Memorial Day usually kicks off the summer season in the US. Memorial Day is next Monday, as usual Florida starts summer early. It has been pleasant here, mid 80s (F) daytime highs and thunderstorms breaking up our usual dry May weather and giving the garden a few good soakings.
For a global view of gardens in early summer, late spring everywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere, follow the link and see more SOS posts. http://gardenruminations.co.uk
The mangoes continue to mock me, almost ripe. We have eaten one. I shared a bowl of mango salsa with my husband, served as a side dish with roasted steelhead trout. It was delicious. These will be picked when the blush is covering most of the fruit. Several friends have advised they pick them when the squirrels start eating them.
Another out of season bromeliad. This one, Quesnelia testudo, usually (and did) bloom in February. Last week the September broms were flowering. I don’t know what to think about this.
Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers have given me a lot of flowers this year. They seem to be gearing up for summer with another flush.
Another sure sign of summer. The Sunshine Mimosa (Mimosa strigillosa) is on the move and flowering. This is a low native groundcover pushed as a lawn alternative. Unfortunately it is not evergreen and looks dreadful for several months, now it looks great and is running amok in the garden.
With the rain this week the Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) has burst into flower. I have two varieties, this is the old fashioned pale blue.
This is a newer variety of Plumbago. I am not sure of its name, or if it has one. This one is more reminiscent of hydrangeas to me. I am too far south to have much success with hydrangeas, so this is a good alternative.
That is all from the heat zone this Saturday.
HAPPY GARDENING!!
The Shrub Queen 
The plumbago is gorgeous and the mango salsa sounds delicious. Have you ever made chutney with mangoes?
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Thanks, Eliza. I have never eaten mango chutney, though I will look into it.
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There are two kinds, spicy (hot) and sweet. I’m a fan of the sweet. 🙂
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Is this Major …somebody’s chutney?
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Major Grey’s chutney is the less spicy one (made for the English palette, who weren’t accustomed to the super-spicy food). I was told once by an Indian restaurant owner that the food he served was much milder than they make at home!
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That’s it! I have to find some. My neighbor told me you can make chutney with green mangoes, which sounds not so good to me. I am not good with the super hot food.
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I used to eat Thai and Mexican all the time, but these days it aggravates hot flashes big time! 😀
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The joys of menopause, not!
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Stunning Plumbago flowers! I love them.
Does the Sunshine Mimosa have sensitive and retractable leaves like the M.pudica variety? The flowers look like
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Thanks, the Sunshine Mimosa does fold up when you touch it.
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Beautiful flowers and an amazing mango. You are so lucky to grow these.
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Thank you.
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Now that I am in Los Angeles, and have been here since Wednesday evening, I have not seen a single mango tree. I may have merely neglected to notice any. Papaya are more common than I remember though, and they look silly! Some are very tall.
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I think you would notice the mangoes…I agree the Papayas do look silly.
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I do not remember so many papayas. They seem to have become trendy only recently.
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Summer begins a bit earlier in the South. The Plumbago is getting lots of attention. I have a deer that eats mine down to the ground.
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It does. Well, at least you know it will come back.
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And so do the deer.
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And so does the deer.
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It’s always something..
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More Plumbago! Yes! I am swooning.
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I wish you could see the shrub, probably six feet tall and eight feet wide. I am plotting how to make a vase with it.
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Amazing it’s so tall. Love it.
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Beautiful colours! I really like that Mimosa – reminds me a bit of the Alliums that are starting to bloom here. Is it fragrant?
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Thanks, Chris. It is tiny, 2-3 inches tall, I don’t think it is fragrant.
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I do love your stunning flowers they have such vivid colours.
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Thank you, the light here is strong.
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I like that new deeper blue plumbago.
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Thank you, I do as well.
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I hope in another life I have a mango tree. When I was still at home we had 31 avocado trees (fuerte), and that was spectacular. We had oranges (navel), lemons (eureka), limes, tangerines, apricots, plums, so I was lucky, but to eat a mango ripe from the tree! That must be amazing! I know several researchers from Brazil who lament the quality of fruit available here, since they are used to fresh from the tree. Their eyes glaze over when they talk about eating fruit back home.
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Are you from California? They don’t seem to have mangoes there, I suppose they need the humidity we have here. The fruit is delightful and I can understand the Brazilian take on our grocery store fruit. I have three different trees and it was silly to plant that many but I got one last year and probably a hundred this year. Go figure. I have avocadoes, limes, papayas, jaboticaba and pineapple.
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Yes, I grew up in San Diego. Dry, so things that work in a Mediterranean climate are a good bet. Tropical fruit is yummy!
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Wisconsin could be a bit of a shock after that! I agree about tropical fruit and have yet to try a lot of things.
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Love plumbago, it does really well in my garden too! Those mangoes sound superb! ❤
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I did not realize how far north Plumbago would grow. I love it here.
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The plumbagos are a dream! What a gorgeous shade of blue, and a lovely alternative to Hydrangeas. Enjoy those mangoes! 😃
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