I have been absent from SOS the past few weeks. I have been occupied with houseguests, not much going on in the garden, followed by an unexpected road trip to pick up a new hound. My house and garden feel much more like a home with the addition of Handsome Rob, a rescue Greyhound. There was a major garden event this week – my first ever Avocado!
To tour more SOS gardens, visit Jim at GardenRuminations
The avocado. This is a Catalina or Cuban Avocado. To my knowledge, the only variety that is true to seed. These grow wild in the Caribbean, my Puerto Rican college classmate tells me the woods are full of them on his island. Another college friend grew my tree from seed, it has been in the garden since 2016. These are big avocadoes, about twice the size of a Hass. I hope it gets ripe!
The Rangpur limes continue to taunt me – not quite ripe.
The garden provided a few dry season floral surprises this week. A Gallardia pulchella seedling flowering in the shell walkway.
Red Shrimp Plants (Justicia brandegeana). I think the cool weather deepens the color.
Who knew Ti Plants (Cordyline fruiticosa) flowered? This was a surprise to me, they resemble Dracaena flowers.
Meet Handsome Rob – doing what greyhounds do best, holding down the floor. Handsome Rob was a character in the movie The Italian Job. Not the dog, Jason Statham.
That is all from South Florida this week. My fingers are crossed for a bit of rain this week and warmer weather. I have been moving my tomato and zinnia seedlings in and out of the house as we have had morning temperatures in the 50s.
The Shrub Queen 
Already the tomato seedlings… (jealous) Here the days are not bright enough so I’ll wait until the end of January. This greyhound seems very friendly and calm (or maybe he was tired after doing some crazy things of a young dog…)
Bravo for the avocado, when will the first taste test be? Next to fruits that release ethylene it will ripen for sure (bananas, apples…)
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Rob certainly has film star looks; he’s very elegant. As usual you have plants we can only dream about here in the UK. I am particularly impressed by that magnificent avocado and the Rangpur limes.
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Welcome to Handsome Rob… HR?? Another TV star. 😉
It snowed Thurs and Fri here and is going to get VERY cold this week, so it is nice to see your flowers and first avocado. I like the delicate cordyline flowers.
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Handsome Rob? He certainly wasted no time making himself at home.
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Nice job on the avocado. As a teenager, we lived on a hill of fuerte avocados.I ate them with every meal when in season. When picking, cut the avocado with a small nub of stem. They may not ripen evenly if the nub is knocked out.
Rob’s a pretty boy! lovely color! Your limes will come!
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Well done on the avocado and Rob looks very settled.
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Oh dear, I forgot to press the wordpress button and just pressed ‘comment’, and my comment disappeared. 🤪 Second attempt!
Rob looks like he has already settled in – how old is he? Hope that avocado ripens to perfection for you. Love the shrimp plant. I am sure I have seen it in one of your vases before, but not ‘in situ’.
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The avocado looks great, fingers crossed for it ripening.
But the star of the show this week is definitely Rob, he definitely is handsome.
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Congratulations on your new dog. My mother-in-law grew an avocado from seed. It grew so tall that she couldn’t reach them and the squirrels took most of them.
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Thanks, that one was pretty high but fell at my feet.
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Handsome Rob looks well settled in ! Congrats on the avocado. It sounds huge. Maybe it is meant for sharing 😉
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It is like Rob has always been here. Just arrived and flopped down. I have been waiting for that avocado for 8 years!
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You have been busy! Congrats on the new dog and the first avocado.
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Cordyline fruticosa blooms and also has berries. Be careful as the plant is poisonous to dogs (it produces saponin) I love your dog. Yes, Puerto Rico is full of avocados.
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The Ti plants are not where the dog can eat them. I will be interested to see if I get fruit.
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Good to know. We have so many Cordyline here.
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The pink ones
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