Author Archives: theshrubqueen

Six on Saturday – Not Alex

The Atlantic hurricane season started June 1. The rainy remnants of the first named hurricane of the Pacific season, Agatha, started to fall in my garden yesterday late afternoon and continue this morning. Agatha hit the west coast of Mexico, crossed that country, emerged in the Caribbean and is predicted to form a tropical storm after it passes over South Florida later today – it will be called Alex. The wind speed and rain is still literally up in the air.

All the tropical moisture has been a boon to the garden. I walked Fiona the Greyhound this morning, she meandered around then came in the garden with me and proceeded to dig a hole and do a greyhound speed run. Yes, she is covered in sand. And soggy like the rest of the garden.

One of my favorite natives, a Thatch Palm (Thrinax radiata). This is a pretty palm, one of only 12 native to Florida, but very slow growing. I have had this one for at least 7 years, it might be 18 inches tall.

Summer rain brings out the tropicals, this is a Lobsterclaw Heliconia (Heliconia rostrata). These take a lot of water, I finally placed them under the edge of the gutterless roof and they are thriving at long last.

The unnamed Bromeliads are in full bloom.

The chandelier plant (Medinillia cummingii) started its second round of flowers this year. I am wondering if this plant will provide year round color. The flowers and fruit last a long time.

I have three mango trees. This one, a Glenn variety, has grown a foot this week. Amazing. Despite having three trees, I only had one mango and the squirrels got to it before I did. There is still hope, the Thai mango, Nam Doc Mai, has the potential to flower in the summer. The others, hopefully next year.

My neighbor’s mango, doing much better than mine. He cut this tree back hard last year and I suppose that is why it has fruit? The foliage looks a bit chlorotic to me. I bought a new bag of fertilizer in hopes of getting a little more color in the foliage on mine and more fruit in the future.

There! Six from South Florida. Not sunny. To see more SOS posts, visit Jon at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Summer Garden Plonk

Fiona the Greyhound refused to walk around the block with me on Sunday morning (she prefers that my husband holds her leash and arguing with a 65 lb recalcitrant dog is not my idea of an enjoyable walk) We ended up walking through the garden and after seeing all the flowers accented by the pale blue Plumbago shrubs dotted through out, I decided to snip and plonk a little bit of everything. I had not considered pale blue a neutral color in the garden, but the Blue Plumbago seemingly goes with everything. Or, most things, the red is a bit much with the Plumbago. Plumbago is like a lighter textured Blue Hydrangea and flowers at the same time – an added benefit, it is virtually indestructible and needs no irrigation after establishment.

The Blue Plumbago:

The vase:

There are a lot of players in this plant palette:

In pale blue, the Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata); deeper blue spikes, ‘Mystic Blue’ Salvia; red and yellow flowers, Parrotflower (Heliconia psittacorum ‘Lady Di’); white daisies, Bidens alba; pink Cactus Zinnia; red and yellow daisies, Blanketflower (Gallardia pulchella); red flower hanging over, Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreus)

Another view:

Orange flower in back, Chocochiana Parrotflower (Heliconia psittacorum ‘Chocochiana); Green Envy Zinnia in background; peach spikes, Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); orange flower in front, Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera)

The vase is a candleholder inherited from my parents with a jam jar inside to hold the water.

The dog?? She went for a run in the back yard, ate breakfast and….

This is what Greyhound people call roaching..who needs a walk anyway?

Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting IAVOM. To see more vases, follow the link.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Morning Finds

It’s time for another Saturday morning walk around my garden. The heat and moisture lovers are lifting thier heads and showing their colors.

This is a Silver Urn Bromeliad, most people call these Fasciata, as the botanical name is Aechmea fasciata. I associate these with the Atrium trend from the eighties when these were commonly used as a long lasting color plant in interiorscapes. This one flowers and produces pups every other year in my garden.

