The dancing day-lily pushes a southern hemisphere spring into the gardens.  In a visit to the Hemero gardens in Joinville, Brazil our eyes were feasted with colour, variety and artistry.  The gardens are one small tribute to the annual gathering of floral aficionados.  Every November for the past 70 years, Joinville has hosted the largest floral show in Brazil.  (Over 150,000 persons attended this years show). The gardens sculpt burial mounds surrounded by day-lilies.  In another corner an arch of day-Iilies crowns the birds of paradise.

The visual feast at every turn exposes attendees to stages for colour and integration.  Hummingbirds gather nectar from the hanging flowers in the arbor.  The yellow and black taco shaped blooms set the stage for the tiny hummingbird.   The rapid wings and helicopter movements catch the peripheral vision of the attendees.

Guided through the Hemero gardens our eyes were directed to the flowers blooming under the canopy of a tree.  The rich redness of the spiked blooms emerged from under the shadow of the tree.  A hidden mystery. A gift!  The trained eyes and declarative voice of the guide opened our awareness to ant trails, jungle undergrowth, camouflage colours and nectar palaces.  The tree flower and the hummingbird were stretches in a rainbow valley of day-lilies.

The sunflower bloom was just finished!  Every yellow capped stalk removed and replaced by fields of impatience.  Mounded mountains of colour.  Gardening year-round creates a rich palette, but looking at the artistry of others may be a road to inspiration.  Each plant, like the ant, carries some fragment of the landscape to the nest – storing it for future use!