week 5 - Bird of Paradise

I had to go to a neighbors for this weeks flower.  I did say I was going to paint flowers in my yard and garden but not much is blooming right now so I ventured down the block a little. 

This project of painting a flower every week is going well.  Easier that a diet! Well for me it is at lease.  I usually loose interest in things much faster than 5 weeks.  I think it's because I have combined two things I love, gardening and painting. 


The Birds of Paradise flower inflorescence is borne atop long scapes, or pedicels, that grow to 5 feet or more in height. The flower on the Birds of Paradise plant is the most unusual part.
A series of highly colored bracts, or modified leaves, are formed into green, red, and or purplish canoe-like structures. Bracts vary between 4-8 inches long, depending upon the age and size of the Birds of Paradise plant.
Each Birds of Paradise flower is made up of three upright orange sepals and three highly modified vivid blue petals. Two of the petals are joined together in a structure resembling an arrowhead with the third petal forming a nectary at the base of the flower.
Each bract contains 2 or more protruding Birds of Paradise florets of bright yellow or orange elongated petals and a bright blue tongue. The female part of the Birds of Paradise flower is the long extension of the blue tongue, which is extended well away from the stamens.