Another tropical that enjoys humidity, the Choconiana Parrotflower (Heliconia psittacorum). I am wondering what Choconiana is??

A little less tropical but another seasonal indicator, the flowers on the Beautyberry (Calliocarpa americana) signal the start of summer. On the flip side, the lurid purple berries, borne around Labor Day, mark the end of summer..

The architectural buds on a Soap Aloe (Aloe saponaria). I think these were inspired by a few rounds of thundershowers this week. The foliage bases have greened up as well. It is possible I fertilized them and forgot about it…

Another architectural plant, the Bridal Bouquet Frangipani (Plumeria pudica), started flowering this week and will most likely continue until November. This is a semi evergreen, columnar variety of Frangipani. I have a number of these as they are great accent plants around fences and narrow spaces. They are lightly fragrant at night.

A little foliage to end this Saturday’s walk. This is Goudaea ospinae, no idea of the common name. It used to be called Vriesea ospinae gruberi. It’s a varigated Bromeliad and adds a lot of color to deep shade. This supposedly will flower with yellow spikes. I was wondering how much shade it would take, so it has been sitting in its pot in the shade garden for at least two years, another incredibly hardy Bromeliad.

There, my Six on this Saturday. To see more SOS posts, visit Jon at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Eastern Line?

One of my favorite aspects of blogging is learning from fellow bloggers. Last week, I was informed by Tony Tomeo of the existence of Western Line Floral Design – and had to look it up. Here is a link that explains the style and other floral design styles; who knew there are so many floral design styles? I certainly did not.

https://www.floraldesigninstitute.com/floral-design-styles?page=2

I like the Western Line concept and have the perfect vase. I will have to wait for the appropriate flowers to attempt a Western Line style vase. Meanwhile, I call this one Eastern Line as it is linear and I am on the east coast of Florida. There is probably a floral show judge somewhere not feeling happy about this at all.

A closer view:

Eastern Line Plant Palette:

In blue, Chinese Forget Me Nots (Cynoglossum amiable); orange banana shaped flower, Parrotflower (Heliconia psittacorum ‘Choconiana’; orange tube flowers, Firebush (Hamelia patens); chartreuse flowers, ‘Envy’ Zinnias; varigated foliage, ‘Bossa Nova’ Neoregelia Bromeliad; background ferns, Boston Ferns (Neprolepis exaltata)

With the onset of mid May humidity the summer flowers are starting. Firebush is one of my warm season favorites and lasts for months. The orange Parrottflower is also a summer flower here. Watching the Zinnias to see how long it takes for something fungal to get ahold of them…The Forget Me Nots are starting to go to seed with the heat. I think I got my money’s worth out of these four plants. It will be interesting to seed if the seed germinates in the bed. I imagine they will have to be grown in pots and transplanted – the experiment continues.

The vase – a serendipitous unload from the dishwasher by my husband; unceremoniusly left near my flower arranging spot. It is the bottom half of a candy jar we broke the top for and couldn’t decide to keep or toss. This Monday a vase..

A view from the top:

Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting IAVOM. Follow the link to see more vases.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Updates

Last Saturday, I posted some mysterious bud photos from my garden. This week, I have flowers to share and some updates to my front garden. The weekly six:

The Aechmea Bromeliad is opening. How much more it will open is anyone’s guess. The flowers tend to last for months on these Broms. It reminds me of a Bird of Paradise….

Here are the flowers on the Haworthia from last week. The stem is too long to take a picture of. Below is the origin of the stem.

I have been working towards a perennial border look in my front garden. This is uncommon in Florida and I have grown most of the flowers from seed as they are not grown or sold here. The area behind the rocks was the site of a former driveway and hard as a rock. The coral flowering shrubs refused to grow in this area (I don’t blame them) so they were asked to leave and have been replaced with flowers.

