Autumn Coral Encore Azalea, Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Autumn Coral Encore Azalea at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Autumn Coral Encore Azalea at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, Alabama.

The most popular of azalea varieties, the Encore Azalea is a three season flower that blossoms is spring, summer, and autumn. 

Azaleas are hardy, forgiving, and easy to grow. They are sometimes referred to as the "Royalty of the Garden."

Blooming White Rose of Sharon Hibiscus, Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Blooming White Rose of Sharon Hibiscus at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Birmingham, Alabama

Pink Giant Hibiscus, Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Pink Giant Hibiscus flower at Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Pink Giant Hibiscus flower at Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, Alabama.

The exotic-looking hibiscus has long been one of my favorite flowers. The giant hibiscus is a hardy plant that grows on a large bush. It blossoms from summer through the first frost, and the blooms can grow to as large as one foot in diameter. The deep red eye spreads outward in a starburst to a pink or white petals.

Water Lilies in the Lily Pond, Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Purple Water Lilies in the Lily Pond, Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Purple Water Lilies in the Lily Pond at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, Alabama.

These purple Water Lilies were photographed on a rainy visit to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. While the precipitation was little more than a light rain as I got out of the car, it was rather steady as I set up for the first photographs of these lilies near the gardens' entrance.

Purple Passion Flower at Red Mountain Park

The Purple Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnata) is a vine that can grow to as long as twenty feet, and can become an invasive species. In addition to its bizarre-looking petals and sepals, the reproductive organs that arise from the flower give it a rather exotic appearance. The Purple Passion Flower blooms from June to September, and produces edible fruit from July through October.

In addition to its exotic beauty, the Passion Flower has had many uses. The roots can be used to make a tea or treat boils, earaches, and liver problems. The leaves can be cooked with other greens. The fruit can be eaten raw or made into a syrup. But perhaps most interestingly, the plant can be used as a sedative to treat hysteria and other nervous conditions.

UPDATE: Fred Spicer, the Executive Director of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, recently stopped by the blog, and offered some encouragement and further information, for which I am grateful. Here's what he had to say: "Enjoyed your photos, very beautiful. However, most ecologists reserve the word 'invasive' to describe organisms that act to decrease overall biodiversity in ecosystems other than those they evolved in. So native organisms, like that Passiflora, cannot be invasive. No doubt, that plant can be obnoxious, aggressive and unwanted in certain situations, but it will never be kudzu or Chinese privet or cogon grass, or dozens of other, truly heinous plants that are ecological and economic distasters. 'Opportunistic' is the preferred term for native organisms that can proliferate alarmingly, and, yes, sometimes in ecologically-altering ways. Nevertheless, that is extremely rare, and typically comes following human-caused disturbance which upsets otherwise natural controls on populations. Sorry if this seems pedantic! You do nice work."

Purple Passion Flower at Red Mountain Park, Birmingham, Alabama :: Canon Rebel T2i, EF 24-105 f/4 L

Thanks goes to the United States Department of Agriculture for the information they have made available on their website, regarding the Purple Passion Flower.