Wow. It's an amazing world, isn't it?!

Hear! Hear! It is a wonderous world indeed. Happy Earth Day, dear Marja-Leena!

Thanks Leslee and Rouchswalwe! it is indeed an amazing, wonderous and beautiful world and I hope it will still be there for future generations.

My heavens, the images are almost too much. How can nature produce such a pandering of colour and form?

The passion flower was one of my mother's favorite plants - a gift from a gardener who told us the story I'm sure you already know. It's amazing how each flower pops open all at once, isn't it?

Your pictures are a delight as always. Happy Earth Day!

Lilalia, this is one of the most amazing and intricate flowers and has a lovely grape scent, a plant that I treasure.

Susan, your comment came in while I was commenting over at your blog! And also weird is that I had just earlier read a version of that story over at wikipedia. Are we on the same wave length or what?

Amazing colors, textures, shapes -- all bursting forth here!

You're as bad as me, showing off big and/or foreign words. I see Susan confirms what I thought, this has a perfectly simple English name. One of the four flowers I recognise. Am going for my annual confessional at the Blogger's Retreat a week on Wednesday where Plutarch will hear a list of my sins. I'll bring you some more big words back from that one, if you like. Gift-wrapped,

Maria, glad you like!

BB, you think I'm showing off?! If you said with my photos, okay, but words are not my weapons :-)

How fabulous to be able to imagine you and Plutarch at the Blogger's Retreat, having had the honour to attend one with you there almost a year ago. I look forward to reading all about it, confessions and big words included!

I love the passionflower. Did you know it is good for insomnia? I had a hanging basket last summer by my back deck, which I over wintered indoors. However, it seems frail. I wonder if it's an annual?

Taina, I didn't know about the insomnia benefit. I wonder what part of the plant would be used? Yours hangs down, eh, while mine is a climber. I keep mine in the solarium over winter, cool but bright, and I do take cuttings every other year and start a new plant. Fresh soil, plant food and getting outside again this summer will probably help your plant.

Mostly wanted to enthuse about the glorious flower and its photographer. Then read Commenter above about "confessional" event at Blogger Retreat; sounds very therapeutic, exotic, and outside U.S. border (?)

Naomi, thanks!! That blogger retreat is a bit of an insider joke amongst a few English bloggers, and one living in Brittany. Last year when visiting England, my husband and I were fortunate to meet with one of them with his wife. You can read about it here. Oddly, as your comment came in I was rereading some of my 'travel' category posts about our trip to the UK and Paris last year - we arrived in London a year ago today!