A closer view:

Plants in this area are: coral flowered shrubs, Dwarf Red Ixora (Ixora taiwanensis); chartreuse foliage, Gold Mound Duranta (Duranta repens); blue flowers, Chinese Forget Me Nots (Cynoglossum amiable); gold flowers, Mountain Mint (Tagetes lemmoni). The succulents in the above photo are Soap Aloes (Aloe saponaria and produce deep coral flowers about 4 times a year. I think this area needs a touch of white flowers…

A nearby bed:

The fallen leaves from yesterday afternoon’s mega thunderstorm (with hail!) are visible. The gardener will pick those up later..bamboo sticks are to keep rabbits away. The Mountain Mint in the above photo has such a weird scent that deer won’t touch it. I am wondering if that is enough to keep the rabbits away.

Plants in this area: in apricot, Apricot Profusion Zinnias; in blue, Mystic Spires Salvia; in white, Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); in chartruese, Gold Mound Sedum (Sedum acre). I have a feeling the Sedum is losing its battle with South Florida..

That is all the news from my garden this Saturday. To see garden updates from around the world visit http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

Happy Gardening!!!

In a Vase on Monday – Mixed Media

What is mixed media? In my garden it is tropical plants vs. more conventional plants. For some reason, I don’t really like to mix the two – though I am slowly getting past that. Possibly latent brain washing from design school. Tropical plant material was not on the menu where I went to college.

Who knows? There is not really a color scheme here, either. Totally mixed media. I started cutting the weird red Dahlias (a mistake from the bulb supplier) and just kept going. Added some white for fragrance and then decided more color was needed….snip, snip, snip.

Voila, it had to go in a clear glass vase. An old florist vase from a long ago gift of flowers.

What’s the media?

Tropicals, in red and yellow, ‘Lady Di’ Parrotflowers (Heliconia psittacorum); in white, Tropical Gardenia (Tabernaemontana diviricata). Conventionals, in chartreuse, Envy Zinnias; peach spikes are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) – there is a dilemma, it is called Tropical, but really is not?

White spikes in back are fragrant Sweet Almond (Aloysia virgata); blue flowers are Chinese Forget Me Nots (Cynoglossum amiable); white daisies, Bidens alba; Red Dahlias of unknown name. Oops from the bulb supplier, these have oddly short stems – I think? These are my first Dahlias, so please share any Dahlia insights with me. The corrected Dahlias (Labyrinth) have arrived and should be cactus type. I have planted them and am breathlessly waiting for big, fluffy cut flowers. I hope they haven’t been overwatered.

Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link for some potentially less mixed vases.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Fragrant Whites and Mysteries

It is Saturday again, time to check out what’s new in the garden. Six things! Rain has finally fallen on my garden, and with a bit of warmth some mysterious buds have shot up from some longtime residents that have never flowered.

These appeared this week. Buds on (I am guessing) an Aechmea Bromeliad. I bought it at a garage sale some years ago. At least five. Garage sale Bromeliads are about five bucks, named plants are easily ten times that at the nursery, so I have a lot of garage sale mysteries. Here’s the one that is opening.

Whatever it is, it will be an interesting flower. Stay tuned.

One of the Haworthias in my succulent collection sent up a flower. I did not realize they flowered. This should be another interesting flower.

The rain also brought out the fragrant white flowers; and hordes of mosquitoes. I am waiting for the dragonflies to save me.

This is a Frangipani (Plumeria spp) of unknown origin I bought at a Master Gardener’s sale. Finally gaining some height, it is about 7 feet tall. I love the clean graphics of these flowers and their fragrance.

The Tropical Gardenias (Tabernaemontana diviricata) started blooming in earnest this week. Their scent is most notable at night.

Sweet Almond (Aloysia virgata) spills its scent during the day near the back porch.

The garden is scentsational right now. I need a swarm of dragonflies to clean out the bad bugs. I’m expecting them anytime now….

