The calla lilies at Zhuzihu (竹子湖, Bamboo Lake) in Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園) are in full bloom. Flower lovers from all over Taiwan are rushing to the mountain to spend the afternoon wandering through a valley of white blossoms flanked by gently rolling mountains. Yangmingshan’s annual Calla Lily Festival is in full swing with less than three weeks to go.
Beautiful beautiful Taiwan.
Despite the traffic, it’s a lovely way to spend the afternoon. For as little as $100NT you can pick your own bundle of flowers. Be prepared to get your feet muddy, as most of the flowers are out-of-reach and require adventuresome or die-hard flower addicts to wander barefoot through the mud.
I’ll go out of my way for flower festivals of any sort and this one is definitely one of the best ones I’ve been to. I come from a line of flower worshippers. My Nana mastered Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. I wish she had lived long enough to pass on her knowledge.
My Mother has ten green digits and seems to be able to make anything grow. I especially love it when I’m home to see her peony bushes in all their glory. I wish I could make things grow the way she does.
Me? I think I’ve gleaned enough knowledge from the two of them to feed my passion for flowers and all things green. John is constantly amazed at my ability to identify most of the flowers we see on our journeys. I like to photograph them and nothing makes me happier than having a fresh bouquet in the house.
The elegant, trumpet-shaped calla lily is also known as the arum lily. It’s one of my favorites. It originally came from Africa and is known for it’s distinctive thick green stem and hardy trumpet-shaped bloom. It symbolizes “magnificent beauty” and comes in a dark purple, yellow, pink and orange. It’s most popular in white. Calla lilies are perfect for flower arranging because of their long, straight stems, and are a favorite for wedding bouquets.
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Fantastic pictures Carrie. I went to yamingshan yesterday and saw those Calla-lily flowers. Simply fabulous
Thanks Ashish. Yangmingshan is awesome, isn’t it?
I was hoping I’d meet you this weekend at the concert, but wasn’t able to attend. I hope the show was banging.
[...] My Several Worlds photographs the Calla Lily Festival. [...]
Never mind. I didn’t make it in time for MJ’s performance so I guess we will find out how it went through MJ’s blog. I am sure it must have been fun.
oooh very nice job of documenting with the shots C.
Love the colors most and the skies are just pure joy
Would love to see more shots of the festival.
It’s so nice to have a chance to see this huge green field in blossom. I’m watching something like this very first time. I’ve never seen such a beautiful flowers. I don’t take into account flowers which I’ve already seen in your pictures so far. In my country you can see a different sort of lilies. For example:
http://savingprivatephotos.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/lilia_wodna.jpg
In Poland lilies are protected and can’t be picked. I envy you that you can pick your own bundle of flowers.
Aphex Twin,
Thanks. I wish our skies were this blue all the time, but unfortunately, they’re usually a uniform, smog-filled white.
Hi K!
It’s so nice to hear from you! I’m a nature lover and the one thing that always amazes me about Taiwan is how many places there are to escape to. Taiwan has several flower festivals running throughout the year, and I always try to hit at least one each year. Last year, I attended the Cherry Blossom festival. The entire mountain side was studded with blooming cherry trees and azaleas. These kind of festivals make me miss home. The tulip festival in Ottawa will be kicking off in May. Flower festivals are always the highlight of my year. Nothing pleases me more.
[...] over to Carrie’s My Several World for beautiful Calla Lily pictures and thorough [...]