Saturday has rolled around yet again and it is time for the worldwide garden tour called Six on Saturday. To complete the tour visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk.
Sirius the Dog star is still shining in the night sky, so we are deep into the dog days of summer. It seems the world is a hotter place these days and my garden is no exception. Most days I walk outside, look around, think of several things I should do and then retreat into the air conditioning.
One of the many things I enjoy about gardening is the details of flowers, seeing something new or noticing how plants grow.
These are African Horned Melons, grown by my neighbor. They are very seedy and should be ‘mixed with yogurt’. I tend to avoid vegetables that require yogurt to be palatable and decided to dry these. Christmas ornaments, anyone?
The flower of a Neoregelia Bromeliad.
A new Gumbo Limbo (Bursea simarouba). These trees are native to South Florida and the Caribbean. They are called living fences in some places as a limb can be stuck in the ground and a new tree will grow. A few months ago a UPS delivery truck knocked this branch off another tree, I trimmed the leaves off and stuck it in the ground. Voila! a new tree is growing.
These zinnias are positioning themselves to stay out of the midday sun. It makes for a curly stemmed zinnia.
First summer zinnias. Purple Prince and Envy.
This is not from my garden, but a common summer sight in South Florida. The Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia) These are often called Flamboyants, for good reason. I don’t think there is anything quite like this.
The dog days end in approximately three weeks! I think my dog has the right idea of what to do until then.
That’s all for this Saturday from inside the house!
Happy Gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
Those melons look like a medieval weapon, lol! You’re going to have to garden at night with a headlamp, too hot in the day by the sounds of it. 🥵
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LOL, they could be, they are as sharp as they look and have to be picked up by the stem. I am going to have to garden in October!
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I didn’t know the name of Sirius, the dog star, because here we simply name it Sirius, but it’s indeed the brightest in the sky in summer.
I had tried cucumbers like that. I brought seeds back from Guadeloupe, they were smaller than what you present, and with a lot of seeds !… but rather tasteless, so I prefer the Dutch cucumbers that we grow here.
As for the flamboyant tree, we also find a lot of them in the West Indies and I’m not surprised that you have them in Florida. These are wonderful trees at this season. I had brought seeds and as always they didn’t like the following winter…. Have a great weekend.
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Thanks, Fred. I live at the northern limit for Ponciana and am not surprised they did not like France. I also did not want to hold onto that melon to cut it!
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Dog days are a good description! Love those melons and learning about the Gumbo Limbo, what a treat!
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Thanks, Rosie. I wonder if dog days is an American saying..it is common here.
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Yes, your dog has the right idea, as do you. It’s starting to heat up here in Wisconsin too–will reportedly be in the 90’s all next week, so I’m trying to tackle as many garden tasks as possible this week while it’s still relatively cool.
I’m one for noticing the small details in the garden too. Love that sweet little flower on Neoregelia Bromeliad.
Lovely post. Stay cool!
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Thanks, the dog knows best. Seems too hot for Wisconsin. I hope you are getting some rain.
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We have had some good, ground-soaking rain. Word has it that there’s no rain in the forecast during our hot spell. Will need to be vigilant in keeping the gardens watered again.
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Good luck. Vigilance in watering can wear you down.
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I like that bright Flamboyant tree. It reminds me of the Kodak tree in Hawaii. Kodak is also not its name.
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Kapok? the shape looks similar.
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Nope Kodak. Our driver called it a Kodak tree because everyone took a photo. (before digital)
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LOL. There are some crazy trees in Hawaii.
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Those melons look interesting…maybe spray them gold 🙂
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That’s what I thought!
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Poinciana is RAD! I tried it again for the first time since the late 1980s, and of course, we got the worst frost since 1990. I should have known better. They can grow in the Los Angeles region, but are weirdly uncommon.
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They are RAD!!
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The world is certainly getting hotter, but not here. It’s cold and wet here right now. Weird melons, but quite decorative. I’d grow Gumbo Limbo tree just for the name. I think the Flamboyant tree must be one of the most beautiful trees in the world. I love its huge rattly seed pods too.
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Cold? I think I remember that. The Gumbo LImbo is a nice shade tree a bit like a Zelkova. I like the seed pods on the Poinciana, too..
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The last photo is perfect for the dog days Amelia! Those trees are beautiful – must be a glorious sight when they are all in flower. I was wondering how large those melons are and they remind me of pumpkins… an alternative halloween decoration too perhaps?😉
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The Poinciana start to flower with the onset of the rainy season and they are glorious. The melons are 3 inches or so, and they are very Halloween appropriate. Great idea.
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