We have had a dreadful weather week. Cold, rainy, overcast and dreary. Long time local garden dwellers say this is the longest cold spell in 45 years. So not South Florida. The sun came back out today and I am happy to see it. I am not certain it was cold enough to damage anything, but am feeling nervous about the fruit on the mango trees. The temperature was hovering around 40F and anything lower than that they don’t like.
I am joining Jim and the gang posting at GardenRuminations to share what is going on in the garden. I sought tropical flowers to counter the January gloom and was pleased to find some. Follow the link to see what else is going on in the gardening world.
Bromeliad madness. This is a Billbergia vittata. I am not sure if it is a named cultivar or exactly what it is. These plant are just so The Far Side. I have a few that are even more unusual. This is about two feet tall. It took a while to get into the right amount of sun for flowering. Now I have a mass of these shooting up flower stalks in January.
A closer view of the flower.
Another Billbergia. Again, I am not sure what variety. It was sold as ‘Rainbow’ – but I doubt that is right. I think the flowers will open a bit more. Time will tell.
Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata ‘alba’) enjoying the sunshine.
‘Big Pink’ Begonia getting a little bronze with the cool weather. The pink looks more like its parent B.semperflorens (Wax Begonia) to me than ‘Big White’ Begonia does.
‘Big White’ Begonia, richer green leaves and a lower to the ground habit. Still looks great after all the rain and cold. Wondering about summer heat and these Begonias.
That’s all from warming up South Florida. I’m looking for more Billbergias flowers soon to add to the tropical madness. Thanks to Jim for hosting.
The Shrub Queen 
I was at a wine tasting dinner the other evening and the weather is all everyone was talking about here in Vero Beach. We have had a low of 39 twice this month, the latest was last night. Hopefully all your tender plants won’t be harmed.
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I think the length of this cold spell is what is so weird. I never go through my sweatshirt wardrobe!
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That is what everyone is saying…it is usually just a couple of days.
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We are over it!!
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Billbergia are . . . interesting. I am not certain if I like them or not. We grow only two species, Billbergia nutans, and another that seems to be a larger and coarser version of the same species, but that I do not know the name of. They are much smaller than yours. They grow like weeds, and actually look like weeds if I neglect to groom them regularly. Their primary appeal is that they are one of the few species that can be happy to grow on charred redwood stumps. Because big redwood stumps are difficult to get rid of, we pretend that they are garden sculpture. (I made weird use of two at my home, but that is a long story.) At work, where guests from other places are amazed by the redwoods that are here now, they are even more amazed to see how big they were before harvest. The two species of Billbergia make them look a bit more forestish.
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Forestish?! I have a Guzmania brom in my Strangler Fig..it looks rainforestish, I think.
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Yes, rainforestish; but these two grassy Billbergias are also compatible with the redwoods in their forest, which is not exactly a rainforest.
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Luckily, there was no frost for your beautiful plants in your garden! 40 F is still very low for Florida I suppose. I really like the Billbergia vittata flowers ( or at least that’s the name you give it for now.)
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40 is the average low – it usually doesn’t hang around for a week! The tomatoes have been setting fruit, this surprised me. There are thousands of these Billbergias, I may never find out exactly what it is.
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My plant App is agree with Billbergia vittata ( 79% right with these 2 photos)
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I agree, there are named varieties of B. vittata. And people breed them around here and grow them from seed. I haven’t tried this – it takes a really long time.
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Goodness, I didn’t know you did cold and dreary in Florida, I thought that was our thing. I love your Bromeliads and Bilbergias this week so exotic. Gorgeous begonias too.
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Yes, it was not quite as damp as the UK in winter – but cold for Florida.
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I love the Billbergia vittata. I am not sure if it is the same variety as we have in our garden. The flowers look the same but your leaves are more variegated. The begonias are cute.
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Thanks, there are a lot of types of B.vittata. No idea what I have.
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What a crazy week for extreme weather! Hope your mangoes hang on. The Billbergia flower is so delicate and pretty! 😍
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Yes. 70 tomorrow and sunny, so it is better here. I have two more mango trees if those fail that haven’t flowered yet and really like Keitt mangos that are late bloomers. Thinking of another tree!
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The weather has been crazy cold everywhere. I still can’t get over your Bromeliads. I guess I was never aware of how many different kinds there are.
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Strange cold. The universe’s comment? I read somewhere there are 3500 types of bromeliads. I don”t think that included cultivars. The breeder people go crazy to the point they are hard to tell apart.
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We used to get a nice laugh on our Florida visits when a cold front would have the locals digging out their winter coats, while we (straight off the tundra) would still be in shorts and flip flops! And then I lived in the south for a couple years and nearly died when I had to spend my first winter back North! I think you made it though, the worst should be behind us.
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We laughed at first. After about 10 years we stopped and got the coats out!
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What a crazy cold spell, I’m glad the sun came out. I sure hope those fruit trees hang on to their fruit.
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fingers crossed!
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‘Big White’ seems the more desirable plant to me. Lovely. I grew B. nutans as a houseplant many years ago but your outdoor Billbergias look beautiful
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I think you are right. Big Pink has ended up looking like a giant Wax Begonia and I really prefer Dragon Wings and such. We will see how they progress. There are many B. nutans around here.
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Simply the sunshine in your photos is a pleasure to see. 😃 The tropicals make me feel warmer – but in fact your coldest temperature of 40°F was around what we have had here recently in the daytime and it does feel tropical after a long cold spell! Fingers crossed for the mangoes.
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It had been overcast for a week before I took the picture so I felt the same way. I’m thinking about planting another mango for later in the year to avoid cold snaps.
And mangoes in September?!
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Mangoes would be good any time of year!
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I agree I eat all of mine and then buy more!
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