Author Archives: theshrubqueen

Six on Saturday – Holiday Gale Gardening Fun

I am joining the SOS gang again this week featuring six items of interest from my garden. Most of this week our weather has been dominated by gale warnings. The skies are overcast, the wind has been gusting to 45 mph with downpours of rain sometimes blowing sideways. Floridians crave sunny blue skies and they were few and far between this week. My holiday gardening adventures have been indoors or on the porch this week. To see more SOS posts visit Jim at http://gardeningruminations.co.uk

The front door received a holiday makeover with a bromeliad cutting wreath. I was gratified to read that hoop wreaths are currently in style as I didn’t want to spend too much time in the wind hunting bromeliad cuttings (the hoop part is covered with winding gold and green ribbon) Red bromeliads are Fireball Neoregelia and the bigger green and red one is Super Fireball Neoregelia. Gold accents are fronds from Cabbage Palm trimmed to size.

Front porch pots were replanted. I am trying some more northern favorites mixed with tropicals for the winter. The grey plants are an old favorite ‘Bath’s Pink’ Dianthus. I have never seen one around here, but will be thrilled if it flowers. The bromeliads are mixed Neoregelias, garage sale finds, no one remembers the names but they always thrive, so I am happy to have them. The fern is an Autumn Fern (Dryopteris erythrosora), again way too far south, so I am hoping for some nice coloration with bronze new growth.

Porch propagation. Another batch of Turkeytangle Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora) to replace my former St. Augustine lawn.

I found a tiny Noble Fir tree, slightly crooked, so the angel overseeing things is dancing on top. The scent from the tree alone is worth the effort to me.

Decorating Fiona didn’t go so well. She doesn’t want to be a reindog.

Oral sustenance is required to get through the holidays and the dreary, haunting calls of the gale. Rum cake baking became necessary.

I am wishing everyone a happy holiday season. I think the garden will be a better place next week!

In a Vase on Monday – Chasing Christmas

Suddenly it is about two weeks until Christmas. How did that happen? Cards have not been sent and I probably have missed the opportunity to buy a live Christmas tree. Sigh. Well, I will check and see if I can get a crunchy, nearly free tree this week. I am still indulging my distaste for fake plants, Christmas trees included. Tree lots are set up in baking South Florida parking lots in December that are not conducive to live plants of any kind. I am seriously considering making a bromeliad cutting Christmas tree.

I have managed to unearth a bit of holiday cheer in the form of a Christmas gift I received long ago from my mother. The holiday chocolate pot. She gave me this the year my husband and I moved to the suburbs of Atlanta. Seemingly (from her perspective) I was going to morph into a 1950s housewife and invite the neighbor ladies in for holiday hot chocolate and cookies (there are matching mugs). This is the first time the chocolate pot has ever been used. I think my mother would have approved its use as a vase.

The plant palette:

Red flowers draping over the side are Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreus); berries are from the native Firebush (Igiveupon properbotanicalname) – these are beginning stage berries, they eventually form juicy black fruit the birds love.

Chartreuse foliage is from Golden Dewdrop (Duranta repens); white spikes are ‘White Flame’ Salvia; red and yellow flowers are ‘Lady Di’ Heliconias (Heliconia psittacorum); foliage is from ‘Mammey’ Croton (Codieum varigatum).

Thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this weekly garden meme. Follow the link to see more vases.

Happy Holidays from South Florida.

Six on Saturday – December in South Florida

I have lived in South Florida for almost 12 years. The things I find growing in the garden this time of year still seem odd to me. I planted dahlias in October and gave the other perennials the Chelsea chop in November and now most of it is thriving. Then, I find myself wondering what to do with the orchids in the trees and cycad seeds. A blog friend calls my garden another planet. Sometimes I think she is right.

To visit other gardens around the world and see six items of interest, follow the link to Jim’s blog http://gardenruminations.co.uk

Dahlias in December!? Here they are. I bought 9 tubers at an end of the season sale, stored them in the refrigerator and then planted them. Some varmint dug up several and ate at least one. This one appeared after a few weeks and more are poking through. When I will have flowers is anyone’s guess.

White Flame Salvia after the Chelsea chop. These survived the summer heat by making much smaller leaves and flowers. They are now full and lush again.

Red Velvet plant or Purple Aerva. Native to Africa, this seems to like winter better than summer.

