Summer colours, pink and white. Flowering Trees — Oleanders.

I've always had a particular fondness for oleanders, every time I see them I know the sea is somewhere close and it comforts me. In summer their blossom fills the air with sweet fragrance; to my eyes, there's no true garden without oleanders.

Nerium oleander is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, toxic in all its parts. It is so widely cultivated that no precise region of origin (probably southwest Asia), has been identified. Oleander is one of the most poisonous of commonly grown garden plants, and can be very toxic if ingested in sufficient quantity. Clearly, this beauty can stand up for itself!

Oleander flowers. (© 2012 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Oleander flowers close-up.
(© 2012 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Pink Oleander flower close-up
(© 2012 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Pink Oleander flowers. (© 2012 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Nerium oleander flowers. (© 2012 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

White oleander tree crown. (© 2012 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Oleander alley
(© 2012 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Salmon pink oleander tree. (© 2012 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)