Category Archives: Bromeliads

Six on Saturday – In the Works

I noted a lot of interesting things in the works in the garden this morning. Time to share with other gardeners around the world this Saturday. Visit Jim at GardenRuminations for a worldwide garden tour.

First up, fruits and vegetables. Really just fruits, since the first tomato of the year has ripened.

The first tomato this year is a Sweet 100. I have Yellow Pear and Brad’s Atomic Grape on the way. I gave up growing anything bigger than a cherry tomato years ago.

Nam Doc Mai Mango. Now I start leering at the mangoes every morning for three months until they are ripe.

Winter flowering bromeliads are doing their thing. This is a McWilliamsii Neoregelia just starting to flower. Its cup is full of water from overnight showers.

x Androlaechmea ‘O’Rourke bromeliad starting to flower. This is a big bromeliad, probably four feet tall. I would like to move it …but I don’t really want to touch it. Very sharp spines.

This is some kind of Dendrobium orchid. I have a friend who gives me orchids, she calls this the dead orchid. Because it looks dead and then flowers beautifully. The buds are just forming.

Another gift from a neighbor. Seedlings of Tweedia (Oxypetalum coeruleum) Has anyone tried this? A blue flowering pollinator plant is sometimes called Blue Milkweed. I planted these in the butterfly garden.

That’s all from my garden this Saturday..

In a Vase on Monday – Chasing Winter Away

February has proved to be highly superior to January in terms of my environs. This month is forecast to be warmer and drier than normal. Currently (Sunday afternoon) it is 80 F, warm and sunny outside. I like it and have been enjoying chasing the winter doldrums away in the garden. This called for the most tropical vase possible.

I started the search for tropical foliage and flowers and was rewarded with an odd and large bromeliad flower. I recently discovered the name of this plant, after having it in the garden for years. Drum roll, please. x Androlaechmea ‘O’Rourke’ Discoveries like this leave me wondering who O’Rourke is? No clue.

A closer view:

Foliage accompanying O’ Rourke include: in yellow variegation, Chicken Gizzard plant (Iresine herbstii). Pink varigated foliage is Hawaiian Snow Bush (Breynia disticha). Large, leaves are from Sea Grapes (Coccoloba uvifera). Palm foliage is Dwarf Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebellini)

A closer view of the tropical foliage.

That’s all from sunny Florida. I hope this helps chase the winter away in colder places. To see more vases, follow this link to visit Cathy at RamblingintheGarden.

Six on Saturday – Post Snap

Saturday morning has rolled around once again. Maybe this is the post snap post? The garden has improved since last week. The cold snap broke. We are back to clear, blue sky Florida days. Daytime temps are in the high 70s. Tomatoes are setting fruit and flowering and seedlings are emerging. This is called false spring in Florida, as another cold snap is inevitable. It usually occurs at the greatest moment of anticipation for fresh tomatoes and they stay green for another week.

Follow this link to Jim’s blog and join other gardeners posting six items of interest from their gardens. GardenRuminations

The Billbergia bromeliad “wethinkiscalledRainbow’ has opened. These remind me of curling ribbon.

Two of my favorite herbs, ‘Giant of Italy’ Parsley and Genovese Basil are up and asking for thinning.

French Dressing Radishes and Heirloom Arugula asking for the same thing. I grow these in a tall container for rabbit abatement.

I am happy to see some Brad’s Atomic Grape tomatoes on the way. The Yellow Pear tomatoes have also set fruit. I covered the tomatoes during the cold snap. I’m planning to trim off the cold damage this afternoon when the leaves are dry.

I cleaned up the ‘Jill’ Neoregelia bromeliads climbing the palm trunks.

Some flowers for a warm up at Number Six. These are Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformis) Totally indestructible here.

Bonus photo of my new gardening assistant, Handsome Rob. He is great at digging holes. For this reason, he has to stay on his side of the fence. Chasing greyhounds is always a futile effort and another reason he stays inside the fence! And, yes, this is the “soil” in my garden. It never fails to amaze me that anything grows in it.

Sending sunshine and warmth your way from my garden.