My South Florida Six for this Saturday! To see more SOS, visit Jon at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com…

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Bossa Nova Wrap

I am still cutting Forget Me Nots and Nigella, and enjoying both plants and flowers. May tends to be hot and dry in South Florida, so I will continue to have blue vases as long as possible. This vase reminds me of one I would see from the UK in summer – the one ingredient that would be missing, the Bossa Nova Bromeliad leaf wrap.

Here is the Bossa Nova, a Neoregelia Bromeliad. These are grown primarily for foliage and this one lives in an unirrigated container by my mailbox with a few Bromeliad friends.

The rest of the vase.

Chartreuse and pink flowers are Zinnias, Envy and Pink Cactus. These are my second batch of seedlings, these are 6 or 8 weeks old. Blue and white Nigella were grown as winter annuals and for cutting. I have found they don’t last very long in a vase. The foliage and seedheads alone are worthwhile in a vase, flowers a short lived bonus.

There are a few stems of white Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); some Asian Sword Ferns and the background is Chinese Forget Me Nots (Cynoglossum amiable) – these do last a long time in a vase.

Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting..follow the link to see vases from the UK and check out the differences! No Bossa Nova for sure.

Happy Gardening!!!

Six on Saturday – Happy Returns

Saturday, once again. Today I am looking at six things I am happy to see returning to the garden. ‘Happy Returns’ is also the name of a very nice repeat blooming yellow daylily…I wish I had a few of those. On to the six…

Blanketflower (Gallardia pulchella) – a prolific, reseeding wildflower I enjoy in its many variations. I caught a bee on this one. I leave these to grow wherever they land.

Another batch of Envy Zinnias are in flower. My husband even likes these…he doesn’t notice much in the garden.

Another wildflower that I leave to wander the garden. I enjoy these blue Spiderwort flowers every spring. I am sure it is a Transcandentia, just don’t know which one.

Another native back in bloom, Sunshine Mimosa (Mimosa strigillosa). This is the groundcover that ties my wildflower garden together, or I hope it will.

Pink Cactus Zinnias are also back in the garden…

Another one of my favorite Florida natives is back in bloom – Firebush (Hamelia patens) – a butterfly and bee magnet. The Zebra longwing butterflies are back as well, nectaring on these flowers and the Zinnias.

There, my Six for this Saturday. To see more posts, visit Jon at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Seasonal Shift

According to some Floridians, the bitter end of Snowbird season is Mother’s Day. (Snowbirds are people from cold climates who spend the winter in Florida). Mother’s Day is May 8. I suppose that is a cultural and seasonal shift. As a year round resident, I welcome the departure of the crowds. I also welcome the shift to the classic warm season scents in my garden.

This week, the Frangipani and Gardenia started flowering. They are about 20 feet apart and to stand between the two fragrances and inhale…ahhh, and then realize the traffic is dying down, too.

Life is good.

The combination of the two scents is lemony and so reminiscent of my childhood in Atlanta, it left me looking around for a flowering Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) – there aren’t any in my garden. Southern Magnolias will grow here, at the far end of their range, usually looking puny, thin and in search of a large martini to cope with all the Snowbirds. Too much heat and stress for the iconic evergreen Southern Belles to remain fresh and beautiful.

I am not sure what inspired the fragrant flowers in my garden, though I can imagine the arrival of some long overdue rain helped things along, unless the plants are glad to see the Snowbirds leave, too…

Closer views:

The clear yellow flower in the back is Frangipani (Plumeria spp), this is a passalong from a friend, I would love to know the name; blue flowers are Chinese Forget Me Nots (Cynoglossum amiable); white flowers are Tropical Gardenias (Tabernaemontana diviricata), not a true Gardenia, but close enough for me; chartreuse flowers are my next generation Envy Zinnias; yellow flower in foreground is Goldmoss Sedum (Sedum acre)

The other side:

There are a couple of white Nigella lurking behind the Gardenias…

Happy May to everyone.

Thank you to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link to visit other gardens via vase…