Category Archives: Bromeliads

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!!!

In a Vase on Monday – Herbal Essence

I keep vases in my entry foyer so I can enjoy the fresh flowers when I go in and out of the front door. Between dog walking, trips to the mailbox and gardening the vases are a frequent sight.

This Monday, my foyer is filled with herbal fragrance. I think the combination of scents (dill, sage and almond) would make a good dish or hand soap.

The crystal vase, a gift from my dearly departed brother, was chosen for its verticality (design gobbedlygook rearing its ugly head). The dill flowers are my new favorite, well, this week. Here is a closer view:

Chartreuse flowers are from ‘Long Island Mammoth’ Dill; white and pink spikes are from Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); blue spikes are from Mystic Spires Salvia; a white sprig of Sweet Almond (Aloysia virgata) is visible below. The burgundy foliage is from ‘Purple Haze’ Billbergia Bromeliad.

I’ll make an announcement if I decide to go into the gardener’s hand soap business!

Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for keeping my entry foyer filled with flowers. Follow the link to find more spring vases.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Spring Prospects

March is roaring like a lion this Saturday in my South Florida garden. We had a tremendous thunderstorm yesterday that arrived with a cold front. Very little rain has fallen in the past few weeks so the precipitation was a welcome relief and the dragonflies were hard at work as I was walking through the garden. So many things to look forward to this spring.

The bud has lengthened on the Hard Cane Dendrobium Orchid in the Gumbo Limbo tree. The bud is about three feet long currently. Very excited to see the flowers on this. Purple flowers on the tree in background are from the Hong Kong Orchid tree (Bauhinia purpurea)

Flowers and petals from the Hong Kong Orchid tree have been scattered throughout the garden like fallen leaves.

The Painted Fingernail Neoregelia Bromeliad is starting to flower and is sporting a few orchids as well.

Guzmania Bromeliads starting to flower in wok container. The flowers last a few months and have been in this container for years. I rarely do anything to this.

Pineapple has set fruit, these take a couple of months to grow to edible size. Then need to be carefully watched as the critters enjoy the sweet fruit as much as I do.

Nam Doc Mai Thai Mango has set fruit. Sometimes it is too windy for pollination and no fruit is set despite flowers. I should be eating mangoes in 100 days! Fingers crossed.

That is my Six for this Saturday. Visit Jon at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com for more SOS posts and some different perspectives on spring.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Tropical Travails

This weekend was a bit of a trial. The coldest weather South Florida has seen in a decade blew in Friday night and lingered through Sunday morning. Freezing temperatures threatened; our normal lows are 40 degrees F. I spent the weekend covering and uncovering plants and making sure the vulnerable were hydrated. I fear the only casualty will be the watermelon vines, they wilted despite being covered.

I was quite surprised to find the pink Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) on Sunday morning. I added a few leaves from the varigated ‘Bossa Nova’ Neoregelia Bromeliad, then set off to find a few more vase ingredients from the garden.

The purple ‘flowers’ are actually seedheads from the Portea ‘Candy’ Bromeliad. These eventually turn a creamy white if left on the plant. The green foliage, baby palm fronds from a seedling Sabal Palm (Palmetto sabal) – the state tree of Florida. Grey tendrils in front of the flowers are from the edges of the palm fronds. The heavy crystal vase, a gift from my late brother.

I am ready for some normal Florida winter sunshine this week with no travails.

Happy gardening and thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases.

Six on Saturday – F Words

First, we have flowers. I focused on flowers this Saturday as there is a possibility of another f word – frost, in frostfree areas of Florida. That’s seven f words – though I will probably think of some more as I am covering orchids and tomato plants for our overnight low. The low is predicted at 37 degrees F., with 35 mph gusty winds. I am not thinking about the wind chill. Not doing it. I had to search for shoes this morning as I always wear sandals; astonished to find some currently fashionable Chuck Taylor style sneakers that must be ten years old!

I’ll admit the shoes looked better in the dark corner of my closet. Maybe I saved them for gardening prior to discovering plastic Birkenstocks, the mysteries continue.

