Well, it is time for another garden tour. We are having the rainiest El Nino winter I have ever experienced in Florida. I was in the garden for an hour or so this morning and now it is pouring down rain yet again. We are molding slowly. To join the worldwide tour visit Jim at gardenruminations.co.uk and follow the links posted in the comments section to other gardens.
The green bee! This is a green orchid bee, they arrived in Florida about 20 years ago from Central America. I don’t think these are especially bad in terms of non native insects and enjoy seeing them around the garden. This one is enjoying a sip of Mystic Spires Salvia nectar. This was a lucky shot. These bees are difficult to photograph.
This is a nice surprise. I think it is Senecio vitalis. I did not think this succulent would grow out in the garden due to too much moisture from rain. They have been in a pot on a covered porch for a few years and have gotten too big. I rooted a few cuttings over the summer and planted them in the garden a few months ago. They are thriving and getting a lot of moisture, I suppose the sugar sand is so well drained they like it. Time will tell.
A white oxalis in flower. A friend’s grandmother filched this from a garden in Ireland in the 1950s. It must grow everywhere.
Lotusleaf Begonias (Begonia nelumbiifolia) are enjoying the abundant moisture. I am not sure what is eating the leaves. I have never seen a slug here but we do have snails.
Ti Plant (Cordyline fruticosa) It has taken a few years for this plant to develop the hot pink coloration. It was solid green for a long time. I thought I had a cheesy cultivar. Maybe not. Patience rewards the gardener.
Foliage detail on a Pie Crust Croton (Codieum variegatum) leaf. One of my favorites and a real splash of color in the garden.
That’s all from my garden this Saturday. Wishing everyone Happy Gardening or Happy Seed Catalog Reading. It is a good afternoon for that here.
The Shrub Queen 
A green bee! I never knew, your garden looks like it is thriving with the extra rain there. Enjoy seed scouting 🙂
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Thank you.
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You are right about the rain…this is supposed to be our dry season. I’ve got Pie Crust Crotons in my garden too, I love their colors.
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I have had enough rain for a while!
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I can quite see how that green bee would be difficult to capture, but against the Salvia the iridescent green shows up beautifully. Thanks for sharing this.
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You are having a rainy winter. We got enough to break the water rationing. I have a white oxalis that was sold as shamrocks in the grocery store 24 years ago. It has been popping up in various places around the garden for all those years.
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We are. I am glad to hear the drought broke. Oxalis is amazing. This was buried in leaves and I forgot about it and uncovered it.
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Never seen a green bee ! 😳 it’s a nice shot though with the salvia flower. Great choice this week ,as usual
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Thanks, Fred. the green bees were a surprise to me.
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I love the green bee on the purple salvia! We have native metallic green bees here, but they are probably smaller. So much rain everywhere, including here. But I think winter is due this week, it’ll be a shock after all this mild weather, it was 50º today!
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A fantastic bee. I wonder if the Lotusleaf Begonias are being used by leaf-cutter bees rather than slugs. The ‘munched’ holes all look round or oval.
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Thank you. It very well could be leaf cutter bees. I have a lot of them in the garden.
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Is the green bee a naturalized exotic species, or does its natural range naturally fluctuate to sometimes include the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and Florida? Otters arrived in San Jose a few years ago, but no one seems to know if they are beyond their natural range, or just recovering from historic displacement. Animal and insect species get around more than plant species do.
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The bee came in on wood pallets in the early 2000s. It seems strange that someone noticed it and documented it.
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Yes, that is strange. If someone noticed it, why was nothing done about it. Heck, a can or Raid would have been enough at that point.
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The bee is beautiful, and so are all the other shades of green Amelia. Hope you get some drier weather coming your way. It’s snowing here- so seed catalogues and plant websites are the sum of my gardening efforts at the moment, and I am enjoying the warmth indoors!
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Thanks, Cathy. Armchair gardening is a great winter pastime! A cuppa, a blanket and maybe a cat makes it perfect.
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And for me some clementines and a lap full of a warm crochet project too! 😉
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Yes! I have been enjoying local tangerines.
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It’s inspiring to learn how these resilient creatures thrive even in colder months, reminding us of nature’s resilience and adaptability.
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