Author Archives: theshrubqueen

In A Vase on Monday – Alpinia Joy

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No, that is not Almond Joy or Alpine Joy, it is Alpinia Joy. Alpinia zerumbet to be exact. The Shell Ginger. One of my garage sale finds from a few years ago; the plant is well known for taking two years to flower and this one was true to form. I have been waiting and finally got a flower.

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It takes about a week to fully bloom and bit by bit peeks out from under the foliage. There is a lovely ginger scent when the plant is cut, although a member of the Ginger family it is not a culinary ginger.

The rock that keeps appearing is a hunk of Fool’s Gold from my father’s (the geologist) collection of obscure mineral crystals. I was looking for some marbles to use in the vase to hold the stem, I have some lavendar ones somewhere. I knew where they were before we moved – so inspiration struck and I thought to use the Fool’s Gold vaguely remembering something bad happens to it in water. It is a Pyrite, iron sulfide, I think, and what happens is instantaneous rust when it gets wet. I suspect it would have killed the flower if I had left it in the water. I was also left with the dilemma of how to get the sharp bits that fell off  out of the stainless steel sink without scratching the sink. After everything was rinsed and clean, it dawned on me,  I really didn’t have an arrangement at all.

Back to the garden, fortunately spring brings some interesting flowers into bloom.

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Contents of this vase are:

Soap Aloe flowers (Aloe saponaria), in the foreground; Parrots Flower (Heliconia psittacorum) and foliage; the orange foliage is from Blanchetiana Bromeliad (an Aechmea type)

The vases are both from a simple design phase I went through in the 80s. Less is more or less is a bore depending on how you look at it. The flowers are the focus if these vases are used.

Here are both vases and the Fool’s Gold:

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Moral of this story, no iron minerals in your vases. Fool’s Gold is named for a good reason.

Rock on.

Charles for President

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On the campaign trail

Given the Republican primary results coming into the State of Florida today. I would like to nominate Charles the Greyhound for consideration as a candidate for president.

An elder stateshound with a spotted record, Charles has always sported a red collar indicating his support of the GOP.

At the ripe old age of 9 and a half, he is perfect in human years (65) to lead our country. Here he is reaching across the aisle to work with his blue colleagues from the Democratic party. Note the size of his paws, evidence of no problem in that department.

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Reaching across the aisle

And in case of an international emergency,

Greyhounds always know what to do.

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Solving World Problems

In A Vase on Monday – Refugees from the Potting Bench

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I have had a trying dental week, culminating in a root canal followed by pain medication. Never having experienced a root canal, I had not realized the need for pain medication. Vicodin and I usually do not get along, but the drug came highly recommended by the doctor and his staff, so I relented and took some. My problem with these sorts of medications is – if 3 steps are needed to complete a task, only 2 are retained by my mind. Example, to set the timer on the stove it has to be turned on, time set, then started. The loss of any step results in no time. Then you are left wondering if the pasta is done and when you started it. On the other hand, the teeth feel really fine. I have, wisely, stayed away from my car.

I awoke this morning feeling much better, put some cat food in my cereal bowl, got a fork to eat it, then realized it was time for more coffee and a walk around the garden.

The search for vase materials was on and I stopped at my potting bench where all my plant refugees looking for a home live until they are planted. Sometimes it takes years to find a home as I tend to buy plants without considering where they should go. This Bromeliad had bravely put up a flower after languishing on the bench for quite some time. The fluorescent salmon color is quite lovely. Here is the unnamed Bromeliad, I think it is an Aechmea, burgundy and olive green foliage accent the salmon flower:

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At the same time I have been rooting some cuttings from an overgrown Solar Sunrise Coleus and thought they looked nice together in this big olive green container I bought at GoodWill (charity shop). The Blue Daze Evolvulous was  left over from a new bed that I am working on in the garden.

I like the combination and have added some other refugees for company. The shell is from the ocean, of course, and the pseudo Mayan sculpture is an incense burner from my brother, circa 1975 and Pier One. I keep this around for sentimental reasons, and it looks great with the Salmon Bromeliad.

In case of culinary concerns, I gave the cat the cat food and she was quite happy, had another cup of coffee and no more Vicodin. Now all I need is a filling to seal the root canal. Joy and Bliss later this week.

 

 

In A Vase on Monday -The Bovine Micro Meadow

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Here is another member of my cow family. A real cow vase. I have a matching hand soap dispenser. I bought the set in a store that sells samples. My suspicion is the vendor figured the market for a matching set of cow vase and soap dispenser was limited and stopped with the samples. I have enjoyed these, although the vase is oddly constructed and difficult to arrange flowers in – mostly it sits on the shelf and exudes bovine loveliness.

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The idea for this was based on cows grazing in a meadow. The micro meadow is a tiny representation of what grows in my meadow. The “lawn” in my back yard is truly appalling, so I have many meadow plants. I am not terribly bothered by this as lawn beauty in South Florida is difficult to attain without loads of water and chemicals. Meadow it is. Mown intractable weeds could be another term used to describe the “lawn” My younger greyhound has beaten a perfect racing track into part of it. Flowering meadow plants and sand are for the greyhounds, my gardens are kept away from thundering paws.

