Spring is asserting itself in my garden. Warmer weather and a few showers have brought the more tropical plants back to life. I usually have Shell Ginger in February, but this year it waited until late March to produce flowers. I enjoy these unusual flowers and am happy to see them again.
The flowers and foliage in this vase are all from the most protected part of the garden. These plants weren’t even burned, surprising me. The Strangler Fig that stands sentinel over this area took the brunt of the cold weather and has almost replaced its foliage. The tips of the branches are still naked, there is still time for a full recovery. Fingers crossed.
A closer view: pink flowers are Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet). This is an interesting ginger, edible roots, but apparently not as good as culinary ginger (I can’t grow that for some perverse reason) the leaves are used to wrap fish and vegetables and then steam them. I rolled up the excess leaves and put them inside the vase to hold the heavy stems – they smell wonderfully gingery.
The tropical leaf is from a Split Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron selloum). The windy sticks are from Asparagus Ferns. I cut these to get them out of my way as they are sending up shoots that are very thorny. I liked the way they looked, so they were added to the arrangement and the trimmings were stacked in front – for a horizontal line. Just for fun.
That’s all from my garden this Monday. Happy Gardening and thanks to Cathy for hosting – follow this link to her blog RamblingintheGarden.
The Shrub Queen 
I can not grow culinary ginger either, even with protection from frost. Did you mention before that your variegated shell ginger does not bloom? I grow only the variegated sort. I have never seen the unvariegated sort here.
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What a great idea to wrap the leaves inside the vase–both for visual appeal and for support. I might have to borrow that idea sometime. Thanks! This is a wonderful arrangement–I love the simplicity and the stunning blooms and foliage. Thanks for sharing the wide view and the close shot. So much beauty here.
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Shell ginger is one of the blooms I remember from your vases, Amelia, as it is so distinctive – how long will it flower for now? Interesting to hear about its culinary uses too. You always manage to find just the right companions for your main blooms, with such a selection of foliage plants in your garden. It must be a real learning curve, establishing the long-term effects of your unexpected frost
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You were lucky the shell ginger didn’t take a hit. Mine got knocked back from several freezes, but did not like the hot front yard where the landscape architect originally put them.
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