Six on Saturday – Billbergias and Begonias

We have had a dreadful weather week. Cold, rainy, overcast and dreary. Long time local garden dwellers say this is the longest cold spell in 45 years. So not South Florida. The sun came back out today and I am happy to see it. I am not certain it was cold enough to damage anything, but am feeling nervous about the fruit on the mango trees. The temperature was hovering around 40F and anything lower than that they don’t like.

I am joining Jim and the gang posting at GardenRuminations to share what is going on in the garden. I sought tropical flowers to counter the January gloom and was pleased to find some. Follow the link to see what else is going on in the gardening world.

Bromeliad madness. This is a Billbergia vittata. I am not sure if it is a named cultivar or exactly what it is. These plant are just so The Far Side. I have a few that are even more unusual. This is about two feet tall. It took a while to get into the right amount of sun for flowering. Now I have a mass of these shooting up flower stalks in January.

A closer view of the flower.

Another Billbergia. Again, I am not sure what variety. It was sold as ‘Rainbow’ – but I doubt that is right. I think the flowers will open a bit more. Time will tell.

Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata ‘alba’) enjoying the sunshine.

‘Big Pink’ Begonia getting a little bronze with the cool weather. The pink looks more like its parent B.semperflorens (Wax Begonia) to me than ‘Big White’ Begonia does.

‘Big White’ Begonia, richer green leaves and a lower to the ground habit. Still looks great after all the rain and cold. Wondering about summer heat and these Begonias.

That’s all from warming up South Florida. I’m looking for more Billbergias flowers soon to add to the tropical madness. Thanks to Jim for hosting.

In a Vase on Monday – A Little Tropical

Maybe I should call this Big Tropical! It is too big for the house, so I left it on the porch.

At least once a year I attempt to arrange the Blanchetiana Bromeliad flowers. These are the red and yellow things that look like crab claws in the vase. The flowers are 4 or 5 feet tall this year and last forever. I think they started blooming in June. I sometimes make Christmas wreaths with the flowers.

We are enjoying a spell of ‘why people come to South Florida in winter’ weather. It makes for great gardening, but the winter flowers aren’t quite going yet to cut a bouquet. So cutting crab claws in the yard seemed like a good idea. Here are the close ups:

The crab claws, in red and yellow, are Aechmea blanchetiana Bromeliad flowers; in yellow, Yellow Bells (Tecoma stans); in red, Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreum). Foliage is a White Bird of Paradise leaf (Strelitzia nicolai), a Cabbage Palm (Palmetto sabal) frond and a leaf from a Split Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron selloum)

Here is the flower of a Lemonade Blanchetiana Bromeliad. The one in the vase is from the red version, Red Raspberry. The foliage on that one is red.

That’s all from my garden this Monday. Thanks to Cathy at RamblingintheGarden for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases.

In a Vase on Monday – Unreal

Well, here it is, my floral comment on the election results. The will of the American people seems unreal to me. Unfortunately, like the components in this vase, they are disturbingly real. Not that I find succulents and bromeliads disturbing; but they do look so different from other flowers they don’t seem real. The rest of it – I suppose the best way to look at it is time will tell.

The vase is black for obvious reasons. The components are succulents including, in grey, Graptosedum; above the Graptosedum, in green and apricot, flowers from Soap Aloe (Aloe saponaria); green foliage is from Senecio barbertonicus. I may end up with several new plants.

Bromeliad flowers top the vase. The red and blue (symbolism?) flower is from Aechmea miniata, an odd bloom this late in the year, the brownish one is the same flower drying or dying, depending on how you look at it. Orange and yellow spikes are bits of Aechmea blanchetiana – the entire flower on this is at least four feet tall, so I cut some pieces of the flower. Round leaves in the back are from Flapjack Kalanchoe.

Thanks to Cathy at RamblingintheGarden for hosting. I am looking forward to the anniversary challenge. Follow the link to see more vases.

In a Vase on Monday – Swan Song

The pink flower in this vase is a Silver Urn Bromeliad (Aechmea fasciata). The tips go silver and the pale pink deepens to rose as the flowers fade. I like the coloration and have appreciated this flower for quite some time – it opened May 12th! I think I got my money’s worth. They never last very long in a vase, so this is its swan song.

