The end of August in South Florida is hot! Mix in a droughty summer, a few mosquitoes, some charbroiled plants, and yes, I am asking for fall. Please. I used to dread the end of summer, but now I embrace it as the best gardening weather is something to look forward to. I cut the summer stalwarts for this vase and selected the most autumnal tones in the garden. Feeling refreshed already. There are rain showers on the weather radar. Fingers crossed.
Posies in profile. The orange and red banana shaped flowers are Parrotflowers, in orange, Heliconia psittacorum “Chocociana”, in red H. psittacorum “Lady Di”; yellow flowers are Esperanza (Tecoma stans); orange flowers are Firebush (Hamelia patens). Greenery is Asparagus ferns.
Another view.
Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. To see more vases, follow the link.
Happy Gardening!!!
The Shrub Queen 
Such beautiful autumnal colours š
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Thank you.
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I know how you feel. I’m looking forward to autumn too. It’ll give us a break and finally the look of the garden will be in harmony with the season ;). Lovely bouquet which no doubt cheers you up. Have a good week!
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Thanks, Annette. Happy September to you.
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The tecoma makes a great partner for the hamelia, and the vase certainly has an autumnal look. I have been doing all sorts of jobs here that I might normally consider as ‘Autumn’ jobs, I suppose because the previous heat has accelerated the onset of another season
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Heat accelerated fall? raking leaves already?
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Not raking leaves yet, but some shrubs have dropped their leaves and some trees have begun turning…
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Esperanza! Mine were not so easy to grow. Of all those seed that Crazy Green Thumbs sent to me, not many germinated, and only a few survive now. Only six survive after getting spotted off into cells, with even fewer still growing in their flat. Some died after spotting off earlier. I am determined to grow esperanza.
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Yes, I wonder if these are grown by cutting. They have put out zillions of seeds and I have not seen one germinate?
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That is how that family is. It seems like a waste to generate all that seed if only a few germinate.
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It does. I wonder where the invasive comes in.
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It might be invasive by slowly overwhelming particular undisturbed ecosystems, even if it can not do the same within more refined landscapes, where it would get removed as a weed, or simply could not get established with so many disturbances. It can do that without seeding profusely.
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There are other invasive Tecomas here, they do not do well in the sand in my garden.
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The only Tecoma that I met prior to this one is Tecomeria capensis, which fails to impress me. I do not know if it is a vine or a shrub, and the bloom is not very colorful.
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That is probably it…
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Oh no, that is completely different. Yours is a Tecoma stans of some sort. Tecomeria capensis has narrowly tubular flowers that are reddish orange, or only rarely yellow.
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Most modern plants are cuttings of a cultivar that stays more compact than the wild form.
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Do you know what the wild form is? The one outside is probably 10 x 10 after 3 years.
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Wow! That is big! That seems like the wild form. It supposedly gets as tall as nine feet or so, but the one and only specimen that I ever met in San Jose (of all the unexpected places) was more than ten feet tall, and likely more than twelve feet tall, and leaning onto a flat garage roof. I have no idea how that specimen got where it did, since I have never seen Tecoma stans available anywhere. I would not expect it to be available from nurseries like modern cultivars are. However, modern cultivars are more compact, and should get no taller than eight feet, with nicely dense growth that does not flop open from the weight of the bloom. If yours grew that big in only three years, it is likely the wild form. Where did it come from?
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It came from a local nursery, I have seen the cultivars but not around here, There is an argument about whether it is native.
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Yes, and that might be relevant to its invasiveness. Even if it is not aggressive, it may have naturalized within some ecosystems.
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I don’t know, am surprised at how much it grew and will be pruning it after it flowers.
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I love the autumn colors, Amelia. I’m also looking forward to fall’s arrival; however, it seems we have a heatwave to get through first, scheduled to settle in mid-week and hold on through the Labor Day weekend. I hope you get that rain!
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Thanks, Kris. I am sure we will have a few more heatwaves to get through as well. It did rain!
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I have thanked Canada for cold fronts.
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I wish Canada would send us one..
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Looking autumnal, even though the weather is speaking a different language, even here. Warm and humid, but expecting a cool front tomorrow night. Sadly, it brings no rain. š¦ Hang in there!
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Ack! Good for you, a cold front! We got some rain yesterday..meaningful, hoping for more.
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Your bunch reminds me of fruit punch – I love it š
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Love your colours Amelia – I’ve always been a bit like that about summer, but it is definitely aggravated by increasing drought. We have some glorious rain this evening – hope you got yours too!
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Thanks, Cathy. It rained, so life is good for a bit.
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