My Mobile Adventures ~~* » Scenic Sunday

Royal poinciana on the Lee Island Coast

Erin *~*~* — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:00:38 +0000

One of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen is the royal poinciana. This tree is a native of Madagascar and is widely cultivated in the subtropical climate of south Florida. Generally, they are blooming profusely along about May of each year, but some of them are still blooming long after that, into the summer months. This one was captured in May of 2007, when my friends and I rented a boat and ran it out to Cabbage Key, a small vacation island that is part of the Lee Island Coast. I thought the color was especially striking and could not resist snapping away at it. The royal poinciana blooms in colors ranging from yellow through orange and into red. The green feathery foliage makes it doubly ornamental.

According to Wikipedia, there are lots of nicknames for the royal poinciana. It differs from country to country. But the name I like best is the one that the Vietnamese have given to this tree – the phoenix tail. There are two reasons I like “the phoenix tail” best. I like the concept of infinite opportunities for transformation, and it reminds me of Fawkes, the phoenix who lives with Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter stories.

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Sky travel at EPCOT

Erin *~*~* — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 22:00:45 +0000

You can get into EPCOT without ever having to set foot in the park. All you have to do is hop aboard the Walt Disney World monorail. It dips into the park before pulling into the station outside the gates.

Depending upon where you are in the park at the time, it is possible that the monorail train will go softly whooshing right over your head – photo op!

I was standing in a rose garden at the time these shots were taken. WHOOSH!

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Horse out of water at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 04:20:11 +0000

© Copyright 2008 Tink *~*~*
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As previously mentioned on this blog, there is a good deal of carved statuary scattered about Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Some is carved from stone, while other pieces more resemble wood – some of it painted, some of it presented in a more natural state. Here’s a wonderful example – the figure of a sea horse, which I belive was found outside the gates of Asia, just across from one of my favorite gift shops. I like the way this one has weathered (or maybe it’s just made to look weathered!). Once again, care has been taken to ensure that he blends in with his surroundings – and as admirable as that sounds, he is, after all, a SEA horse, so why is he out in the jungle?

These statues have plenty of places to congregate and sometimes even hide, for there is no shortage of beautiful, flowering foliage in the Animal Kingdom. Tropical trees, plants and flowers are featured prominently throughout the park. They serve as an exotic and verdant backdrop for both the real animals and the carved ones.

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Bee-auty in bloom at EPCOT

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 02:04:49 +0000

After getting my new camera for Christmas, there was a long stretch of time before I was able to get over to Orlando again to Visit Walt Disney World – but when I did, boy was I glad I now had a camera with 10x optical zoom! I was able to capture this little guy feasting on these blossoms at EPCOT.

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Tales in topiary at Walt Disney World

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 02:39:24 +0000

Rafiki presents the newly-born Simba to his father’s kingdom. The scene, from Disney’s animated feature The Lion King, has been rendered in topiary as part of the 2009 International Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT.

I have fond memories of taking my two oldest nieces to see the Broadway stage adaptation of The Lion King in New York City, when they were 6 and 8 years old. Now they are 18 and 20. Where does the time go?

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A water lily’s fiery center, EPCOT

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:13:27 +0000

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Pink water lily at EPCOT

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 01:00:50 +0000

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Crepe myrtle, or crape myrtle? blooming at Walt Disney World

Erin *~*~* — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:54:55 +0000

Being a girl from the north, I hadn’t any idea that these trees that were blooming last month in Walt Disney World’s EPCOT theme park were actually crepe myrtle That’s a link to pictures of crepe myrtle on Flickr, which includes some of the most amazing macros. It’s also a search where I spelled it wrong, like I’ve been doing all along; according to Dictionary.com, it’s actually crApe myrtle; that link yields a completely different set of photos on Flickr. Anyhow, I had to take a photo with my cell phone and send it to Twitter and this blog in order to find out what it was. Many thanks to Debbie and Wendy for their responses that day.

The most common type of crape myrtle in the United States arrived here at the end of the 1700s from Asia. I’ve read that it does best here in temperate climates where the risk of fungus is low, such as the drier parts of California and Texas.

I actually found quite a few of them growing and blooming in EPCOT that day. They were all along the front entrance near the geosphere – Spaceship Earth – and sprinkled throughout the World Showcase in various countries, most notably in France. The wind kicked up and blew the small petals to the ground in heaps. Children were playing “snow” with them, throwing handfuls up into the air. The wind trapped some in a corner and whirled them around in circles – check out this video of the crape myrtle dervish.

