I am joining the SOS crowd today seeking signs of fall in my garden. South Florida is not noted for obvious seasonal changes – however, there are autumnal signs if you look hard enough. To see more posts about fall, visit http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.
There are trees and shrubs that produce fruit in the fall. The hungry migrating birds are just starting to show up as the fruit matures. This is the fruit of the Gumbo Limbo tree (Bursera simaruba). It ripens to red and then bronze. Then there are a zillion seedlings.
I was surprised the first time it happened. The Pleomele (Dracaena reflexa) flowered, and then it produced fruit. There is a bird that bangs on the window after it eats the fruit for some reason. I have never seen Dracaena seedlings although it is easy to grow from cuttings.
Wild Coffee (Psychotria nervosa) occurs naturally in my garden. I have read that you can roast and use the seeds for a coffee like beverage, but it is not recommended or caffeinated and related to medicinal plants that can make you sick. Best left to the birds.
I spied a Mockingbird enjoying the Beautyberries (Calliocarpa americana) at long last. He or she did not hang around for a photo session. Mockingbirds are winter visitors here.
Martin Bromeliads (Neoregelia ‘Martin’) starting to show their fall colors. They are yellow and green in summer and change to deep red by winter.
For a final tropical touch, my ‘Miss Alice’ Bougainvillea is showing off for fall. Who knows why?
That is all from South Florida.
Happy Gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
That is funny that a bird taps on your window after eating the fruit. Some berries and fruit can make birds drunk.
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The bird may be eating some of that Wild Coffee too, it is slightly hallucinogenic.
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Pretty Martin Bromeliads! Martin as the name of my 2nd son. Otherwise you also show us the callicarpa and you will see mine in my Six this week.
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Thanks, Fred. I am not sure who Martin was. I live in Martin county.
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Hey! I FINALLY brought back a pair of white bougainvillea from the Los Angeles region! There is also a ‘Barbara Karst’, just because . . . well, I am sure we can find a place for it. Anyway, the white sort is labeled as ‘Mary Palmers’. I am sort of concerned about that. I hope that the long name of ‘Mary Palmer’s Enchantment’ was shortened to fit on the label, but there is no apostrophe preceding the ‘s’. However, there would be no ‘s’ at all if it were simply ‘Mary Palmer’. So far, the few blooms that are visible are pure white, and the foliage is not variegated. ‘Mary Palmer’ is VERY pretty, but not what I want for the white garden. Technically, only one of the pair will be just outside an extreme corner of the white garden, so would not be a problem if it blooms with white and pink. The other will be on the opposite side of the road. They will be trained up onto the suspension of a pedestrian bridge over the road.
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Yay for Bougs, Barbara Karst is very popular here. Miss Alice is not really pure white. I am not familiar with Mary Palmer.
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Barbara Karst is the most common here, and also my favorite. When I was a kid, it was the only one I had ever seen. I did not see a white cultivar until I was in high school. I did not see the purple Bougainvillea brasiliensis until I was in college. Of course, I saw several others when I went to the Los Angeles region shortly afterward. I am unfamiliar with ‘Miss Alice’ as well as the ‘Mary Palmer’ cultivars, although I could have already met them without knowing their names. I know that there are risks involved with trying this pair of white bougainvilleas, but I am more concerned with frost tolerance than foliar color.
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I like the Palm Beach or New River purple bougainvillea..hope Mary Palmer makes it..I think they can take a little frost.
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‘New River Purple’ looks like a Bougainvillea brasiliensis type, which is more sensitive to frost here (although information online insists that it is ‘more’ resilient to frost). I am unfamiliar with ‘Palm Beach’. I am confident that these bougainvilleas will survive here, but will remove them if they are always recovering from annual frost damage. If they get frosted every few years or so, I do not mind.
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Miss Alice deserves to show off, she is lovely. What a funny thing for the bird to do after eating those fruits.
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Miss Alice answers to no one and blooms when in the mood. Someone said the berries may get the bird drunk?!
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Prize for the best name goes to the Gumbo Limbo tree! It should be the name of a book. Or a song.
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Dr Seuss has been mentioned! This tree is native to South Florida and the Caribbean, I am guessing the name is Caribbean?
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The botanical name of the wild coffee would certainly put me off trying to drink it! As for the Gumbo Limbo tree, it sounds as though it should be in a Dr Seuss story. You have some amazing plants in South Florida.
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Same here with the wild coffee, Floridians drink tea made from a plant called Ilex vomitoria, I won’t drink that either! I think Dr. Seuss has been here.
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Miss Alice is a show. I’d not heard of Wild Coffee before – very interesting.
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What a wonderful Bougainvillea. 😃 A nice welcome every time you go home. 😃
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Yes, I love Miss Alice.
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Miss Alice has really grown, I remember when you got her when she was a small thing. She’s happy in your climate!
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She is happy. I was thinking I should get some of the shrub forms, they are very resilient plants.
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