Saturday morning has rolled around again. My garden tour this week features a new experience for me. Spring is in full swing here, the birds are singing, the plants are producing loads of pollen and I am thinking a bird in the bush is better than one in the hand. To view more Saturday garden tours, visit Jim’s blog, Garden Ruminations follow the link and peruse the comments section to complete a world garden tour.
Beaming with good, proactive gardening tendencies, I set out to prune my rambunctious Firebush. After a few whacks, a bird came flying out, fussing as she flew away. I stopped chopping to see what that was all about and found a nest with eggs. It was later revealed to be a cardinal as she returned to warm her eggs. This bird has since put a leaf over the nest so I can’t peek in anymore. The shrub remains semi-pruned and my hopes for a clean tree formed Firebush have been temporarily dashed.
The interior of the Firebush revealed one more secret. Tillandsia bromeliads growing inside the branches.
My recently installed orchids have fully opened. The other orchids are putting out new growth, I am hoping for sprays of yellow onicidiums this spring.
Tiny Rangpur limes have formed. These will not be ripe until December.
The Nam Doc Mai mangoes are growing and the tree produced another round of flowers. Now I am hoping for mangoes all summer.
The Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) has nearly reached the roof. Officially over six feet tall.
That is all from my garden this week. My loppers are looking for a new place to land! No worries, plenty of vegetation to chop here while Mrs. Cardinal completes her duties.
Happy Gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
The eggs are lovely, perfectly timed for Easter weekend. Love all those mangoes, wow and YUM!
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Thank you. It is a perfect Easter surprise.
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Love the orchids. Do the flowers last a long time? I didn’t know the Shell Ginger grew that tall.
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Thanks, I don’t know. A week so far. It is the biggest shell Ginger I have ever seen.
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I would say that at the present, your garden appears happy. Perhaps it is because we are finally getting some sun.
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The garden would be happier with a little rain. I have been marveling at the sun,
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Wow for the alpinia! Lovely ..
….and perfect egg timing. Today my cat brought home a white (wild) bunny. Perfect timing too…. he is still alive and I let him free… until my cat’s next hunt/play….
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The Alpinia is huge. The wild bunnies here dig holes inside the fence with my greyhound, it happens every spring and I have to put a tomato cage over it to keep the dog out. I wonder about those bunnies.
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How lovely to have a new nest to watch. Hope the cardinals are very successful. 🙂
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I hope to see the babies
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That shell ginger is rad! I want to find that in Los Angeles when I get there in a few weeks. I have never seen it that big though. It is not likely to do so without much humidity.
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Probably not. I think that is the biggest one I have seen.
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The Firebush tree certainly has some nice secrets. 😃 And your orchids must make you smile every time you see them… something I cannot imagine, having flowers growing in trees. Love your spring six Amelia!
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Thanks, Cathy. What grows here still startles me sometimes. Orchids in trees are fairly common and considered the best way to grow orchids in this climate. A friend’s mother was an orchid grower and she has some astounding huge orchids in trees. They are hung in milk crates, easily five feet in diameter.
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Wow!
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I’m late to the party this week. Goodness, I had no idea limes took so long to ripen.. I’ve got a lime tree growing in a pot and the flowers or baby limes usually fall off before they get to that stage.
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It does seem like a long time. I will be interested to see how many make it to full size. I had a lot of flowers this year.
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