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Lotus in the pond at EPCOT

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:00:12 +0000

Same pond at the China pavilion that was featured in yesterday’s post about the dragonfly gymnast I had to scour Google Images to figure out that this was a lotus bud, and not just a run of the mill “water lily”. Oddly, the way I finally identified it was not via the bud, but via the seed pod!

I don’t usually go in for pink much because it is not on my color chart – I’m an “autumn” – but I just love this shade. I bet it looked really pretty when it finally did bloom.

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Water lilies at Disney’s EPCOT

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 09:03:43 +0000

Found these blue-lavender water lilies reflected in the pond that sits before the China pavilion at EPCOT. There were some really fat tadpoles swimming around in there, too!

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Dancing at the Flower and Garden Festival

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 01:05:53 +0000

Cinderella and her prince lead the waltz at EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival. May 13th, 2009

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Jacaranda in bloom at the 2009 Flower and Garden Festival

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 31 May 2009 01:02:03 +0000

There are several jacaranda trees planted in the courtyard right before you pass underneath Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT theme park. May is the perfect time to catch the jacaranda in bloom. The flowers are a lovely shade of lavender and they give off the most subtly sweet scent.

The jacaranda is not a native of Florida, but close enough – it’s found in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America and other subtropical and tropical regions of the world.

On the day I took these photos, I stood beneath the jacaranda breathing in the fragrance as blooms shook free in the breeze and rained down softly upon me. It was heaven!

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Sanibel Island Royal Poinciana

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 24 May 2009 01:45:57 +0000

A blue sky day on Sanibel Island, where I found a royal poinciana blooming on the front lawn of a church.

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Flowery scene from Disney’s Flower & Garden Festival

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 03 May 2009 02:18:58 +0000

Love the pineapple cut-out in this fence. Pineapples are supposed to represent prosperity and abundance. I seem to recall there might be some carved stone pineapples on the pillars near the International Gateway at EPCOT. Will have to investigate next time I’m in Walt Disney World (10 days, w00t!)

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Festive flower garden at EPCOT

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:36:42 +0000

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Tink-A-Twirl In Topiary

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:50:12 +0000

A Tinker Bell topiary twirls before the Spaceship Earth geosphere, just as the monorail passes by.

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Mickey Welcomes You To Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 03:46:27 +0000

Mickey Mouse greets guests from on high as they enter Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park (fka Disney-MGM Studios), while a nearby hanging basket of flowers adds a splash of color against the blue sky. Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. February 17th, 2008

If you love flowers and beautiful scenery, visit these wonderful memes –

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Getting ready for the Flower and Garden Festival

Erin *~*~* — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:27:41 +0000

I’M SO EXCITED!

I’ve booked a trip to Walt Disney World in mid-May, where I’ll attend the 16th annual EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival. I look forward to this event each year, and I was really bummed one recent year when I could not attend (I had a really good reason – my checkbook and I were occupied at the time with moving here to Florida ).

The Flower and Garden Festival is held at EPCOT but its influence can be felt throughout Walt Disney World. Expect to see spectacular displays of all manner of trees, shrubs and flowers in decadent full bloom. The whole place is just eye candy; gardeners and flower lovers will think they’ve gone to heaven. Topiary figures of all your favorite Disney characters are encountered everywhere in the park. There’s usually a butterfly garden, demonstrations of new innovations and tried and true gardening techniques, garden sculptures, lectures and lots more.

Yep, I’m excited – so filled with anticipation, I’ve been going through photos of visits past, reminiscing and counting the days. Don’t be surprised if more than a few of these are posted in the next month or so.

If you love flowers and beautiful scenery, visit these wonderful memes -

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My Mobile Adventures *~*~* » Scenic Sunday

Royal poinciana on the Lee Island Coast

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Sky travel at EPCOT

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Horse out of water at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

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Bee-auty in bloom at EPCOT

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Tales in topiary at Walt Disney World

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A water lily’s fiery center, EPCOT

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Pink water lily at EPCOT

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Crepe myrtle, or crape myrtle? blooming at Walt Disney World

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Lotus in the pond at EPCOT

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Water lilies at Disney’s EPCOT

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Dancing at the Flower and Garden Festival

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Jacaranda in bloom at the 2009 Flower and Garden Festival

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Sanibel Island Royal Poinciana

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Flowery scene from Disney’s Flower & Garden Festival

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Festive flower garden at EPCOT

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Tink-A-Twirl In Topiary

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Mickey Welcomes You To Disney’s Hollywood Studios

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Getting ready for the Flower and Garden Festival

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My Mobile Adventures ~~* » Scenic Sunday