I am joining Jim and the gang yet again for a Saturday garden update. South Florida is slowly working its way to summer and some plants are a little early this year. This makes me worry a bit about what the weather gods are planning for the rainy season. For a world tour of gardens on Saturday, follow this link to Jim’s blog. htpp://gardenrumininations.uk.co
Torch Bromeliad (Billbergia pyramidalis) blooming very early. These are sometimes called Hurricane Lilies as they usually flower at the peak of hurricane season, the first week of September.
Mangoes are mostly a summer fruit. These are Nam Doc Mai, Thai dessert mangoes. I bought the tree in 2016 because it can produce up to four crops a year and is coconut flavored with no fiber. This is the most fruit I have had and it has always been this time of year. They are almost ready, turning a solid apricot color when ripe.
This is a Red Jaboticaba. A tropical fruit from Brazil. This one is a shrub, reported to grow five feet tall. These are usually trees that take forever to produce fruit. Interesting fruit. The flowers are borne on the trunk and the fruit is like a Muscadine grape on the trunk. The tree looks like the trunk is covered in swirls of purple grapes. Tasty. It took a long time for this to establish, four or five years. Maybe some fruit, someday. The Red Jaboticaba is supposed to set fruit earlier than the trees. There is some cold damage I need to prune out.
The Sweet Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata) blooming its heart out. This smells wonderful and is bouncing back from a severe prune.
Tree spinach (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) flowering for the first time this year. This is a subsistence vegetable for tropical climates, growing without supplemental water and providing nutrition to those who know how to cook it. Poisonous to those who don’t. I don’t eat the stuff and planted this for its flowers – they provide a nectar source for many tropical butterflies.
Frightened frog hiding from Fiona. I walked out with Fiona the greyhound the other night and found this native tree frog sitting on an ottoman on the porch. Fiona started barking and the startled frog hopped under a pillow.
That is all from SoFla. Happy Spring to everyone further north.
The Shrub Queen 
It does not seem like a good omen to have a hurricane plant bloom early.T he Joboticada is a crazy looking plant. I often wonder who was the first human to try to eat some of these plants.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree. The orchids that usually flower at the same time are doing the same thing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cute, frog and a wow at those Mangoes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hilarious that Fiona felt she had to bark at a tiny frog, lol! Hope the critters leave your mangoes alone, they look splendid.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fiona dislikes reptiles and frogs which is a good thing. We have been sort of overrun by invasive lizards, I hope they don’t like mangoes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mango is RAD! I have not seen one in many years. They are uncommon in Southern California. I do not remember ever seeing one in a nursery. They do not live here, . . . although I am not totally convinced.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is RAD, I hope to eat one soon. It is not humid enough for mango there?
LikeLiked by 1 person
It supposedly gets too cool during winter.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That makes sense. They say mangoes will grow as far north as Orlando here. Usually the condo mangoes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Envious of your mangoes… 🥹.
I also grow an Aloysia but the A polystachya. A wonderful scent in the greenhouse and ideal for herbal tea.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Fred. The mangoes are so close to ripe it is difficult to wait. I have to look up the Aloysia you grow, do you make tea from the leaves?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes I do with mine ! Fresh or dried, both are possible.
LikeLike
Interesting, I just looked it up. Supposedly good for anxiety, though mine is not the same.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooooo yummy…those mangos! So jealous…wish we could grow them here in Northern California. Neat to see your Aloysia virgata too… I planted one last year but I think it died overwinter. I enjoy seeing what you can grow there. ~lisa
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Lisa it is a different place for gardening..the Aloysia is more cold hardy than I thought, I hope it comes back.
LikeLike
Your garden looks amazing and sounds like it smells delicious too! Love your photo of the early mango crop. Coconut and mango, yum! Enjoy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, we have picked our first mango!!
LikeLike
I do like the sound of that Jaboticaba fruit. And the mangoes sound delicious too. Hope you get a good harvest! 😃
LikeLiked by 1 person
I go out and look at the Mangoes every morning. Jaboticaba must be one of those things that can’t be shipped. I have never seen one before. Though there is a lot of weird tropical fruit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Probably more than we can imagine. Do show us the fruit of the Jaboticaba when it forms, and tell us what it tastes like!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Jaboticabas are famously slow to start fruiting, it may be a while.
LikeLiked by 1 person