I am definitely getting in touch with my inner tropical garden lover this Monday. My rainforest garden is putting out funkier flowers by the day. Of course, the bromeliads are uncooperative about growing where I want them and need rearranging. A winter time chore in full armor is in my future.
The flowers are Aechmea Rubens. I have never heard a common name for this plant. Apparently a botanical garden in Canada picked it up in Brazil and didn’t quite document it, so no one knows exactly where it came from. I am not sure where the one in my garden came from??! The rebound came when I couldn’t remember the name and put the picture in Google Lens and was referred to my own blog!
A closer view. The flowers are very much like straw flowers. I have had them last until Thanksgiving in the garden. I am not sure about vase life, but I expect it will be a while. The background foliage is a Sabal Palm frond trimmed to fit. The vase and flowers are easily three feet tall. The plant in the garden is at least that tall.
Happy Monday from the tropics.
Thanks to Cathy for hosting. To visit other gardens via vase follow this link to RamblingintheGarden
The Shrub Queen 
So exotic! That must really look cool in your garden being 3 feet tall. I had that happen when trying to find a plant and it seemed the only one that had it was me.
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Is that Sabal minor?
I am not so certain that I regret my inability to grow bromeliads. I dislike the foliage of the few that I am acquainted with. There is other less offensive tropical foliage to grow here. The flowers are certainly pretty in pictures.
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It is Palmetto Sabal, but a seedling. A lot of brom foliage is offensive, but some are soft! I have been watching LA Law, lots of tropical flower arrangements.
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Most cut flowers that are tropical are greenhouse crops, even in San Diego County. Not very many do well with aridity.
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Haha, that’s funny, being referred to your own blog!! 😂Mind you, it was only when I searched for information on a particular plant and was referred to a blog that I realised there was a whole garden blogging community out there and began to tentatively dip my toe into the water – I would still just be talking to myself otherwise…Anyway, yours is very much a tropical vase this week, albeit it simple and elegant – thanks for sharing
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Thanks, Cathy. I am glad you are talking to others!
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Oh me too!!! 😀
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Well one day someone might say ‘Oh that’s so and so’ but at the same time it is great to refer to it by its real name ! It looks like little claws to me! Certainly a distinctive flower. It is rather flattering when your own blog shows up on a search, don’t you think?!
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It does look like little claws and is sharp. I am glad I got the name right..
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That is one fabulous bromeliad flower. You have me thinking about making a trip to a localish nursery specializing in bromeliads. I don’t have many to begin with; however, those I have have seldom flowered. I’m guessing they want more humidity.
https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/
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Thanks, Kris. I think the key is not to buy the highly bred (tissue culture) bromeliads.
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Beautiful and elegant. And great that you learnt its name from yourself. I find having a blog is such a great way of keeping a record of what you have grown. Also delighted that it doesn’t have a common name so people have to use its correct name.
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Thanks, Liz. Oddly bromeliad people tend to use Latin or nothing. It’s even more confusing!
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Oh wow, that is stunningly beautiful! I’m a huge fan of warm, bright colors…especially this time of year. I wasn’t familiar with Aechmea rubens. Thanks for the beauty and the information. 🙂
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Thanks, Beth. The flower is reflecting its environment.
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That is really pretty, and I love the palm frond as a backdrop for the colourful stems. Since you mentioned strawflowers, I wonder if any of your flowers would be suitable for drying? I suppose the humidity would make that difficult though!
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Thank you, Cathy. They do dry well but don’t retain their color for very long. It’s a very crunchy flower. I thought of you this week, I dried a vast amount of lemon thyme!
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Ooh, wonderful!
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Wow, I am glad that you mentioned the overall height. Very impressive … and doubly tropical. Aechmea rubens is darling, if large!!
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Thank you, it is difficult to tell how big it is..I have some 6 foot bromeliad flowers.
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