It is still a bit too warm for my taste in my garden (mid 80’s F), though cooler weather is on the way. November 30 is the end of hurricane season, hooray!! More good gardening news, my tomatoes have set fruit and we have eaten beans and radishes from the garden.
The flowers are reflecting summer to me, with the exception of the Muhly Grass, Muhly means fall in South Florida. The Portmerion canister is a wedding gift from long ago, never used to store anything – it occasionally serves as a vase.
A friend issued a challenge to use all native plants in the vase (it may be in a magazine) So, all the flowers are, unlike me, Florida natives. Here is another view.
White daisies are Spanish Needles (Bidens alba), a bit of an overzealous seed producer, I am only too happy to decapitate for vases. The yellow daisies are Beach Sunflowers (Helianthus debilis), cheerful year round but I asked most of them in the front to leave the garden, too much trouble, again a zillion seedlings. Yellow bell shaped flowers are Tecoma stans, a newcomer in my garden also called Esperanza, grace in Spanish. I think I am going to love this one and may add a few more. Pink, red and apricot spikes are all Tropical Red Salvia, colors vary with bees! Off white background flowers are Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa) and the fall defining Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) serve as a backdrop.
I hope everyone is surviving lockdown. The horizon is looking so positive now, we just have to put our heads down and get through this.
Happy Gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
What a lovely, summery vase for a dismal day. I love the tecoma too. I have some Portmeirion in this design too. We planned to revisit the village this year, let’s hope we can do it next year. After so many months you begin to feel that you’ll never go anywhere again.
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Thank you, the Tecoma is making seed. So, I will try some. I love Botanic Garden – I bought some plates not made in the UK and they are not the same…
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You have some really showy natives. I have the same canisters and only use one. I never thought of using them for a vase. We are going down to the 30’s tonight.
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They are pretty, is there anything in your canisters? Mostly I look at mine. The 30s…will tell all soon.. Hope your tropical friends are in the garage.
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I only use one canister and I have seven. We asked for them when we got married 30 years ago and I didn’t return any of them. Over the years we collected many pieces of the set and are finally using them now that the kids left. Back in my poorer single days, I always admired them and dreamed one day of owning a collection.
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Show off!
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Oh, Becca..you have Camellias..
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True
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Your arrangements look like summer and match the temperatures! Beautiful mix.
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Thanks, summer ends shortly – there is a cold front moving through today.
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That’s a good challenge and Florida has come up trumps (if I can use that word!!) Despite their desire to overrun your garden, the blooms are so bright and cheery and it must be nice to have them to hand for a vase. As in previous vases, the muhly grass adds such a wonderful haze to the background. I hope your hurricanes have consulted the calendar…
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You have used the T word in a good way! The flowers are nice and cheery, these I cut and let the salvias and gallardias run amok..they are a bit more contained. I am not confident the hurricanes read the calendar, there have been storms on New Years day..
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Oh well, at least forecasting is pretty accurate these days and we know a little in advance what to expect
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I love all those bright yellow blooms and the Muhly grass of course. Your native plants are much more colorful that the “coastal scrub” natives associated with my area of Southern California. I’m glad your hurricane activity is likely to be coming to an end. It feels summery here too, although not quite as warm (mid-70s rather than 80s) with no rain on the horizon at all 😦
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Thanks, Kris. I live on Florida scrub! did not realize California had scrub, too. Though it makes sense..our climates are similar.
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It’s lovely, and nice staging with garden hat and pruners. Garden magazine or local features piece?
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Thanks, the magazine just informed me they don’t consider all the plants native! It is one of those depends on who you ask plants sold as native…
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Ah, well. Still nice!
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annoying
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What a beautiful vase. Yes, it looks like summer! I love that second photo outdoors. Esperanza is a lovely name for those yellow bells which remind me of daffodils. And spring. ☀️
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Thanks, Cathy, the Esperanza is very close to the color of King Alfred Daffodils.
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Tecoma stans is rad. I know I asked before, but is yours the big and wild sort, or a modern and more compact cultivar. It only recently became available here again, but only as a modern cultivar. The big and wild sort is very rare, and only in old gardens.
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It is the big and wild one..it is also producing seed, but something ate them! Do you want some seed if I can grab some?
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Oh, I shouldn’t. The compact cultivar is probably more practical. Yet, I would totally dig some if you happen to find some! Even though I can not think of where to put even one now, there will be plenty of space by the time the need to go into the ground.
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I will keep an eye out. I saw the pods forming but the seeds were stripped..
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OH MY! THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH FOR THE SEED FOR TECOMA STANS! They had been in my mailbox for more than a month, and are postmarked on December 28, but I had been unable to get to town to get my mail. I am so sorry for neglecting them for so long. I intend to sow them within the next few days. These are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RAD!
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Yay 😍 glad you got them. it got cold here and they’re not happy about it.
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They will have a good home here. I can not imagine why they are not more popular than they are.
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Well, they are not so beautiful in the winter…semi naked now.
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That is no problem. Many of the best plants are deciduous.
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True, this is kind of half deciduous. Though it is an oddly cold year and it hasn’t been in the ground for very long.
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Is that how the related Jacaranda mimosifolia is? In the Los Angeles region, they refoliate before completely defoliated. They are a bit more cleanly deciduous here.
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Yes, the Jacarandas do that here though they look much better in California..
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