Bougie Berries? What the flower? The leafy (or should I say bracty) white flowers in this vase are from ‘Miss Alice’ Bougainvillea. The true flowers are at the center in white and the showy parts are bracts, like Poinsettias. Floridian landscapers refer to Bougainvilleas as ‘Bougies’. I was unable to resist cutting a few branches of the Beautyberry (Calliocarpa americana) to join the Bougies.
The Bougies and Berries were cut quickly and the rest of the vase followed suit. After a very dry summer, we are experiencing an epic onslaught of humidity. My sliding glass door fogged over with moisture this morning highlighting the numerous greyhound noseprints in sweaty relief. I beat a quick retreat back into air conditioned space. Fortunately, the tropics remain quiet for this time of year and we are finally getting some rain.
The true flowers of the Bougainvillea are visible here. White daisies are Bidens alba, a local thug and lover of humidity. Yellow spikes are bits of Aechmea blanchetiana bromeliad flowers. The greenery is Boston Fern (Nepholepsis exaltata) and a juvenile Sabal Palm (Palmetto sabal) frond.
Super drought tolerant Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) in peach tones complete this vase. I am hoping to read about some autumnal weather on other blogs this Monday as we are sorely lacking even remote coolness. Visit our fabulous hostess, Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com to see other vases..
Happy Gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
Lovely as usual Queen. My planet is getting a lot of rain. Wish I could send some to you.
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We are finally getting precipitation!! Send it west!
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Very pretty, I love the fluffiness of the ‘bougies’ and the contrast of round beauty berries. By the way, the peach salvia finally started blooming, they are surprisingly tall! Salvia rarely starts blooming in earnest here until late summer, no matter what I do. It must be light triggered perhaps? I’m hoping frost will be late this year so I get to enjoy them longer. 🙂
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Thanks, Eliza. I am so happy to hear about the peach salvia. The seeds seem to be true to color as I have some white ones that have reseeded white. They do bloom late here as well, it may be because they are the Tropical Red, things shut down July and August here and start back when the weather cools a tiny bit.
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I don’t think I’ve heard them called Bougies. A lot easier to say. They grow better south of me, but I don’t see the white as much. We got close to 9 inches of rain while I was gone and the sprinklers were running. We are having a few days of low humidity, although it is 82% right now.
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Nine inches! wow, and irrigation. Bet you got some good weeds going? Low humidity is something to look forward to, it is better today.
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Yeah. I got the front yard done and hopefully will not get written up. The back is going to have to wait.
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Temperatures have been variable here, but because of the increased moisture and periodic showers we have had unexpectedly humid periods too. Do you think you might avoid hurricanes this year after all, or are they inevitable? The bougainvillea bracts are so beautifully white and such an asset to a vase, as are the callicarpa. I like how the centre of the bidens highlights the colour of the Aechmea. Hope you get some respite from your heat and humidity soon
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Thanks, Cathy. Hurricanes are not inevitable here. There have already been a couple in the mid Atlantic. They can hit any coast from Canada all the way around Florida, the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast of the US and Mexico. It is a huge gamble. This time of year the coast of Africa starts all the storms in the Atlantic. Some start in the Caribbean and cross the Florida peninsula.
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Thanks for elaborating 👍
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I do love that white Bougainvillea, which I’ve yet to find in local garden centers. I love that you included some of those gorgeous berries in the lower level of the clear glass vase where they can be seen too.
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Thanks, Kris. I like the berries underwater, too.
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I’ve never grown Bougainvillea but should. Yours is lovely. Sabal Palm is a great foliage plant for arrangements.
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Thanks, Susie. People do overwinter Bougainvillea indoors though it is pretty thorny.
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Goodness! This reminds me that I have not yet procured the bougainvilleas yet. I was supposed to get a pair of white bougainvilleas, which will likely be ‘Jamaica White’ (which sounds like some sort of heroin), while in the Los Angeles region, but have postponed my trip for several months. By the time I get there, it will be too late to plant the bougainvilleas. I will keep them canned until the end of winter. Well, at least yours is doing well. Beautyberry is nice also. Mine were slow to start, but are doing nicely now.
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I have seen Miss Alice called Singapore White, which also sounds like heroin! I was surprised by how many people keep Bougainvilleas as houseplants with such nasty thorns.
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They are so wimpy as houseplants! Don’t they like to be out in the weather?
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Houseplants where they can’t stay outside in winter, a weird concept.
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Huh? The houseplants in my former homer were only houseplants because they did not want to be out in the winter after I brought them here from the Los Angeles region.
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That last photo with the salvias is gorgeous. The bougainvillea looks like tissue paper and the daisies do go well too. Lovely! 😀 We have had misted up windows in the mornings too, as it has been very misty at night recently… a real picture with the full moon, but impossible (for me anyway) to photograph.
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Thank you, I have enjoyed the peach salvia this summer. The misty moon sounds wonderfully photogenic. I have had difficulties with moon photos too.
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Such beautiful bougainvilleas. I have a deep purple one I love. It lives outdoors all summer and is taken into the greenhouse for winter. Thanks for sharing all your beautiful, unusual flowers.
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I know everyone’s going on about the bougainvilleas but for me it was the berries in the vase that caught my eye. Made the vase itself a piece of art, sculpture – great idea and it adds so much to the arrangement itself.
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Thanks, Chris. I cannot resist cutting the berries..
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