Supporting players in this swan song.

In white, a few Tropical Gardenias (Tabernaemontana diviricata) are still in the garden; varigated foliage is Chicken Gizzard plant (Iresine herbstii). I am told the name originates from the tropical island these plants are from – they were eaten with chicken gizzards. Chartreuse foliage is from an incredibly prolific coleus.

The wispy accents are from another Caribbean tropical, Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa).

We are still dreaming of a fall cool down and thankfully were missed completely by Hurricane Helene.

To join in the IAVOM fun visit Cathy at this link RamblingintheGarden.

Six on Saturday – Seasonal Hints

Fall is something that must be searched for in my garden. The clues are fruits, berries and weeds going to seed. If a wider net is cast the mullet run can be seen in nearby waters. The mullet run happens when baitfish (mullet) start coming south for the winter, the predator fish go crazy and a lot of action can be seen in the water – fish jumping out the water by the hundreds. This has just started, but I always enjoy the sight.

I am joining the SOS crowd with six sights from my garden. To see what other gardeners have spied follow this link to Jim’s blog.

This is a ‘Lemonade’ Aechmea bromeliad (Aechmea blanchetiana) The Blanchetiana is available in several fruity colors – raspberry, lemon, orange that reflect the color of the foliage. This is planted in front of a six foot fence. These are common in South Florida, I was startled by them at first sight.

Fruit on the Beautyberry (Calliocarpa Americana). The range of this plant always surprises me. It is native from South Florida to New England in the US.

Fruit on the Gumbo Limbo (Bursera simaruba). Birds enjoy the fruit and there are many seedlings around the garden emphasizing how much.

A few Rangpur limes are ripening. These are deep orange when ripe and usually aren’t ready until December. I think the tree is thinning its crop.

Coleus tree is looking a bit better.

Another bromeliad showing fall colors – Aechmea rubens. These have the same texture as straw flowers and last for months in the garden.

That’s all from my garden this Saturday.

Happy gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Summer Survivors or Not

It has been a hot and humid week. I strolled the garden in search of plants surviving and thriving in the heat. There is always a surprise or two. I pulled a few weeds, but mostly noted that there are weeds – waiting patiently for their demise during cooler days.

To join the world wide SOS garden tours visit Jim at GardenRuminations

Neoregelia bromeliads are very reliable survivors here. There are so many varieties, I don’t know the names of these two. This one is just starting to flower, signaling the end of its life.

Another Neoregelia of unknown origin. I bought many of these at garage sales (nobody knows names at garage sales) as broms are absurdly expensive when nursery grown.

Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) in white. These love summer rain and heat.

The coleus tree. I have pruned it again. The winds from Tropical Storm Debby knocked a woody branch off the side. It is surprising how woody the trunk is.

It has been a great year for butterflies. I have been lacking the patience to stand in the shrubbery and wait for them to pose. This is the state butterfly of Florida, Zebra Longwing. It is sipping nectar from a Chaya tree. Chaya is a tropical spinach that grows into a multi stemmed shrub. I thought it would grow 4 or 5 feet – this one is almost ten feet tall!

Here is the not survivor. My hopes were dashed for Dragon fruit yet again. Sigh.

That’s all from South Florida. Dreaming of cooler days and a dragonfruit from the garden.

In a Vase on Monday – Summer Bromance

My husband may be wondering about my summer bromance (probably not). July is prime time for a Vase of my favorite summer bromeliad flowers, Aechmea miniata. To say this is a striking flower is a bit of an understatement. The flower is a nearly foot long panicle composed of what looks like red hot cinnamon candies accented with cobalt blue tips, it is a sight to behold. The plant has deep olive leaves with purple backsides and thrives in dry shade. I love it. Definite bromance here.

The plant in the garden:

A closer view:

An overhead view. The foliage accents are trimmed palm fronds from Sabal Palm seedlings (Palmetto sabal). The vase was repurposed from the florist.

Happy Summer Monday to all. To see more vases, follow this link RITG to visit Cathy.