On to January flowers, that will hopefully be here in February.

‘Miss Alice’ Bougainvillea is in full bloom.

I started some Balsam Impatiens from seed and transplanted them into the garden last week. They are just starting to flower.

Another Balsam Impatiens. I think these will be hardy if the temps stay above freezing. They look like big Snapdragons to me.

Dwarf Chenille Plant (Acalypha pendula) this is underplanting a Malaysian Orchid. These two are spending the night in the bathtub.

‘Little Harv’ Aechmea Bromeliad flowers; one of my winter favorites. It seems all the Bromeliads should be fine. It is recommended to fill their cups with water prior to cold weather. This seems counterintuitive to me but I did it anyway.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Saturday!

Thanks to Jon at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com for hosting, follow the link for more SOS posts.

Six on Saturday – January Fun

Saturdays are more fun when I share six items of interest from my South Florida garden. Florida means flowery in Spanish and we have abundant flowers year round here. Here are a few flowers and colorful plants appearing in January.

Flowers on the White Geiger (Cordia boisseriei). This semi evergreen small tree produces flowers on a whim, usually during the winter.

Snake Plants, Mother in Law Tongues, all Sanseviera flower in winter. These grow wild in South Florida and are considered invasive. The flowers have a lovely, sweet scent and don’t last very long.

The Jurassic, huge (5 feet across) Lotusleaf Begonia (Begonia nelumbo) is shooting up buds.

Winter color on a Neoregelia Bromeliad. This green Bromeliad, a found plant, has been in the garden for several years. This is the first time it has shown color, allowing me to begin figuring out what it is. Where I found it, I do not recall!

Miss Alice Bougainvillea is flowering again and is sporting a Tillandsia bromeliad on her trunks.

A flower spike on Flapjack Kalanchoes. These have a nice fragrance and eventually turn into little plants.

That’s my six on this January Saturday. To see more SOS posts, visit http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Winter Wonderland

Not exactly the image the words “winter wonderland” conjure up? Welcome to South Florida and 2022’s first edition of Six on Saturday. To see more, probably wintry garden scenes from garden bloggers in more northern climes, follow the link http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

The flower above is a Billbergia Bromeliad, species ‘garage sale’ – though I suspect it is called ‘Purple Haze’. The foliage is purple, striped sideways sporting flowers of red, white and blue and flowering in January. Pretty trippy.

The next tropical surprise of the morning – ‘Chociana’ Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorum ‘Chociana’) I am still wondering what Chociana is. Note the bonus spider inside the flower.

I have been enjoying this magnificent Tropical Hydrangea for a couple of weeks. It is a Dombeya wallachii and about 15 feet tall.

The vegetable garden is doing well, I have been picking tomatoes daily for a week or so, the birds have beat me to them once, diligence is key.

Planning to thin my second crop of radishes this morning. These are my favorite, French breakfast.

Happy New Year from my Winter Wonderland.

A Week of Flowers – Day 7 – Tropical Punch

It’s the last day of AWOF and I finally got the title right. Oh, well. I will be spreading some more tropical warmth north via flowery photos.

The scent of Moonflowers perfumes the night in summer.

The Malaysian Orchid or Chandelier Plant in a front porch container.

The fabulous Portea ‘Candy’ Bromeliad lights up a shady corner.

Another front porch container has a Desert Rose.

Last, but not least, a Florida classic – the ‘Red Admiral’ Hibiscus.

That concludes a Week of Flowers this December. To see more flowery photos, visit Cathy at http://www.wordsandherbs.wordpress.com.

A Week in Flowers – Day Four – More Broms.

Joining Cathy at http://www.wordsandherbs.wordpress.com for Day Four of AWIF. Follow the link to see more floral loveliness. I am featuring more Bromeliad madness from my garden. Above is Aechmea miniata, a favorite of mine as it is a reliable summer bloomer and really funky. A closer view:

Another summer favorite the Torch or Hurricane Bromeliad, it flowers at the peak of hurricane season and looks like a torch.

Happy Saturday from South Florida.