I think all gardeners have this. A group of potted plants they bought for one reason or another and then set aside, for later. The later thing is the rub. My husband refers to this group of potted plants as my spare parts.

Spare Begonias

Currently I am hoarding Begonias. I found some Begonia odorata for a great price so I bought a couple. I have a few leftover Bronzeleaf Begonias so they are still around in a tray. I should also confess that there are three starts of Blue Agave in the side yard that have been sitting over there since this summer. Although, I have a good reason for thinking about those for a long time..they are very sharp and once in place they need to stay there. Also, in the realm of aesthetics Blue Agave is a bold statement. Not to be taken lightly.

Blue Agave

I bought some more expensive plants at Gardenfest in Vero but I have endeavored to actually install those. One being a Mango tree, OK, I want some Mangoes as soon as reasonably possible. That I planted, fertilized and have been watering. Not to mention it is an Evergreen tree that will screen my husbands ugly Tupperware Lawnmower shed. More fertilizer, please..

More Fertilizer, please

The second plant from Gardenfest was a leafless Bird of Paradise, really cool and I can’t wait to see it bloom. It is also in the ground – next to a Tibouchina. I am breathlessly waiting for all to grow up and bloom. That Bird of Paradise had roots that looked like Parsnips and there is one down the street – it took about two years for me to figure out what is was..for a while there I thought the lady who lived there was sticking silk Bird of Paradise into a Juncus, this plant is really cool.

The Begonias I am having a hard time getting around to planting. Begonia odorata is new to me, I am not sure why these are not more common as a Summer Annual up north. The ones that have been sitting on my back porch for a month (at least) are beautiful.

I am finding there is not enough variety in Annuals in South Florida, people are really hung up on Impatiens and Pentas, pretty boring stuff. I find the New Guinea Impatiens particularly distasteful and Impatiens is a fiesta of fungus. I love to have some containers with color around my doorways, I am slowly going over to Bromeliads and the Zebrina Wandering Jew. (both things I found growing in the yard and repurposed into pots with a few Bronzeleaf Begonias.)

Begonias and Bromeliads