This Schomburgkia orchid has finally rooted into the trunk of the Gumbo Limbo tree. It’s time to take the bindings off.

This is a Cattleya orchid, it has purple flowers and is hanging on by a thread (jute twine) in the boots of a Dwarf Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebellini) – I need to tie this in more securely in hopes of the roots anchoring to the palm.

Fruit of a Coontie cycad (Zamia integrefolia). This is the female cone, I must have some male plants as there are several of these cycads in the garden. They are pollinated by beetles. I would like to have a colony of Coonties as they host a rare butterfly.

That is all from my garden this sunny Saturday morning.

Happy Holidays!!

A Week of Flowers 2023 – Day Seven.

I am joining Cathy’s week of flowers virtual garden party a bit late this year – hoping to add some tropical fun from my South Florida garden.

Here goes:

I think everyone loved the Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant trees (Delonix regia) yesterday, here is a close up of the flowers and foliage.

More hot color from Amaryllis. These flower in the spring in my garden.

Trees are considered the best place to grow orchids in South Florida. This is another spring flower, Schomburgkia. They grow in my Gumbo Limbo (Bursea simarouba) tree in the front garden.

Happy Flowery Thursday to all. Thanks to Cathy for hosting this week. To see more Week of Flowers posts visit Cathy at http://wordsandherbs.wordpress.com

A Week of Flowers 2023 – Day Six.

I am joining Cathy’s week of flowers virtual garden party a bit late this year – hoping to add some tropical fun from my South Florida garden.

Here goes:

If this doesn’t warm you up, I don’t know what will. Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant trees (Delonix regia) in full mid summer bloom.

More hot summer color from Lobsterclaw Heliconia (Heliconia rostrata).

It wouldn’t be a post from me without a Bromeliad. This is another summer flower, Aechmea miniata.

Happy Flowery Wednesday to all. To see more Week of Flowers posts visit Cathy at http://wordsandherbs.wordpress.com

A Week of Flowers 2023 – Day Five.

I am joining Cathy’s week of flowers virtual garden party a bit late this year – hoping to add some tropical fun from my South Florida garden.

Here goes:

A Bridal Bouquet Frangipani (Plumeria pudica) for fragrance.

Malaysian Orchid (Medinilla cummingii) for flowers.

Flaming Torch Bromeliad (Billbergia pyramidalis) bud for its name!

Happy Flowery Tuesday to all. To see more Week of Flowers posts visit Cathy at http://wordsandherbs.wordpress.com

In a Vase on Monday – Palm Fruit Pie

I was joking about the pie and then it occurred to me that there probably is such a thing as palm fruit pie. It would involve dates and I have mixed feelings about dates – although, apple and date pie sounds promising.

Further explanation seems necessary. The red fruit in this vase is from the Adonidia Palm. The foliage is from a Pie Crust Croton. While these palm fruits are edible, to the best of my knowledge, the only creature that would enjoy a pie from this fruit is below:

Meet the Iguana, an invasive reptile that lurks in gardens throughout South Florida. Some think they are cute, I am not so sure. I am sure that they eat palm fruit, I have seen them enjoying it while basking in the palm tree. This is not the one that appears in my garden, he or she is chartreuse green with purple markings.

Back to the vase contents:

The yellow flowers are Esperanza, Yellow Elder or Yellow Bells, botanically Tecoma stans. These are subject to a native plant dilemma. They were once considered native to Florida and now are not as it seems a sea captain brought them to Key West a few hundred years ago from the Caribbean. These are amazingly hardy in my garden and reportedly invasive, although I see no evidence of that.

The rest of the plant palette: red fruit, Adonidia Palm (Veitchia merrillii); tubular red flowers, Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetifolium); varigated foliage, Piecrust Croton (Codiaeum variegatum); a few sprigs of native Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) grace the back. The vase is an old florist container.

That’s all from my garden this Monday. Thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases. I’ll be thinking about pie!

Six on Saturday – Florida Keys Adventure

My husband and I took a few days off and motored to the Keys for a little R&R this week. I decided to share some of the local flora and fauna we encountered this week on our trip. The Keys are very nice this time of year and the seafood is worth the trip – as is the Key Lime Pie! We both gained a couple of pounds, from the pie, I think. Follow this link to visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk for more flora tours of gardens around the world.

