we produce it using only the highest quality materials, and ship it to you on behalf of the artist.
  

Gosh! So am I an artist?  No because I can't draw.  Many years ago during a charade game (I've given up playing them, they only embarrass me...), I picked up a card with the word goldfish on it but you just imagine how I drew the fish because my team mates screamed in unison "guppy!... guppy!" to my horror.  If given a choice by the nice people behind Society6, I would consider myself more of a photographer because what I basically do is upload photos I take onto various products. (No, I don't use photoshop.  You get what you see) However what I like about this is although my products are available in my shop on Society6, in reality I do not own a brick and mortar shop where rental can be so exorbitant.  Apart from uploading photos and promoting my products which I am lagging far far behind, there is nothing else that I have to do as everything else is taken care off by Society6 (just in case anyone else out there wants to be an artist too).  Basically I get 10% of the sale price off all merchandise (except for art prints) which barely is enough for me to buy a packet of seeds but hey I am enjoying what I do ie. taking pretty pictures and that is what matters most.

Coming back to where I stopped, so after some detective work, I found out the common and botanical name for these flowers.  They're the flowers from the Black Pearl Tree, also known as Majidea Zanguebarica.  What a pretty mouthful!