I joined my husband on a short road trip this week (about 80 miles north). Along the way, I noted green buds on trees and the first flowers on roses climbing fences as we drove through Melbourne, Florida. Signs are more evident of spring further north as we have few deciduous trees and roses are a long forgotten dream in my garden.
What is a harbinger of spring in South Florida? The Hong Kong Orchid trees and Winter Starburst Clerodendrum are two of my top picks. I have featured the Orchid tree flowers a few times this spring and killed every Clerodendrum I so much as looked at…
What’s toasting spring in my garden:
Front and center, the Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet); in purple, Mexican Sage (Salvia luecanthum); in blue, our native Porterweed; Asian Sword Ferns for greenery and some bits of a Purple Spike Dracaena along with the foliage from a Solar Sunrise Coleus. The white spikes are from a recent addition to my garden, Sweet Almond (Aloysia virgata) native to Argentina reportedly flowering year round with the scent of honey accompanying the flowers. I have planted this beside our screened porch for fragrance and hopefully butterflies and pollinators.
The vase:
The vase is actually one half of a pair of wine glasses I painted to go with my Portmerion Botanic Garden china at a fund raising event hosted by my longtime friend Diane. In respect of the length of our friendship, I have ceased using the term ‘old friend’. Diane raises funds to provide college scholarships for kids with Tourette’s syndrome. A great cause, the foundation was started in honor of her daughter, Kelsey. For more information, here is the link: https://www.dollars4ticscholars.org/
The glass not filled with flowers from my garden will be filled with wine to toast spring.
Cheers!
The Shrub Queen 
I’ll certainly raise a glass to drink to spring with you. Nice idea to use the glass for your lovely flowers today.
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Thank you,Christina, Cin Cin to you.
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Someone else just shared a bauhinia. Was that yours? I can not remember where I saw it. I have not seen a real one in a very long time.
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Kris P has one, too.
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Your shell ginger is still blooming? I will be enjoying yours, as I will not see a flower for another year from mine.
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The Shell Ginger looks like it is going to be around for a while. I bought a big pot of them at a garage sale $5, split them into three and put each in a different light. They are supposed to flower 3x a year here,but haven’t yet.Probably because I chopped them up! I am impressed you can grow them in Houston. At all!
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a beautiful, tropical blend that suits the cheeky vase perfectly – I’ll join you in drinking to spring and hope that’ll convince “her” to stay 🙂
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Thank you, she is out in full force here. I am expecting summer’s arrival shortly.
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A lovely tropical spring arrangement and such gorgeous zingy colours. A toast to spring is a great idea in your pretty glass. I’ll join you in that.
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Thank you and Cheers, Liz.
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What a perfectly composed “cocktail” of everything happening in your garden today. The Sweet Almond sounds like a lovely addition. Do you have trouble with bugs eating your coleus? I planted some beautiful mosaic king kong coleus last year, and I kept some bugs or slugs (I’m not sure which) well fed all summer long.
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Thanks, it smells good enough to drink. I garden on sugar sand (like Panama City Beach) the soil despite amendments isn’t conducive to Coleus so I grow them in pots. I rarely see a slug, they don’t like the sand, either. Instead of slugs, we have gigantic orange grasshoppers that eat plants!
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Lovely painted glasses and indeed a worthy cause….and I love how you filled your glass….well both glasses really!
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Thank you
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Cheers indeed. Lovely!
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Thank you.
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Two great ways to use your beautifully painted glasses! I always enjoy seeing your fabulous shell ginger but I was even more taken with those spires of sweet almond this week. I looked the plant up and see that it might even survive in my part of the country. I grow lemon verbena now but it’s yet to prove its mettle in the long term.
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Kris, thanks, Sweet Almond is new to me, but very popular amongst gardeners a bit further north.So we’ll see, the plant is pretty and the scent is not icky sweet.
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I almost used a hand painted glass for my vase today. It didn’t work out though. Your arrangement is so lush!
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Thank you, we specialize in lush,, plants,weeds, everything.
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Cheers! Must be strange not having such clear definitions to the seasons. Or perhaps you get sensitised to small changes. I love the painted glass. And the little white sweet almond flower looks pretty too. Happy Spring!
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Cheers to you, sensitized to small changes is a great way to say it.
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Lovely! I can almost feel the warmth on this 40 degree-at-home April day. Cheers to you and Spring! 🙂
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