April Shower

I just can't stop admiring the flamboyant April showers of Kuching.
The Golden Shower tree ( Cassia fistula) dripping in showers of gold and the Shower Orchid Vine ( Congea tomentosa) bursting its velvety sprays into the April air is indeed a pleasure to see. This is the kind of green investment that brings much reward as well as admiration of Kuching as a botanical or garden city. Well you can say that its ROI ( Return of Investment) is in the flow of tourists clicking their cameras and videos while touring its gardens, parks and other landscaped urban spaces.

The Golden Shower ( Cassia fistula) with drooping clusters of yellow flowers seen at a mini-park at Mile 7 town,Kuching,

While shopping at the Satok Sunday market this morning, I came across this large evergreen shrub often referred to as the Shower Orchid Vine ( Congea tomentosa) showing off its masses of lavender pink to mauve bracts from a residential house at the edge of the market. A closer look at the inflorescence's reveal sprays of small flowers in groups. Each group is made up of four velvety lavender pink bracts. The center flowers are tiny and insignificant. The Congea is a native to this part of the world i.e. Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar. However this species has been grown in many parts of tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world and happily naturalised there over time.

The Shower Orchid Vine ( Congea tomentosa) loves full sun and being a vigorous grower demands ample space.