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Here is a close up of the plants. There is some Florida friendly Chartruese Sedum at each end (friendly is propaganda from our Extension Service – the plant grows great in a pot with potting soil, if put in the garden a very different story), Sweet Begonia and Spanish Needles in white, the purple and red plants are pretty ( a weed I am not sure I want to identify) but I have been trying to eradicate them and they are frighteningly prolific. Boston Fern and the Wandering Jew (Transcandentia zebrina) just pop up in the meadow. Strange but true.

And my favorite cow family member:

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The beach

 

My cow dog, Charles the Greyhound, racing name GLO Cornjacker, a dear friend and companion for the past six years; he retired from racing in 2010 and is nearly ten years old.

He hangs out in the meadow frequently and sometimes snacks on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charles
Charles

In A Vase on Monday – Til the Cows Come Home

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I am a collector of cows and Blue Willow china, so it is only natural that I would have a couple of Delft cow creamers in my collection. One I bought and another was a gift from my niece. The feed bowl was a tiny vase done by my husband in college in a pottery class, therefore a historic artifact.

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This idea came to mind when I realized the long stemmed flowers I was going to use hadn’t bloomed. Faced with short stemmed flowers I decided to give the creamers a try. The cows are eating ‘straw’ from the edges of palmetto fronds:

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I am not sure the purpose of the tendrils on the edge of the palm fronds, but it makes great material for bird nests or maybe a little mulch for a potted plant. Here is a close up of the other flowers:

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The big purple flower is from the Hong Kong Orchid tree (Bauhinia purpurea), these trees come in many colors and varieties and bloom in the winter. The red flowers are from Turks Cap which is a native and a relative of the Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreus), these bloom nearly year round. The yellow flowers are another native, Beach Sunflower (Helianthus debilis) the cheerful little Sunflower is becoming a favorite of mine. The sprigs of green are from the Artillery Fern (Pilea microphylla) – another one of those plants that just appears around here. Not really a fern, but more like a succulent with tiny leaves.

The Blue Willow china collection started with some pieces I inherited from my grandmother. I have added to the collection over the years and try to add pieces made in New England, Buffalo is my favorite, that is what my grandmother had (she was from Connecticut) I will probably continue collecting until the cows come home.

 

Bromeliads for the Treasure Coast- Divide and Conquer

Painted Fingernail Bromeliad
Groundcover Bromeliad
Burgundy Aechmea Bromeliad

I have learned a great deal about Bromeliads since starting my garden four years ago. Prior to moving to Florida, I only knew a few varieties of Bromeliads and this was from designing shopping mall interiors in the eighties. Guzmanias were (and still are) a great plant for interiorscape. Oddly enough, while they will grow here, I have no Guzmanias. I think they are kind of boring. I like the kind of indestructible, passalong, highly reproductive Bromeliads. The kinds you don’t see in shopping malls. The more unusual the Bromeliad, the better. This could prove to be a bad idea in the long run. I could grow really old here and end up with Martian Planet landscape.

Bromeliads above are: the flower of a Painted Fingernail Aechmea, a common passalong in South Florida, the spotted one is a common Neoregelia (from a garage sale) of some sort, the burgundy one is Burgundy Aechmea. The below Bromeliad is a ‘Blanchetiana’, another Aechmea passed along to me from a neighbor. All thrive here with little care.

Blanchetiana Bromeliad
Large Orange Blanchetiana Bromeliad

My latest venture in the garden has been to add swirling patterns of shells and rocks weaving through the garden. First, I like shells and rocks and second, I detest mulch, not for looks, but for me having to schlep bags of bark through the yard – usually when the weather is tropical steaming. I really just won’t do it and go back inside and plot some other indoor task. The result of this is weedy unkempt beds. So the strands of rocks and shells are being woven through the garden and ribbons of groundcover and tightly planted perennials are going to be installed to hopefully cut down on the maintenance (weeding) and the mulching. I have placed cardboard boxes under all of it to hopefully break the weed cycle.

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Shells and Rocks

The correct time of year to divide Bromeliads is the beginning of the growing season, which in South Florida is Fall/ Winter. I have been working on doing this and have divided several and (here’s a surprise) bought some pups last week at the botanical garden. Neoregelia Martin and the popular Blanchtiana Aechmeas have been divided and installed in their shell garden. Both these Bromeliads flourish in full sun, the Blanchetianas are available in Orange, Lemon and Raspberry. I have an Orange and Lemon, I am not quite sure about the Raspberry. The divided Bromeliads are in the left picture; here is a close up of Martin, who is a Neoregelia – doesn’t flower, but the foliage and sun tolerance make Martin worthwhile to have in the garden.

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I am trudging onward in dividing, but have yet to conquer.

