The holiday season is making its presence known here in South Florida. I bought myself some early Christmas presents today at our local Big Box store. Hand clippers and a big weeder/hoe combination to use on the dreadful Torpedo Grass I have been fighting in the vegetable garden. While navigating the parking lot, I noticed a tent, featuring a plethora of desiccating Frazier Fir Christmas trees. The tent, adding insult to the injury of being cut down, shading the trees to contemplate their ultimate demise after being dumped into an asphalt topped parking lot 800 miles south of home. The fragrance was intoxicating, but taking a tree home this early leads to a crunchy fire hazard before Christmas.
Bing Crosby was crooning ‘I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas’ in the background of the store; meanwhile the ambient temperature is above 80 degrees and the locals are buying Poinsettias to be used outside as bedding plants and strings of holiday lights to festoon their Palm trees. The favored theme decoration – The Flamingo, perhaps in holiday drag. Not sure how they feel about fake fur attire. The whole shebang tends to bend the mind.
The flamingoes, embarrassed, perhaps. This always seems a bit odd to me.
The container for my vase today is a Christmas gift from a longtime friend. I have decided to stop saying old friend for good reason. We met in college, need I say more? The container is locally handmade from all natural materials and a bit of a challenge to use because it is very light – and tends to fall over. I finally put a heavy glass frog in the base and added flowers. And it worked!
This is my artistic photo, a rarity, but I like it.
More arty photos. I use the term loosely, a vase that was difficult photographing.
The vase includes in red and yellow, Parrotflowers (Heliconia psittacorum); the red flowers are Turks Cap Hibiscus (Hibiscus malvaviscus); red and orange bits from the Blanchetiana Bromeiliad, varigated foliage from the Pie Crust Croton (Codieum varigatum), Asian Sword Ferns and a Split Leat Philodendron (Philodendron selloum) in the back.
Happy Holidays!
The Shrub Queen 
You’ve alerted me to a whole new concept of ‘festive’!!! Love your vase today; it is warmly exotic just what I need on a very, very cold day. Temperatures won’t rise above 10°C (50°F) today and maybe all week!
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Happy Holidays, Christina! Thank you, warmly exotic is rapidly cooling here – my husband is concerned he will have to give up shorts for long pants. temps in the 60’s! Fahrenheit.
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The vase is lovely but what I really like is your description of the holiday shopping experience. Have you ever heard the intro to “White Christmas”? It’s all about being in L.A. where it’s warm etc.
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Thank you and I don’t think I have. It is weird being warm at Christmas.
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Gosh, furry flamingoes – whatever next?!! Your exuberant vase-for-a- gift reminded me of a carnival headdress – do you see that, perhaps? I don’t surprise your friend would be willing to model it… 😉
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Laughing, she would not and is true arranged hair person.
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🙂
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Must you remind us so vividly that our bloomers are dormant or dead while yours are blooming bountifully? Enjoy weeding with your new toys. You make me want to move even further south. Thanks Queen
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Flower, get some pansies and violas. girl. You are not that far north! And I know your house is filled with fabulous Christmas Cactus!
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Just messin’ with you Queen. I have some snap dragons still blooming and my camellias are, too. I did find a cactus color that I did not have yesterday.
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I love the flamingos. We gave up on live trees down here in the South. Recently, there was a news story on how many thousands of bugs are in the trees. We already have enough that live in the house. I have a friend from the 5th grade that always refers to me as her oldest friend. I have to remind her we are the same age.
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Thanks, I am going to take some more Flamingo pics, the variety is phenomenal and amusing. I spent a few too many years doing landscape interiors for mall and cannot stomach fake plant material. So I wait til late and decorate! Lettuce question, I bought seed and a wagon – do you grow it in pots and how big?
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I bought a mobile salad planter from Gardener’s Supply. It is 39 x 21 and 6 inches deep and 3 to 4 feet off the ground. The reason I did that was because of all the problems with rabbits. I can only get small side salads from it, but that good for my lunch. If you can grow lettuce in the ground, I would recommend doing that. Pots will work, but you will need many. I do cut the older leaves to keep the lettuces growing and did session planting. We are getting a freeze, so I’ll move the planter into the garage for the night.
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Torpedo grass? That sounds nasty! I’ve put off my own Christmas tree purchase for the very same reason – we’re expecting high winds, single digit humidity and temperatures of 80F this week. While I don’t generally like pink flamingo garden ornaments, I have to say that the addition of those Santa hats made them much more fun in my book. Your vase is appropriately festive with it’s usual tropical flair.
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Thank you, Kris – torpedo grass is dreadful, it is stoloniferous, seeds and if you chop it reproduces vegetatively also has enough vigor to punch through professional grade weed check fabric.
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Quite lovely arrangement and very interesting container you chose this week. I’ve always heard it’s better to buy the tree as soon as you see them because that’s when they’re freshest. Then you can store it in a cool spot in plenty of water to keep it hydrated until you’re ready to use it. That said, I don’t usually get one until the last week. It’s going to be 70F here tomorrow with chance of snow on Friday. Christmas weather can go either way in NC.
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Thank you. Weather, welcome to the south,right?
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Now that is a unique, one-of-a-kind basket, Amelia. You’ve filled it beautifully and artfully. 🙂 I really like that pie-crust croton. I bet it’d grow as a house plant here, ya think?
If it is going down to 60, you might feel more in the ‘northern’ holiday spirit and I bet the fir trees could use a break in temperature. Florida has always had a unique spin on Christmas, pink flamingos in Santa caps, I love it. You had me laughing out loud about your shopping excursion. Gotta love it!
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Thank you. Crotons are scale magnets even outside here and require extremely high light levels indoors, a floral arrangment kind of houseplant.
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Tropicals rarely do well for me. I think our house is too dry and cool at night in winter. I’m not so attentive that I go around misting plants every day either. Things have to be tough. 😉 I have best luck with S.African plants, they can take cool and dry.
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Me, too. I truly do not like houseplants! You made me remember to hit the Croton with some Neem, Mr. PieCrust thanks you.
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🙂
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Your description of the run-up to the holiday season in Florida is so funny! Fairy lights in palm trees and furry flamingoes… hmmm, quite different to our 0°C and hot mulled wine! Your arrangement is lovely and festive in a tropical way, and I love the overall shape and the lovely parrot flowers standing at the centre.
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Thanks, the holidays are still a mind bender for me.
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I love how your vase reflects your Christmas flamingoes with its pink plumes!
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Thanks. Gotta love the flamingos
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Holy moly those flamingos in Christmas hats, what will they think of next! I could do with a blast of 80degrees as it has been very cold and dark here. Happy holidays to you too
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Rumor has it we will need long pants later this week. I will be collecting flamingoes til then! Happy Holidays.
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Love the title, love the arrangement, love the flamingos!
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Thank you, needs more purple?
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Hah
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