I noticed a few things on my Saturday morning garden tour. Slightly cooler weather, slight being the operative word. And an abundance of flowers in the garden from all the rain. A few of the non native salvias have succumbed to something, but most everything else is very happy.
To take a world tour with SOS gardeners, visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk
Rain lilies (Zephyranthes or Habranthus) are having their best year ever. I like the name Zephyranthes better, the other one sounds like a dinosaur. Why do the botanists have to change these names constantly?
Meet Bidens alba, sometimes called Spanish Needles due to the sharp seeds. These are fortunately cute and last a long time as a cut flower. A Florida native wildflower – they are unfortunately prolific and require pulling lest they take over the garden.
Another one of my butterfly plants, ‘Sapphire Showers’ Duranta (Duranta repens). This one is a tree form and not very happy about it. It keeps sprouting at the base. Its current form is blob.
An all around good wildlife plant, this is the fruit forming on the ‘Sapphire Showers’ Duranta. These will be attractive yellow berries soon and the birds will enjoy them.
The Dragonfruit or Pitaya has put out a huge new shoot. I am not sure what to think of this as it has been sitting in the garden, doing nothing for years.
The garden announces the peak of hurricane season. These are called hurricane lilies, and other common names. They are a bromeliad, Billbergia pyramidalis. The peak date for hurricane activity is September 6 or thereabouts and these are usually in full bloom by then.
That is all from my garden. Eastern South Florida remains hot and rainy. The west coast is in drought. Go figure. I may try to beat the rain and pull some weeds.
Thanks to Jim for hosting. Happy Gardening.
The Shrub Queen 
the color of your Duranta is much darker than mine. And is yours a tree?! How tall is it?
Be careful with the start of the hurricane season.
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Hi Fred. There are several Duranta varieties here. The biggest one is called Pigeonberry and has lighter blue flowers and chartreuse foliage. This one is probably a meter high and supposed to be trained into a single stem. We call it tree form even though it is not a tree. I guess it needs more training, it grew lopsided and I have left it until cooler days.
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Mine is half size. Thanks for these explanations.
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I’m all for keeping names simple, hurricane and rain lilies are enough names for me. We have the rain but not the warmth.
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Same here, though there is an amazing array of hurricane flowers here. I cannot imagine cold in August!
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I always opt for too much rain rather than too little, but after a while the gloom gets to me. Seems like the majority of your plants are just soaking it all in and doing great! My little rain lily seedling keeps using the storms as an excuse to grow another leaf, I keep hoping for its first flower.
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The advantage of sand! everything soaks in.
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The rain lilies are beautiful! We are back to hot and humid with no rain in sight. But my humid is no doubt nothing compared to yours! LOL!
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I think we have champion humidity.
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Pitaya was a fad for a while, particularly in the Los Angeles region. They were commonly planted on those big and awkward trellises right in front yards. They looked like Sigmund the Seamonster in retirement, and all their fruit was stolen. I eventually got a few cuttings here, but they need to go out into a garden to grow. I just do not like what they look like.
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Definitely weird. The flowers are pretty. I have read they can fruit twice a year, but none yet.
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