In A Vase on Monday – The Ephemeral Martini

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As usual, I started out with one idea and ended with an entirely different vase. I was walking my dogs this morning and noticed this particularly lovely Hibiscus flower.

A Hibiscus flower in South Florida is not particularly notable, but this shrub is really amazing. An old variety planted in the 60s by my neighbor’s grandmother, this shrub lives on the edge of my front yard – unirrigated, unfertilized, and thriving in near total shade (everything one is not supposed to do to a Hibiscus) This heirloom delight blooms off and on all year to the point I hardly notice it.

I plucked the flower and put it in a brown pottery vase, this just didn’t look right. The festive red tropical flower needed some party vibes. I decided one of my mother’s crystal Martini glasses would be the proper setting – an heirloom for an heirloom, and loved the result:

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I added a bit of Sweet Begonia foliage and that was it. I was confused for a long time about the Martini glasses, I think they were a wedding gift to my parents when they married in the 1950’s. My grandmother was a teetotaling Southern Baptist and my mother always referred to these as ‘fruit compotes’; imagine my surprise when I learned of Martinis and their proper stemware. I suspect some Gin and Vermouth has been in these glasses at some point because I can remember the cocktail parties.

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The ephemeral nature of this is these flowers are known to only last one day. I will have to wait until nightfall to see what transpires.

 

In A Vase on Monday -Caribbean Delight

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This is a Caribbean Delight as the centerpiece of the arrangement is a Dwarf Jamaican Heliconia (Heliconia stricta) – I believe. The lady I bought this from didn’t seem entirely sure of the ID and I have never seen one before. I am, however, a sucker for a well priced Heliconia and hopefully the garden will not overrun with Dwarf Jamaicans. Heliconias can be pretty creepy.

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The dark foliage is from Piecrust Croton (Codiaeum variegatum  ‘Piecrust’) and I love the contrast. The fine textured foliage is  Asparagus Fern (Asparagus aethiopicus). The Croton I planted, the Asparagus Fern just appeared in the back garden one day. I cut some every now and again and that seems to keep it in bounds. Asparagus Fern is rumored to be invasive, I think the spot it popped up in is not its happy place.

The crystal Rose Bowl belonged to my mother, I think I bought it for her – but that memory just won’t quite gel. It is a nice crystal Rose Bowl. I have Rose issues so it is unlikely to ever see any Roses. I am quite happy about the Heliconias – at least they are red!

It is Valentine’s Day as I write this. This vase is going to be our centerpiece for dinner.

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Here’s the table setting Portmerion Rose China and here is dinner:

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Mustard crusted Rack of Lamb, Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Green Beans. Not particularly Caribbean, but oh so good. Followed by Chocolate Brownies with Vanilla Ice Cream. Hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day.

 

 

Cat Yoga

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It would be an overstatement to say I practice Iyengar Yoga. I tend to fall off the yoga wagon until my shoulders demand I start practicing again. Recently the cat has decided she needs to join me, but only in the floor positions when she likes to sit on my hair, and pull?!

This cat has a past. Originally belonging to my mother and named ‘Sweetie Pie’ she is now at the ripe old age of 15 and has outlived two owners. I convinced my mother to get another cat after her beloved cat died – 15 years ago. As one of four children I was sure my older brothers or sister would take her if my mother passed on. My mother agreed, saying “I don’t want you to have Sweetie Pie because you have the two greyhounds and she looks an awful lot like a rabbit” Very true. Fine with me. I didn’t really want a cat. When my mother passed my older brother took the cat. Cheerfully.

My older brother suddenly passed on four years later – my two other siblings refused to take her so after a protracted bout with Senior Cat Rescue, I did- greyhounds and all. She arrived at my house much worse for wear, weighing six pounds and half bald she promptly stuck her too long claw through a tendon in my hand and both of us ended up at the doctor. I did not get a rabies shot, but the cat did. No good deed goes unpunished.

My husband thought having a cat named Sweetie Pie would cause others to question his masculinity, so he calls her Miss Kitty. Miss Kitty and the greyhounds have achieved detente over time and while I can’t say they like each other they tolerate each other.

Last summer I took the cat in for annual shots/vet visit. The vet looked in her mouth and said she had cancer of the soft palate and had 3 to 6 months to live. This was a bit of a shock as she looked just fine and was eating well. He showed me the tumor and told me to feed her water thinned canned cat food. The watered down cat food clearly pissed the cat off and she started eating dry food I had inadvertently left on the floor. After a few days of this, I bought some soft centered dry food and straight canned food. She ate that happily and gained more weight, now weighing about 10 pounds.

One morning a few months into the cats purported last months on earth I found a Scorpion in the house that something had bitten the head off. I am pretty sure my husband wasn’t the culprit – then the cat starting joining me for yoga. Her death sentence has passed and her mouth is clear and she eats everything I put down for her.

I am wondering if the Yoga or the Scorpion cured Miss Kitty?