This is a Caribbean Delight as the centerpiece of the arrangement is a Dwarf Jamaican Heliconia (Heliconia stricta) – I believe. The lady I bought this from didn’t seem entirely sure of the ID and I have never seen one before. I am, however, a sucker for a well priced Heliconia and hopefully the garden will not overrun with Dwarf Jamaicans. Heliconias can be pretty creepy.
The dark foliage is from Piecrust Croton (Codiaeum variegatum ‘Piecrust’) and I love the contrast. The fine textured foliage is Asparagus Fern (Asparagus aethiopicus). The Croton I planted, the Asparagus Fern just appeared in the back garden one day. I cut some every now and again and that seems to keep it in bounds. Asparagus Fern is rumored to be invasive, I think the spot it popped up in is not its happy place.
The crystal Rose Bowl belonged to my mother, I think I bought it for her – but that memory just won’t quite gel. It is a nice crystal Rose Bowl. I have Rose issues so it is unlikely to ever see any Roses. I am quite happy about the Heliconias – at least they are red!
It is Valentine’s Day as I write this. This vase is going to be our centerpiece for dinner.
Here’s the table setting Portmerion Rose China and here is dinner:
Mustard crusted Rack of Lamb, Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Green Beans. Not particularly Caribbean, but oh so good. Followed by Chocolate Brownies with Vanilla Ice Cream. Hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day.
The Shrub Queen 
A delicious dinner! And what a delicious vase. A stunning plant I had not come across. Love the colors.
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Thank you, the Crotons are stunning and there are a lot of them.
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Those dotted leaves are soooo dramatic! And that arrangement goes so nicely with your dishes. I used red plates as well and showed a picture of our dinner but on Sunday’s post. As much fun to see other’s table displays as vases.
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Thanks, the Pie Crust is interesting and yellow and green as well. I will look at your place setting, I like to see them as well.
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Dinner does sound nice – and you must have been reluctant to clear your plate and show those roses underneath again! Your vase contents are from another world to us here in the UK, although you can buy croton as a house plant (‘Joseph’s Coat’) – never heard of Heliconia and if you suggest they are creepy I am not sure that I want to! They make for a lovely vase though 😉
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I am fascinated with the Heliconias – they are also called Lobster Claws, I have one that is 7 feet tall that I have been waiting for at least 3 years to flower.
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Wow! Giant lobsters then 🙂
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As soon as one appears – it will be in a giant vase on Monday!
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🙂
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The croton and Heliconia do go so nicely Valentines-day together…the coloration of that croton is truly a treat.
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Thanks, George
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Yum! Dinner looks great, as does your vase. That Heliconia and the croton are made for one another. I gather that Heliconia spread rapidly in your climate?
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Kris,Thank you, I love the Crotons and the Heliconias H. psittacorum do spread like mad, the rest I am not so sure, soil is not like Hawaii here, sand and more sand. We do have Pink Powderpuffs, too – though I don’t.
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The Heliconias match the colors in the Croton so well, what a lovely combination for Valentine’s Day, Amelia! Asparagus Fern makes a nice ferny filler plant, and so vigorous!
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Thanks, Nancy
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Your arrangement is quick apt for Valentine’s dinner…we used to call the fern Kiss me Quick, and the main red ‘flower’ Crab’s claws..in Mauritius where I lived when a little girl.
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I love that! Mauritius must be fascinating, I just bought a Bottle Palm.
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A beautiful centrepiece indeed and I see you also long for a touch of the exotic. I saw Heliconia growing in South America, beautiful when mature.
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I do love the exotic. I tend to arrive home with a new Bromeliad regularly
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How exotic. I love heliconias, I would have great stands of them if they would grow here. And what a perfect match for the Croton leaf. Beautiful!
What a lovely valentine dinner, we forgot all about it.
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I would have great stands of Crocus, if only…Thanks, Liz. On second thought, they would probably bloom at the same time. Weird?
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I love that Croton. Do all gardeners have those dishes? I fell in love with them and have collected them over the years.
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I am turning into a Croton freak, I have a lot of Botanic Garden and was disappointed last time I bought a piece that it is no longer made in the UK.
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What amazing colours your beautiful foliage has, very exotic. dinner looks good too.
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Thank you, likely my husbands favorite meal
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I love everything about this post, from the flowers to the dishware to the food.
And I just had a thought: you could add a Caribbean flair to the lamb by using jerk seasoning and a mild mint jelly. As you know, I make apple and mint jelly and my friend blends it with the jerk seasoning to make a really delicious roast lamb.
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Thank you, that lamb does sound delicious. I would think that would be leg of lamb? I used to make jerk tenderloin (pork) haven’t thought about that in ages. Yum.
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Right. Leg of lamb.
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And your statement made me laugh: “hopefully the garden will not overrun with Dwarf Jamaicans.” I had this image of Jamaican dwarfs overrunning your garden!
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There is the beginning of the copyright curse – your garden will be overrun by Jamaican dwarfs?! Dwarves?
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I think you’re on to something there. and I’m glad you used the two spellings of plural dwarf. I go back and forth, never knowing which is Canadian and which is American.
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Not sure of the origin of the plural, my spell check did not like dwarves and I guess it is American. I am envisioning the curse dwarves as looking like the miners from Galaxy Quest.
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Hmmm.. “If you violate my blog copyright, may the dwarves of a thousand curses infect you like miners from Galaxy Quest….”?
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that is pretty good, think the dwarves need dreads?
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I think so.
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Blue
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Blue dreads?
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yes, the original miners were bald and blue I think.
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