The oh so subtle signs of fall are appearing on the peninsula of Florida. Hurricane Dorian was one unmistakable sign, the hurricane season peaks on September 10. My husband declared hurricane season over and took down all the storm shutters. Signs in the garden include the formation of fruit on Beautyberry and Firebush and I have seen three (yes, 3!) Red Maples sporting red fall color. It is exciting.
My garden came through the brush with Hurricane Dorian mostly unscathed, the Beautyberry had their leaves blown off (the berries were untouched) and the Avocado tree’s leaves have windburn. A few branches down here and there, but that is about it. I wonder if I have sited the Avocado in a less than the optimal place as the leaves usually burn from one thing or another.
The vase is an old florist’s vase I found by the side of the road in my neighborhood. I am guessing at least thirty years old as I vaguely remember these in the 80s. Most of the plants in the vase I love for their flowers but hate for their voracious appetite for space in the garden.
The most incorrigible of the lot, in white, Spanish Needles (Bidens alba) possibly the best native pollinator in the garden – however, these reseed to the point of annoyance. In orange and red, Firebush (Hamelia patens – varieties botanically undefined) I love these shrubs, but once they get going watch out. I was told one was dwarf (4 feet) sounds great – it is probably closing in on 12 feet and still growing. Also soon to be a tree form as I love the butterflies nectaring on it (5 different butterflies seen while cutting branches for the vase). The red fruits are also from the Firebush, I have two types, the red one produces fruit that grows little plants in the garden – the orange one never does. Grey foliage is from Barometer Bush (Luecophyllum) I prune and prune and never have a dense hedge, purple flowers occasionally make it worthwhile. The purple berries, Beautyberry (Calliocarpa americana) which I love right now but not so much for the foliage. Ferns are Asian Sword Ferns, they could take over a gas station parking lot. Enough said.
My vase from last week is holding up well with the exception of the Orchid, that was asked to leave and unceremoniously composted. Here are the two vases together.
Maybe there is fall color in Florida. It is just totally different.
The Shrub Queen 
We also have the problem with shrubs here. They never stay the size stated on the tags. I think I have the same ferns. I have to pull lots of them out every year. On the upside, you have plenty to fill your vases.
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I do love those ferns despite all the negatives. No weeds is a huge plus!
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Your vases look very striking, such good strong colours as interesting texture . Autumnal as we say over here.
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Thank you, Autumnal is a difficult concept to grasp at 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Crikey I don’t think I could cope with that too well
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Fall is a couple of weeks away…coping til then!
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Gorgeous!
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Thank you
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I love the wildflower look to this arrangement, Amy. Firebush seems like a great native, it flowers endlessly!
Glad you escaped the wrath of Dorian. That abrupt right turn was nothing short of amazing.
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Thanks, Eliza. Firebush stops at some point but not for long. I am still recovering from that turn of Dorian, while everyone predicted it I have acne for the first time in decades from the wait.
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I can imagine the stress must have been intense. And given its destruction we’ve been viewing, you must be feeling ‘there but by the grace of God…’
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Yes, everyone around here believes the Euro model which consistently said it would turn. Nail biter though – people from the Bahamas are already here and their kids are in school. Only one person evacuated on my street.
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Your fall colour is certainly very dramatic. I love the combination of orange and purple. 🙂
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It is dramatic, I guess Fall needs an exclamation point here.
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Glad to hear Dorian barely touched you. Love today’s orange and green contrast in your vase
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Thank you, Cathy. Feeling very relieved here.
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I’m glad that Dorian passed you by for the most part, Amelia. Is your husband’s declaration that hurricane season is over wishful thinking, or does it have a solid foundation? I imagine that putting up those window shields is a time-consuming process! Thanks for the heads-up about the firebush’s proclivity for reaching for the sky – I may reconsider my interest in it as I already have a few too many of those overachievers in my garden.
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Kris, thanks and it is wishful thinking, there are currently 4 storms brewing in the tropical Atlantic and i think the official end of hurricane season is Nov 30. We have had storms in October. I hope I have seen the last of the shutters.
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Ah, beautyberry. I got to get some. I want the common wild form, rather than a garden variety. I am sort of interested in the white Japanese sort too.
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I can send you some seeds.. white one like Encore Azalea to me.
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Thank you, but I would prefer to wait until I have more time for the garden. I have so many seed here that do not get sown. I only hope that some stay viable for a long time. I could order some online, . . . or I could get some directly when I go someplace exotic like Georgia! (I don’t get out much, but when I do . . . )
Does comparing the white to Encore Azalea mean that you dislike them? I am less impressed with them because they are not North American, but I think the white is pretty. I dunno. It sees like beautyberry should be beautyberry colored. White is great, but does not fit everything.
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Yes, I don’t like the white ones, just seems weird to me. LOL Georgia is so exotic (I am from Atlanta) there is plenty of Beautyberry there.
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Georgia is exotic to those of us who have never been there. Before I went to Oklahoma at the end of 2012, I had never been off of the West Coast.
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Well, I have to admit I think the West Coast is pretty exotic. You would probably love Georgia the forests are fantastic. Oak, Hickory, Tulip Poplar with Dogwood and Redbud understory.
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When I went to Oklahoma, I was totally flipping out, and neighbors didn’t get it. I did not see any tulip polar there, but saw plenty of other weird species that I see only in synthetic landscapes here. You know, it still seems odd that there were not big trees. In forested areas, trees all seemed to get to the same maximum height.
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Yes, too much wind there, the trees all look stunted to me.
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I had always heard that the region was flat. I did not think it was so flat, but I did notice that the terrain had a certain ‘ceiling’ to it, like the trees. There were NO hills. It only seemed like there were hills because there were low spots where the creeks flowed through. What seemed like hills were only the spots in between the low spots. From the high spots (which were really just spots that were not low), I could see that there were no other spots that were higher. All the high spots were the same elevation. Anyway, the trees on the high spots went no higher than a prescribed ceiling. Trees in low spots got taller, only because they could grow up as high as the same ceiling that confined the trees on the high spots. It was like there was a magical force field up there.
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I live near the highest point in East Florida, cuz I couldn’t deal with the flat. The trees are different sizes but no real woods here.
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Some of the trees I work with are higher than the highest point in Florida.
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