Saturday has rolled around once again. Time to take a stroll around the garden to see what is new and compare notes with other SOS gardeners. To take a virtual stroll through gardens around the world visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk
After a dry week (I had to get out the hose!) it started raining again yesterday. This morning I took some photos and then a thunderstorm blew up offshore and it is now pouring down rain. When researching recommendations for when to plant in South Florida you often see at the start of the rainy season – June 1 as a good date. This works if it is indeed rainy, otherwise, the plants fry. I try to get everything in the ground in March. I am seeing some mad growth in the garden and other plants rescued by the rain.
Purple Haze Billbergia bromeliad pups emerging from a mother plant on its way out.
Coontie cycad (Zamia integrefolia) rescued from annihilation. I am not sure what happened here, these are usually very hardy. This one lost all its foliage last summer when it was droughty and was not recovering. I potted the caudex, put it in the shade and watered it – much to my surprise, it came back. The cycads are notorious for not liking disturbance.
Native Florida Poinsettia (Euphorbia cyathophora) hugging my garden greyhound. These appear when rain is plentiful and add a little color.
My first Rangpur lime, ever! My neighbor grew this tree from seed and it has been in my garden for six years or so. I am excited! These are hard to see right now, hopefully there are more on the tree. This type of lime is orange when ripe and considered a sour orange in Florida. We make ‘key lime’ pies with the fruit or use it like lemons. It is also used in Cuban cuisine for mojo marinade.
One of my summer favorites, Thyrallis (Galphimia gracilis) is finally flowering.
Tree Spinach (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) is one of the best nectar plants for butterflies in the garden. There were three different butterflies feeding on the flowers when I took the picture. This is a Gulf Fritillary. I have never seen as many flowers on this plant, the butterflies are having a smorgasbord.
That is all from my now very damp garden.
Happy Gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
I’m glad I popped by for a late look at the SoSers, I usually miss yours because by now I am drinking beer and cooking tea. Always love your posts, so exotic for me and always wildlife to wonder over. Have fun x
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Thanks, Gill. Cheers!
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I believe that Coontie cycads are very poisonous to dogs…you might want to check about it.
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They are, all cycads are. Mine are nowhere near the dog.
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Thank goodness, I thought I had heard that somewhere.
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There’s an amazing number of very toxic plants. Castor beans are one I avoid at all costs.
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I love seeing citrus growing in people’s gardens, reminds me of the house I grew up in. I highly doubt any of my potted ones will ever grow fruit, but there’s always the hope. Thank you for sharing!
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I have seen lemons and limes fruiting in pots. It will work.
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You know my interest in citrus fruits, I can’t wait to see the result of this lemon when it’s ripe! (And your recipe interests me too!…😋) Beautiful cycad that we can’t grow outdoors but in the gh why not !?
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I had never seen citrus like this until moving to Florida. It is an Indian fruit. I think key lime pie is an American peculiarity. The cycad is very poisonous, so be careful. They are native to Florida not sure how common they are. The roots are used to make arrowroot flour.
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Lovely to see the blooms and that lime look like it will be delicious.
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Thanks, Rosie. I hope the lime is delicious.
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You have two plants today that I have never seen before; the poincettia and the Galphimia which looks most unusual. Are all cyads poisonous? That’s a nice nobbly lime. I have oranges, lemons and limes in pots but they have to go inside in winter.
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I will have to start sending you plants! The poinsettia is native to Florida and just appears. The Galphimia is a tropical shrub from Central America, I am probably at the northern edge of where they will grow – about six tall. All cycads are poisonous, deadly to dogs it is weird to me flour can be made from the roots. The coontie was nearly harvested to extinction to make flour.
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Well, who knew? I have a cycad in a pot on my kitchen window sill, perhaps not the best place for it. So many of the plants we grow are deadly poisonous, it’s a wonder we gardeners survive.
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I have a phobia about using foxgloves in the house…
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Why is that? Do you think you might nibble them in an absent-minded moment?
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dogs, bony greyhounds with little body fat.
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Wow, a real lime in your garden! Hope you get enough to make a pie. 😃 The Thyrallis is a very pretty plant and lokks like it would be at home in our woods! 😉
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We are hoping for a pie, too. These limes produce a lot of juice. The thyrallis reminds me of lupines. It would look good in your woods with the evergreens…
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Rangpur lime is rad! I probably got carried away about it before. I miss it, and intend to grow it again. It was only one of two cultivars of the forty or so that we grew that is true to type from seed.
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It is from seed that has been in this area for a long time. We have citrus greening here and this was being researched to see if it is resistant.
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