I like a catchy title and the name of the biggest flower here serves its purpose well. The lavendar flowers are from the Hong Kong Orchid tree next door. The tree is actually my neighbors, planted by her grandmother in the 1960s, so it has been around for a while. I filched a few flowers that are encroaching. It’s one of those love/hate types of trees. In March the sight of this tree covered in these Lavendar orchid shaped flowers makes me sigh with gardening pleasure. Later in the year it drops a million pods and then the seedlings come up with summer rains. Then I am sighing from the effort of trying to remove all the little seedlings that seem to have suction cups attached to their roots.
A little closer view. The Hong Kong Orchids are Bauhinia purpurea. The white flowers are from Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata ‘Alba’). Blue flowers are Plumbaga auriculata. Burgundy spears are from Aechmea ‘Burgundy’ Bromeliad. Ferny bits are the creepy Asparagus Fern. The vase is from the Ute Indian tribe in the Southwestern Us.
It seems to have started raining again. The forecasters are saying our weather pattern is shifting to La Nina which means cooler weather, more rain and fewer hurricanes. This sounds good to me. I am slowly reclaiming the garden from the freeze of a month ago. One mango tree is dead, one is coming back and a third the jury is still out. I decapitated the papaya tree, so fingers crossed it comes back.
Happy Monday from South Florida. Visit Cathy at RamblingintheGarden to see more vases!
The Shrub Queen 
I have been trying to find a story about an older woman in Houston who decided the Orchid Tree should become Houston’s official tree. An article was written about her in the paper, and she talked a business into distributing the seeds. I’m not sure what happened, but the business was overwhelmed, and I don’t recall seeing Houston streets lined with Orchid Trees.
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I seem to remember this. I think it is too cold in Houston for these trees.
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In what we called “Houston,” south of where I lived in Houston, they were growing, but one really bad freeze over a few days would probably take them out. Galveston could be a better place to grow them.
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Houston surprises me.. people have Bougainvillea there! It’s probably warmer than it used to be.
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So I was 30-some miles to Houston Heights, and it grew there, but did not do well where I was in the northern end of Houston. It is crazy what changes in a few miles. I am now in the hottest little corner of PA.
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Okay explain the snow 🤔😂
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With your list of trees this brings me back to my childhood. I happen to have enjoyed a lovely piece of pawpaw as dessert after lunch today. Sorry to hear about the frost damage to your trees. Your arrangement is lovely and I like the way the begonia tumble.
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Thank you , Noelle I fear the Poncianas were killed by the cold and my Pawpaw is not looking promising..waiting.
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Bauhinia variegata, the common orchid tree, was what we learned in school. Bauhinia purpurea, the Hong Kong orchid tree was so rare at the time that we had never seen it. Nowadays, it is more popular in Southern California. I see neither here, though.
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I may be at its northern limit, there are not very many of these trees around here.
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This really does look oriental, Amelia – but what a tree of two halves it is with those thuggish seedlings following on from the gorgeous bloom. The aechmea and begonia work so well with the ‘orchids’ – you have such a good eye! I am glad you find the weather predictions more appealing and I hope most of your garden recovers from that frost
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Thank you, Cathy. There are so many beautiful thugs!
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Haha, yes, sadly! 😀
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A delightful combo, Amelia. Your forecast sounds better going forward, esp. the cooler part!
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Thanks, Eliza. Fingers crossed it works out.
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Your Hong Kong Orchid looks great in this stately arrangement. I’m sorry the freeze brought so much damage. January was extremely cold here but so far things appear to have survived.
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I can remember when orchid trees were very popular in Miami. I don’r think you see as many now, for the reasons you pointed out. Your vase certainly shows why they were appealing. Sorry about your mango tree. We have a neighbor with one that doesn’t look good.
We have had to removed our Queen palm lost to the freeze. Fingers crossed that our other varieties of palms survive.
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Thanks Karen I am sorry about that Queen Palm. I think it was a little colder where you are. I was in Jupiter last week and it looks so much better there it surprised me.
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What a beauty! A shame that the tree is so keen to spread itself around, but those flowers are quite stunning. I wonder how the transition to La Nina will affect weather patterns across the Atlantic… we will see!
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Thanks Cathy another one of those lovable weedy things! I’m not sure La Nina gets as far north as you are?!
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Expertly combined and arranged elements! I love the addition of the burgundy Bromeliad spears. They add height and a lovely complementary color to the arrangement!
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