It has been a hot and humid week. I strolled the garden in search of plants surviving and thriving in the heat. There is always a surprise or two. I pulled a few weeds, but mostly noted that there are weeds – waiting patiently for their demise during cooler days.
To join the world wide SOS garden tours visit Jim at GardenRuminations
Neoregelia bromeliads are very reliable survivors here. There are so many varieties, I don’t know the names of these two. This one is just starting to flower, signaling the end of its life.
Another Neoregelia of unknown origin. I bought many of these at garage sales (nobody knows names at garage sales) as broms are absurdly expensive when nursery grown.
Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) in white. These love summer rain and heat.
The coleus tree. I have pruned it again. The winds from Tropical Storm Debby knocked a woody branch off the side. It is surprising how woody the trunk is.
It has been a great year for butterflies. I have been lacking the patience to stand in the shrubbery and wait for them to pose. This is the state butterfly of Florida, Zebra Longwing. It is sipping nectar from a Chaya tree. Chaya is a tropical spinach that grows into a multi stemmed shrub. I thought it would grow 4 or 5 feet – this one is almost ten feet tall!
Here is the not survivor. My hopes were dashed for Dragon fruit yet again. Sigh.
That’s all from South Florida. Dreaming of cooler days and a dragonfruit from the garden.
The Shrub Queen 
The coleus must be thinking to itself…I think I can, I think I can be a tree. 😊
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LOL, I hope so.
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I’ve never seen a coleus will itself into a tree! Beautiful butterfly, did the rain affect the dragon fruit?
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I am willing the coleus into a tree! This is an oddly big and dense coleus. I am not sure what happened to the dragonfruit. it may not have been pollinated.
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Lovely Salvia, sorry to hear about the Dragon fruit.
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thanks. the secret to dragonfruit remains a secret
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What is the problem with the dragon fruit? I believe that, unlike most other cacti, they prefer humidity.
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I love your bromeliads, but I had no idea a flower signals end of life. The indoor broms I bought from a supermarket with a lovely flower are sending out side shoots. So the flower dies off and the flower trumpet dies, yes?
What a shame about your dragon fruit. Gutted!
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Can you eat tropical spinach? Those salvia are the best. Mine are perking up even though it is record hot.
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Well yes but it’s poisonous if you don’t know how to cook it so I don’t. The salvias are beautiful with the rain.
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Oh, what a shame about the dragonfruit Amelia. Your salvia looks so happy and healthy. I almost feel guilty about my S. greggii, struggling in our dry summers! And the Coleus tree is getting quite impressive. I think it’s a lovely idea for a state to have its own butterfly. We should do that in Germany too!
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I’m not sure what the dragonfruit secret is. The salvia has wilted today.
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I just learned about the Chaya tree. I haven’t seen it yet.
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