I like plants that are a bit off the beaten path. Something that make you wonder “what on earth is that?” It occurred to me as I was arranging this vase I had most likely never seen any of these plants prior to moving to Florida almost 10 years ago. I would have said “Whatizzit?” about this one.
The vase is a thrift store find I have enjoyed for years, simple enough to set off a group of mad tropical flowers and foliage. Here are some closer views of the flowers:
The white flowers are ‘Miss Alice’ Bougainvillea; red flowers are Nodding or Sleeping or Turks Cap Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreus) – so many names, I am not sure which one is right. Red and black foliage is from Piecrust Croton (Codiuem varigatum)
Here is the other side. The Lobsterclaws and the big gold leat are from, yes, the Lobsterclaw Bromeliad (Aechmea blanchetiana). These are a very common landscape Bromeliad around here. I cut some stems of the lower part of the flower. The flowers are a bit difficult to imagine and about four feet tall.
Here they are in the garden:
Happy Monday from South Florida.
To see more vases from around the world, visit our intrepid hostess, Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com.
The Shrub Queen 
That sounds like me moving to the Texas Gulf Coast. All the familiar flowers did not grow here. Our local garden columnist had a list of subsitlutes for Yankees. But, it is certainly interesting seeing learning about so many different plants.
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Yankee substitutes! I love it. I am constantly seeing people want to grow Lilacs and Tulips here. It is interesting for sure, I had never seen big Bromeliads before.
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I love your posts with flowers from my childhood in the tropics, and paticularly appreciate the views of the plants growing in your garden. Thank you for ignignting happy memories. Have a lovely week.
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Thank you, Noelle.
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Great flower display. I’ve never seen some of those flowers before.
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Thank you, there are some mad flowers in my garden.
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As Noelle says, it is really interesting seeing the plants in context in your garden, even fr those of us who have never lived in the tropics! The tropical contents of your vase are perfect for its elongated shape and what a great find it was!
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Thanks, I think that Bromeliad flower needs some context!
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Are bromeliads generally grown more for bloom than for foliage? The only bromeliad that I grow here is common queen’s tears, although there is the less common queen’s tears with bigger bloom out there also. I only grow it because it has been with me for so long. The flowers are interesting, but the foliage is not s pretty, and needs a lot of grooming. The bloom of the bromeliads that I see in Southern California are much more interesting, but the foliage is generally mediocre or unappealingly bronzed. I mean, it is not even a pretty bronze. Some are planted in planters downtown while blooming, and then discarded like annuals! I would not want to grow something so expensive just to discard it.
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Well, the Neoregelias and others are grown for foliage while the ones with showy flowers are grown for flowers, really like flowering perennials and hosta and ferns in more temperate gardens. They are used like annuals in too much sun here as well and the landscapers cannot keep their weedeaters away from them – makes the foliage look awful. Tulips are planted like that further north, another money waster.
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Oh, that was an inane question. Of course some are grown for their foliage. I do not see many here, and even when I go to the Los Angeles region, I sort of ignore them because they are not very pretty in the arid climate.
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I really like this one, Amy, with its focus on groups of flowers and the flow from the bromeliads off to the upper right. Nice!
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Thanks, Eliza. The flowing Lobsterclaw, I like that.
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I would be asking whatizzit too if it wasn’t for regular exposure to your plants via IAVOM 😉 I’m still on the look out for a Bougainvillea with white bracts like yours. I envy your Crotons too – the plants seem to fall apart almost instantly when exposed to our often very dry air.
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That Bougainvillea is called Singapore White on the west coast. There are native Crotons here but they are hard to grow!
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It’s great to see you embrace the native flora in your vases Amy. Turks Cap Hibiscus is a cool addition to today’s collection. Hope all is well with you and yours.
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Thanks, Susie. Ironically, there is not a native plant in the vase. Central and South America and the South Pacific is where they are from. The Turks Caps are naturalized.
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I love your “off the beaten path” vases as they’re always so colurful, tropical and introduce me to new plants.Thanks for showing them in the garden setting too, it’s very interesting. Happy autumn days 🙂
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Thank you, Annette. I have eenjoyed meeting and growing all these new plants, the bloggers, too!
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