My last two posts featured Bogor's markets and the pretty Hindu temple on the city's outskirts, but they were just appetisers.
Almost as soon as I found out I would be working in Jakarta and had done only the most basic research, I set my heart on a visit to Bogor's famed botanic gardens, the Kebun Raya.
The gardens, originally started by Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, who was Governor General for a time, were expanded by Dutch botantist Professor Reinwardt and officially opened in 1817.
What could be more appropriate than to share Bogor's botanic bounty on Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day?
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| The Presidential Palace |
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| Lotus Nelumbo nucifera |
Given my blog header photo, or, if a more frequent visitor, my oft-professed love of waterlilies and water features, you won't be surprised to see that my first step once inside the gates was to head for the lily ponds, adjoining the Presidential palace.
Then, like a butterfly spoiled for choice, I just fluttered from one beauty to the next. What a feast for the senses!
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| Tree fern frond |
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| Wonderful epiphytes on this massive branch |
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| Love the speckled flowers on this mystery shrub (below) |
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| Spathyphyllum, cordylines, heliconia and banana and a glimpse of the red crown shafts of a pair of lipstick or sealing wax palms Cyrtostachys renda dead centre. |
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| Banana Musa |
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| More epiphytes: crows nest ferns straddling a branch |
And still more water gardens... I was in heaven!
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| A perfectly poised dragonfly |
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| Love the spiky crimped edges on these waterlilies |
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| Giant water lily Victoria Amazonica |
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| Maroon dragonfly |
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I don't know the name of this water plant,but I love its delicate flowers. They are initially a mass of yellow stamens, but various visitors, like this butterfly, seem to knock them off, leaving a velvety green button instead.
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That's the end of the road for now. More from Bogor next post, and, to see what is happening in other gardens around the world, visit
Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who hosts Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day on the 15th of each month.
lovely, thanks for sharing...I love that row of burgundy leafed cannas on the road out...
ReplyDeleteMe too! They use cannas a lot here and they look fabulous.
DeleteSuch a beautiful place and I especially like those giant water lilies.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.leavesnbloom.com/2012/05/whats-in-bloom-in-may.html
They are amazing. You feel as if you could walk across them. Happy GBBD.
Deletealoha,
ReplyDeletewhat a fun tour, thanks for sharing this beautiful place, i enjoyed the visit :_)
Thanks Noel. Glad you could drop by.
DeleteI love your website because it is closer to my subtropical climate. I am a big fan of water lilies and growing them in large clay pots. Yours are very beautiful. I am even growing the night blooming ones as well.
ReplyDeleteI just have one pot of water lilies at home, but I love them so much I am tempted to add to the collection. The night blooming ones sound wonderful.
DeleteMarisa! That was a special treat! I loved the tour of this garden. Truly Amazing! What a wonderful series of water gardens. I really like the white flower coming up out of the water with the butterfly. SUPERB!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lucy. I'll try to post the rest of the photos from my visit to Bogor tonight after work. I'd love to find out the name of that white flower and try to get some for my garden at home. Might have to research that on my return.
DeleteHow exotic. I barely have leaves on the lilies at this point so it is good to see those in full bloom. Happy Bloom Day.
ReplyDeleteI had a bit of a setback with leaves on my water lilies before I left Brisbane (something ate them). Hopefully they will have recovered by the time I get home. Happy Bloom Day to you too, Layanee.
DeleteLiving on the other side of the world (upstate New York State in the United States) I don't know if I will ever visit these gardens but - what lovely pictures. Each was better than the previous one. You'll have me saving up for airfare....happy GBBD.
ReplyDeleteThanks bookworm. I think a visit here would be the ultimate snowbird escape!
Deleteheavenly!
ReplyDeleteThanks, and thank you again for the beautiful poem on Monday.
DeleteSo beautiful! Your blog is like taking a mini-vacation! Thanks!
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DeleteI guess doing the 8-5 in the office is pretty much the same everywhere, but it has been great to have the chance to visit different places here on the weekends and to stroll through parts of Jakarta. It's a real fun working holiday for me.
DeleteAmazingly beautiful! Your pictures of water lilies are stunning! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks chels. I do love water lilies and lotuses, so it's fun to share my obsession.
DeleteI agree with Casa Mariposa. Visiting your blog is like taking a vacation. The water lilies in your post are just beautiful. I love the round ones with the raised edges. The shot of the bridge is beautiful. The tree fern frond and the vertical roots of the tree in this post are so unusual and interesting!
ReplyDeleteI love the two lilies on your first picture, like its been shot by a pro! I wish you more vacations to come :)
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