A classic inspiration for many tropical motifs and one of my favorites, the Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) tree. Almost oak-like in appearance, these produce fruit that only someone who grew up on them could love. I live a bit too far north for these.

Hanging over a 6 foot fence is a Pink Mussaenda (Mussaenda phillippica). These look a bit like pink squashed Poinsettias to me. I see many white and yellow ones where I live. The pink ones may be more tropical, they are from the South Pacific.

Pink Tabebuia (Tabebuia rosea) these are used as shade trees and can drop a lot of pods. They are a pretty, upright evergreen tree, not known for good wind resistance and a relative of the tree that tropical hardwood, Ipe comes from.

Ferns are not something I usually think of as a hedge. I think these are Macho Ferns (Nephrolepis biserrata). I like this, so tropical.

Key West has a wonderful butterfly conservatory we enjoyed very much. This is a high ceiling greenhouse structure with a meandering pathway and stream that is filled with butterflies sipping nectar then landing on your shoulder. My husband is not the gardening type and he said this was the highlight of the trip. The butterfly is a Menelaus blue morpho, a big butterfly – 12 cm or almost 5 inches across, they look like brown spotted moths on the backside and travel in groups, spectacular.

The quintessential South Florida flamingo. This is either Scarlett or Rhett, one of the pair of flamingos that live in the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. https://keywestbutterfly.com/

That’s my Six for this Saturday. I am heading to the garden for some chickweed removal!

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – November Candy

November in South Florida brings some sweet and unusual treats to the garden. When living further north I doubt I could have dreamed of finding something like this in flower this time of year. Actually, I am not sure I could have dreamed up the flower at all!

The purple flowers in the vase are ‘Candy’ Portea Bromeliads. I’m thinking they resemble Good & Plenty licorice candies, just not quite the right color. This is a good one to cut as for unknown reasons it flowers on the backside of the plant and can barely be seen. A pair of loppers accessorized with a suit of armor is a good ensemble for cutting these as the foliage is very sharp. The older I get, the less appreciation for thorns I have.

After some puzzling and tromping through the slightly storm ravaged garden (we had 50 mph wind gusts and I had not realized the volume of branches down, a task for another day) Here are the components of the vase:

Fan shaped foliage in the back is a trimmed frond of Cabbage Palm (Palmetto sabal); pink flowers are courtesy of the storm, Rain Lilies (Zephyranthes spp.); purple flowers are ‘Candy’ Portea Bromeliads; foliage is from Asparagus Fern (Asparagus sprengeri).

Dark purple foliage is Purple Queen (Setcreasea pallida) – I have a feeling some botanists changed this name, but am getting over it. The grey roses are Graptosedum succulents.

That’s all from my garden this week. I will be planting tomatoes and herbs I started from seed this week and starting seed for a few new varieties of cut flowers. And picking up branches.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting. Please follow the link to visit her blog and see more vases: http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

In a Vase on Monday – Anniversary Challenge

In celebration of the tenth anniversary of IAVOM, a challenge was issued by Cathy – to use a wacky container as a vase. Of course, I looked in my closet and came up with a pair of cowboy boots. I tried a pointe ballet slipper first, but was unable to overcome the shape of the shoe. It is a bit of a balancing act to persuade flowers (I use the term loosely here) to stay in a cowboy boot. The structural arrangements involve a rock, packing tissue and a plastic cup of water – and a bit of a lean towards the wall as these are probably 30 year old boots and I have a tendency towards overpronating and the boots are slanted from wear. The grey “flowers” are kind of crunchy and shatter on impact, so careful placement and balancing is essential. One hit the floor by Fiona the greyhound, who was quite startled and is consciously avoiding the boot now.

Given the container, I decided on a western themed plant palette, succulents and hot colors.

The grey “flowers” are the succulent Graptosedum and I added a few sprigs of another type of sedum, I am not sure which one. Burgundy foliage is a ‘Fireball’ Neoregelia Bromeliad pup; orange and red flowers are the dried flowers of Aechmea rubens Bromeliad. There are a few sprigs of Muscadine grapevine in the back of the arrangement.

Another view:

My thanks go to Cathy for all these years of hosting In a Vase on Monday. I enjoy starting my week with vases of flowers from all over the world and sharing ideas with other gardeners. It is fascinating to me what others grow in their gardens and why.

Follow this link to visit Cathy and see the wacky 10 Year Anniversary vases..http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com