Fall is something that must be searched for in my garden. The clues are fruits, berries and weeds going to seed. If a wider net is cast the mullet run can be seen in nearby waters. The mullet run happens when baitfish (mullet) start coming south for the winter, the predator fish go crazy and a lot of action can be seen in the water – fish jumping out the water by the hundreds. This has just started, but I always enjoy the sight.
I am joining the SOS crowd with six sights from my garden. To see what other gardeners have spied follow this link to Jim’s blog.
This is a ‘Lemonade’ Aechmea bromeliad (Aechmea blanchetiana) The Blanchetiana is available in several fruity colors – raspberry, lemon, orange that reflect the color of the foliage. This is planted in front of a six foot fence. These are common in South Florida, I was startled by them at first sight.
Fruit on the Beautyberry (Calliocarpa Americana). The range of this plant always surprises me. It is native from South Florida to New England in the US.
Fruit on the Gumbo Limbo (Bursera simaruba). Birds enjoy the fruit and there are many seedlings around the garden emphasizing how much.
A few Rangpur limes are ripening. These are deep orange when ripe and usually aren’t ready until December. I think the tree is thinning its crop.
Coleus tree is looking a bit better.
Another bromeliad showing fall colors – Aechmea rubens. These have the same texture as straw flowers and last for months in the garden.
That’s all from my garden this Saturday.
Happy gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
Such wonderful colors in your garden! The mullet run sounds exciting, do you just walk from your house to watch?
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Thanks, the road we drive everyday follows the river and I watch them daily. It’s a spectacle.
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The Lemonade’ Aechmea bromeliad reminds me of fireworks going off. You are right about the Beautyberry, it grew wild at our New Hampshire farm.
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Mad cool flowers, I had this idea that bromeliads were small houseplants until I moved to Florida!
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Such a colourful six, I always forget about beautyberries, until I see them on blogs this time of year.
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Hi Rosie! they are such a striking color.
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Your bromeliad must be spectacular in real life. I allowed a Beauty Berry to grow in the kitchen window bed and have been enjoying the birds it attracts. Fall is coming. Even after my 40 plus years of living here, I still can’t get my mind around the fact that even though the temperature is 100 degrees and more or the the “feels like” is 100 degrees that fall is actually here. Only this morning when I realized it was so dark outside did it dawn on me.
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Fall always seems elusive to me. I see the rare bit of fall color on a few Red Maples. The sun is moving down in the sky and days are getting shorter, a sure sign. We will be cooler soon.
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How beautiful the bromeliad flowers are, they certainly attract the eye. 🤩
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Thanks, Eliza. More sharp plants!
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Impressive coleus tree ! That shape isn’t commonly seen.
My calllicarpa is blooming so I still have to wait a little bit to have the berries like you. Very pretty aechmea !
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Thanks, Fred. My calliocarpa has flowers on it now with the berries.
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My mouth is hung open in a very unattractive manner for the extent of your blog. Fabulous.
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Thank you, the otherworldlyness of some of the tropicals does the same to me..and I want some black eyed susans!
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I love black-eyed susans! They sound very Southern US to me. Hope your weather has calmed down now.
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I do, too. I am just a little too far south. Hurricane season peaks this week.
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Stay safe x
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Have you read Cross Creek by Marjory Kinnian-Rawlings?
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No, I haven’t. I will see if they have it at the library
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Marjorie Kinnan-Rawlings
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Just checked it out.
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Beautyberry is rad! WoodlandGnome at Our Forest Garden sent me six seedlings a while back. They are quite tall now. I will need to cut them back this winter. They seem to be popular within their range, but I had never seen any here until now.
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There’s a pink form here..they are rad. I cut this one to the ground last year..it didn’t improve its looks, a rangy shrub.
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Do you mean that they are more pinkish than purplish pink? To me, with the exceptions of the white cultivars, they all look purplish pink.
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It’s called Welch’s Pink found in TX, I think.
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Oh, some of the pictures are quite light pink, although still slightly purplish. They are all rather cool. I was so pleased when mine fruited. They were my first.
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So many luscious fruits and beautiful plants! I have a Callicarpa cultivar (two plants) in my Wisconsin garden, even though the native shrubs aren’t native here. They’re fun to observe. Mine are still flowering now…looking forward to the berries. That Aechmea blanchetiana is stunning!
Beth @ PlantPostings.com
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I hope you get some fruit – it is spectacular. People back bread with the berries here = pretty but pretty tasteless.
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Love your tasty looking lime! 🍋🍊 I must plant one, it is one of the few Citrus I have yet to plant in my new garden!
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Hoping the birds don’t beat me to the limes.
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The Bromeliad flowers are really attractive and definitely the right colours for the season. I think the Beautyberry looks more at home in your garden than further north, where it always seems a bit odd.
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Just hit a hotbed of racism. Mudt have skipped this all the other times I have read it. LAWD
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That’s great that you have a Gumbo Limbo tree! Here we also have them, and your image of the fruit is really interesting.
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Thank you. One of my favorite trees.
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