Author Archives: theshrubqueen

Tibouchina – Tibouchina urvilleana

The Glory of the Princess Flower

The Glory of the Princess Flower

I have had Tibouchinas around for years. Until we moved to Florida they had to stay in pots or be prayed over to live through the winter. I found out the hard way they really don’t live through the winter on the north side of Atlanta. Supposedly 37 degrees Farenheit are their limit. But my mother could keep them twenty miles further south; I would be hard pressed to say hers flourished, but we did admire the flowers once in a while.

One of the first things I bought after my driveway was complete was the Tibouchina. Another good import from South America, to the best of my knowledge, Brazil, the common name for this plant is the Glory Bush. Other sources call it the Princess Flower. I think that there are several varieties of these available the size range varies from 3 feet tall up to a small tree. This one supposes to be 6-8′ height and spread.  I will wait and see. Some of the plants we used as annuals further north had fuzzy leaves and grape like flower heads (panicles) but were still Tibouchinas.  If you believe what you read they bloom once a year. Mine must be really happy or something.. This one bloomed off and on since I planted it – probably 9 months ago. I will confess to watering it by hand, it is in a Rain Garden with a strong Eastern exposure. The leaves seem to turn red as they are regenerating which actually adds to the ornamental value of this plant.

Tibouchinas are another tropical import being investigated for medicinal use. The plant may possess antibacterial properties. I hope so, until they figure that part out the rest of us can enjoy the flowers.

Golden Trumpet Tree – Handroanthus chrysotrichus

Image

The harbinger of spring in South Florida is, in my opinion, the Golden Trumpet tree. Many people call this Tabebuia, formerly its botanical name. The powers that be in botany decided to rename them Handroanthus chrysotrichus, the new name sounding much like a dinosaur.

While there are several types of Trumpet trees, this is the one most associated with spring. It is reminiscent of Forsythia shrubs up north, which also blooms with a burst of yellow flowers in late March. Prior to blooming, the tree drops most of its foliage and then produces buds, letting you know the show is about to begin and will last about a month.  Bright yellow tubular flowers unfurl on gnarly, corky branches when contrasted with the cerulean blue sky overhead it is an exhilarating sight. Ah, spring.

Golden Trumpet trees reach 25 -30 feet height and width and are a good small ornamental tree for homeowners. They are sometimes available in multi trunks, which is my favorite form. Drought tolerant once established and mostly evergreen this is a great addition to your sunny landscape. Their only drawback is they are not particularly wind resistant and produce fairly big pods as fruit.

Handroanthus have an interesting family history. The yellow version popular in South Florida is native to South America where it lives in the rainforest. A near relative, the Ipe or Brazilian Walnut (Handroanthus impetiginosa) is the source of Ipe lumber and the national tree of Paraguay. The lumber is a tropical hardwood that is extremely resistant to the elements and lasts a long, long time outside. The weather resistance of this wood has made it very popular and its harvest is one of the elements causing deforestation in the Amazon. The Ipe is also the source of Pau D’Arco, an herbal medicine used for many ailments by rainforest indigenous people and was once researched as a possible cure for cancer. The Ipe has pink flowers similar to the yellow version that will also grow in South Florida, but is somewhat less cold hardy and taller than the Golden Trumpet.

Moses in A Cradle

Flowers of Oyster Plant

Flowers of Oyster Plant

I have always wondered why this plant was called Moses in A Cradle until I found this growing in the roots of my Banyan Tree this morning. The flowers do look like a cradle, I am not so sure about Moses or why he is involved. This is also called Boat Lily, which makes a bit more sense.  Yet another common name is Oyster Plant, Hmmm, maybe it looks like a purple oyster? Then there is the botanical name dilemma, I learned this as Rhoeo, now they seem to have decided it is a Transcandentia. Whatever. Plant taxonomy is not my forte.

The state of Florida lists this as a Category II Invasive. Which sounds scary, but if you do some research it seems this plant has the potential to do damage in certain environments but it hasn’t quite done it yet. The environment this flourishes in is a Tropical Hammock. I live on top of a gigantic Sand Dune, so I think I am safe from the Oyster Plant. As I am somewhat overrun with some invasive plants (the evil Brazilian Pepper and Mother in Law’s Tongues) I am leery of this one, but I think I will just keep an eye on it.

The Garden Club of Stuart Tour

Last Saturday as I was riding in the car with my husband, I noticed a sign for A Garden Tour. This peaked my interest. So I went home to see what it was all about. After a few moments on the computer I found that The Garden Club of Stuart holds a biannual event that includes touring 7 Private Gardens in Stuart and Palm City. The Gardens are open over the weekend and you tour at your leisure.

