I have succeeded in coaxing a Lobsterclaw Heliconia to flower. Finally. It has taken four years and two different types. This particular one is Helconia rostrata, native to South America. I found two years ago at a Master Gardeners plant sale and snapped up. It was doing fine until Hurricane Matthew blew by last year and bent it into 2 plants on an angle. Then I forgot about it for a while and let the dried up leaves hang on the plant instead of trimming them off. Viola, the secret, don’t trim the dead leaves. I read somewhere the flowers are easily cut off during trimming and now I believe it. The other one, a Heliconia ‘Splash’ four years old steadfastly refuses to flower, but it was always trimmed. Now it looks awful and I am hoping for some flowers! The Splash flowers are twice as big as these, apricot with wine colored splashes.

A closer view. The Heliconia is accompanied by a flowering branch of a Sea Grape (Coccoloba uvifera). The Sea Grape flowers eventually form a long chain of blueberry sized ‘grapes’. One of my greyhounds likes to eat them, but I don’t.

The Heliconia bud.

Happy Monday

Putting together a Vase for Monday usually makes me think of my mother. I am sure she was the genesis of my interest in gardening. This is her crystal Rose Bowl filled with a mixture from my garden. The wood thing in the background is a cake form I picked up in Japan some years ago, used for making Mung Bean Cakes, I think. I like the cake pan, but can easily forego the cake. My friend who lived in Japan called them Modeling Clay Cakes.

The Rose Bowl is packed with flowers. The orange tubular flowers are from the Firebush (Hamelia patens var paten), I have used orange Ground Orchids (Epidendrum), white Tropical Gardenias (Tabernaemontana divaricata), Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata), a few Parrotflower Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorus), Red Shrimp Plant (Justicia brandegeana), the seed stalk is from a Dracaena reflexa, and a bit of Asian Sword Fern.

Here’s the latest thing of interest from my garden:

The Nam Doc Mai Mango tree is fruiting! Hoping for some Mango Melange soon.

Sunday morning found me installing a crushed shell walkway in my Wildflower/ Salsa Garden. Shoveling shell and wheelbarrowing it around was taking its toll, so I sat in the shade of an old Rosewood tree in our backyard to drink some water and cool off. Finding a seat on the garden furniture strewn about waiting for the garden to be finished, I nearly turned myself and the chair over on the not quite even ground. When finally situated  I ended up face to face with the flowers of the Rosewood tree, lovely, delicate and creamy white.

These are that kind of Rosewood (Dahlbergia sissoo) used to make fine furniture. They also make fine street and shade trees in many tropical places. Just not Florida. In Florida they are considered invasive because they do too well and take over. The Rosewood came with the house, part of it has been removed once or twice and the other part is not on my property so I am stuck with it for the time being. I had never noticed the delicate flowers before and decided to try to find some similar flowers to incorporate into a vase.

The orange flowers are from a Ground Orchid my neighbor gave me. This is some variety of Epidendrum, a member of the not sure which group of plants. This little orchid has amazed me, for some reason an Armadillo has a death wish for it and has dug it up countless times, I keep replanting it and it is bravely sending up flowers. As I was installing irrigation and using pins to hold the tubing down,  it occurred to me I should pin the Orchid down. Next on my list!

The vase is a thrift store find and the last bit of foliage is from Asparagus Ferns.

The bird visitors this week were some slightly blurry Ibises. They seem to be eating grubs from the lawns. I frequently see Ibis walking along the tops of hedges eating insects.

Happy Monday!

Given the recent marches in protest of, at this point, seemingly nearly everything related to science, nature and politics, I was surprised to find there’s yet another Revolution brewing. Involving flower arrangements!

My favorite neighbor saved an article for me from the New York Times Style section regarding the revolution in flower arranging being brought about by the Milennials. Seems people are going back to flowers from their gardens and seasonal foraging to fill their vases. Pesticide ridden roses from South America are being eschewed for, in my opinion, more beautiful flowers. If this is a Revolution I am all for it! Here is a link to the article Floral Revolution Link.

I am certain this is not a revolutionary arrangement from my garden, it is however a new combination.  Ascending, and in red, are Turks Cap Hibiscus ( Malvaviscus pendulifloris); in white and slightly bigger are Tropical Gardenias (Tabernaemontana divaricata), the smaller white flowers with seed heads are Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata). The bigger orange flower is Mexican Bush Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera), the other orange flowers are from our native Firebush (Hamelia patens var patens). I  thought the star of the revolution would be the Gardenias but I think the Turks Cap Hibiscus gets my vote. I fertilized a nearby palm with some divine organic palm fertilizer and that Turks Cap has never been happier. The vase is a thrift store find. Celadon green and I am certain hand thrown – clunky in the most marvelous way things crafted by hand can be.

The new animal friends (I hope) in my garden this week are:

Firebush and Friend

The lizard is a Northern Curly Tail Lizard, about 8 inches long and bearing a striking resemble to an Iguana. Having never seen one in my garden before, I read up on them and there’s a good reason – it is a relative of the Iguana, fortunately smaller. The Northern refers to the northern Bahamas!

The Zebra Longwing butterflies have come back out with the flowering of the Firebush. These are a favorite of mine and the state butterfly of Florida.

Vasers, Happy Monday and please carry on with the Revolution.