As I have been around here a while I am not sure how I have missed this event; but I will likely do it again and the next time visit all the gardens. I made it to a little more than half, but they were quite enjoyable. I toured three estates on the St. Lucie River and a Tropical Bromeliad Garden in Palm City.

My favorite was the Tropical Bromeliad Garden, an amazing array of bromeliads and tropical plants arranged in sinuous beds set into lawn. Most were labeled which made it more enjoyable for me as I am turning into a bromeliad collector. Snapshots follow:ImageImage

There were probably 100 different varieties in this garden. Beautifully maintained by the homeowner, who must spend hours out in the garden clipping off excess foliage and mulching.

I also found a new plant I must have; a Fire Orchid..

Image

I definitely need to find out more about these. They were beautiful.

The Garden Club has something called the Ramble at the beginning or the end of the tour. At the Ramble they had Bar B Que and a plant and gardening accessories sale. Guess what I bought..some Bromeliads.

In Praise of Cabbage Palms

Looking up

Looking up to the Heart of the Palm

One of the pleasures of living in Florida is waking up almost any morning, walking out into my backyard to watch the soft yellow sunlight illuminate the canopy of the Cabbage Palm rendering its shadows almost russet. The much maligned but indestructible Cabbage Palm.  I have no idea how old this palm is but I am certain no one planted it. A native of the peninsula, the state tree of Florida and perhaps the most common Palm in the state it will always have a place in my heart.

I have always referred to these as Sabal Palms; because of their botanical name – Palmetto sabal. They are called Cabbage Palms in reference to Swamp Cabbage, which in culinary terms is Hearts of Palm. I love Hearts of Palm but rarely eat it as a Palm tree gave its life for my salad. Palms are monocots, more closely related to grass than trees and only have one growing point, the apical meristem, botanically speaking. If this is removed the entire tree dies. The growing point is in the middle of the fronds, hence the name Hearts of Palm. Have a heart, save a Palm tree’s life and go for the artichokes instead.

These Palms usually attain a height of 30 feet, but can grow up to 60 feet tall. Cabbage Palms are not self cleaning and need trimming to maintain a neat appearance. Or just leave it untrimmed and say it is a bat habitat to control the mosquito population. That would be true. Just stay in the house during high winds.

Native Americans used these Palms for many things, roof thatch from the fronds, brooms and brushes from the sisally parts of the boot, the trunks were used for pilings in the water and bread was made from the seeds.  However , they did not eat the hearts..until Europeans arrived with metal tools. If you had been eating palm seed bread, I am betting the Hearts of Palm seemed really tasty.

Rose Apple – Syzygium jambos

Rose Apple Flowers

Rose Apple Flowers

This is a picture of my neighbors Rose Apple tree in bloom. The tree is about 25 by 25 feet and to the best of my knowledge was planted in the 1960 or 70’s. It has beautiful evergreen foliage reminiscent of Ficus Alii, long thin leaves. The flowers are followed by golf ball sized fruit that no one is very excited about eating. My husband is a famous pie baker and there are some recipes around so maybe we will try a pie later this year. Apparently there is a great deal of differentiation in the quality of fruit from seeds of these trees, meaning some fruit is better than another.

Native to the West Indies, I see these here and there in South Florida, but they are more common in South America and naturalized in parts of India. It is a common dooryard fruit in parts of Peru.

Beautiful when swaying in the wind; in my opinion, this tree could be planted for aesthetic value alone.

Update: We ate some fruit, I can only say it must be an acquired taste or something you have to grow up eating. Kind of perfumy tasting, the fruit is a fibrous shell around a pit. Larry refused to bake a pie after tasting the fruit.

Wild Poinsettias- Euphorbia cyathophora

The Mystery Weed

The Mystery Weed

I was working in my front yard last week and came upon this little plant with bright red flowers. Knowing I had not planted it and it sprang up unbidden from the depths of the sugar sand, I thought it might be a good thing. This plant resembles Snow on the Mountain and looks like a Euphorbia. (Poinsettias are Euphorbias)

My neighbor happened by and I asked her about it. She identified it as a Wild Poinsettia.

The research began, first I found out it is a Wild Poinsettia, sometimes called Fire on the Mountain versus Snow on the Mountain. And a relative of both Snow on the Mountain and Christmas Poinsettias. The next thing that came up was, Invasive! and it had been featured as weed of the month for the state of Florida.

Another foreign invader in our midst. It was too good to be true.

The Vegetable Garden

One of the many weird things about South Florida is Vegetable Gardens. Whereas,  anywhere north of, say Lake City, Florida, tomatoes are planted in late spring and enjoyed all summer. Here it is Halloween. It is just not really normal. The other odd thing is you stop gardening around the summer solstice; sometime around the end of June it becomes too hot to leave the Air Con. The humidity also starts growing the most fantastic mildews and bugs and biblical type events. I have been told it is possible to grow tomatoes year round but you have to put umbrellas over them in the summer. This seems a bit much. Why do that when the grocery store has air conditioning?

Last year I planted tomatoes the week of Christmas, just so I could remember when I had planted them. This year I planted them in January because there had been some cold snaps and I was waiting for the weather to clear. The vegetables are proceeding normally, I have green beans, broccoli and herbs as well. Looking forward to picking some vegetables soon.

I have no fear of a tomatoless life. Worst comes to worst there is always Publix or our local produce purveyor. Our local farm stand has an incredibly reliable source of good Roma Tomatoes, actually ripe and tasty, I eat them year round. There is another vegetable phenomenon that is peculiar to South Florida..there is no summer corn on the cob, but it is here every other season. Winter corn was a discovery I have been enjoying.

I have recently learned how to make fresh pasta. As a result of this we have been eating fresh corn, red onion, spinach, garlic and herbs all sautéed in bacon fat over pasta. OK, it is low sodium Bacon with a little Olive Oil so it won’t stick to the inside of my veins.

This week I bought a Lime tree, Everbearing is what the label said. This brings my fruit tree count to three, a Dwarf Thai Mango and a Meyer’s Lemon are already planted. We have had some lemons and they were great. Eventually I will have to learn how to make Mango Margaritas and use all homegrown fruit. The jury is still out on buying a banana or a Papaya tree. Not sure I would ever be able to eat all those bananas.

Spare Parts

I think all gardeners have this. A group of potted plants they bought for one reason or another and then set aside, for later. The later thing is the rub. My husband refers to this group of potted plants as my spare parts.

Spare Begonias

Spare Begonias

Currently I am hoarding Begonias. I found some Begonia odorata for a great price so I bought a couple. I have a few leftover Bronzeleaf Begonias so they are still around in a tray. I should also confess that there are three starts of Blue Agave in the side yard that have been sitting over there since this summer. Although, I have a good reason for thinking about those for a long time..they are very sharp and once in place they need to stay there. Also, in the realm of aesthetics Blue Agave is a bold statement. Not to be taken lightly.

Blue Agave

Blue Agave

I bought some more expensive plants at Gardenfest in Vero but I have endeavored to actually install those. One being a Mango tree, OK, I want some Mangoes as soon as reasonably possible. That I planted, fertilized and have been watering. Not to mention it is an Evergreen tree that will screen my husbands ugly Tupperware Lawnmower shed. More fertilizer, please..

More Fertilizer, please

More Fertilizer, please

The second plant from Gardenfest was a leafless Bird of Paradise, really cool and I can’t wait to see it bloom. It is also in the ground – next to a Tibouchina. I am breathlessly waiting for all to grow up and bloom. That Bird of Paradise had roots that looked like Parsnips and there is one down the street – it took about two years for me to figure out what is was..for a while there I thought the lady who lived there was sticking silk Bird of Paradise into a Juncus, this plant is really cool.

The Begonias I am having a hard time getting around to planting. Begonia odorata is new to me, I am not sure why these are not more common as a Summer Annual up north. The ones that have been sitting on my back porch for a month (at least) are beautiful.

I am finding there is not enough variety in Annuals in South Florida, people are really hung up on Impatiens and Pentas, pretty boring stuff. I find the New Guinea Impatiens particularly distasteful and Impatiens is a fiesta of fungus. I love to have some containers with color around my doorways, I am slowly going over to Bromeliads and the Zebrina Wandering Jew. (both things I found growing in the yard and repurposed into pots with a few Bronzeleaf Begonias.)

Begonias and Bromeliads

Begonias and Bromeliads

Matchstick Bromeliad- Aechmea gamosepala

Image

Here is the Matchstick Bromeliad, so named because the components of the flower resemble matches.

These low maintenance Bromeliads light up the garden in the winter.The Matchsticks in my garden bloom in December-January and possibly February. As is with many things, it depends on the weather as to what and when these do their thing. The foliage is on the yellow-green side and shiny, providing a good year round addition to the garden. Slowly, (for Florida take that with a grain of salt) these form masses of color for the winter. I have mine planted alongside Blue Daze Evolvulus and have enjoyed the combination. The Blue Daze generally bloom all winter but will slow down in a cold snap.
These bromeliads are native to Brazil, like many others. They enjoy some sun and humidity. Sort of like me.