Category Archives: Florida’s best summer flowers

Six on Saturday – Summer Fun

My garden tour this Saturday was quick. The humidity descended this morning after sunrise, the kind that fogs your glasses upon exiting the air conditioning. A few quick snaps with the phone followed a twirl around the block with Rob the Greyhound and I’m posting six items of garden interest once again.

To see more Six on Saturday posts or to join in, visit Jim at Garden Ruminations.

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The pink flamingo was our college mascot, so I have to have one in the garden. This one lives in a mass of Soap Aloe.

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Continuing the pink theme with the flower of Silver Urn Bromeliad (Aechmea fasciata)

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My lawn replacement project from last year is finally looking lawnish. This is Turkeytangle Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora) This plant is an evergreen wildflower that provides food and habitat for several butterflies. The butterflies do love it – but, they are shy about photography.

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More butterfly habitat. These are Maui Red Ixora. The vines rambling through the shrubs are Corkystem Passionflower (Passiflora suberosa). The flowers of the Ixora provide nectar for the butterflies while the Passionflower vines provide food for the caterpillars. Given that the vines have been completely denuded I think we are having a good butterfly year. The vines host Zebra Longwing and Gulf Fritillary butterflies. The Gulf Fritillary butterflies are known for their aggressive mating behavior (foursomes!) It’s a wonderful aerial acrobatics show in the garden every sunny day.

Another pollinator plant is doing well. Green berries are formed on the Beautyberry (Calliocarpa americana) The butterflies love the flowers and later these berries will turn a deep purple color and birds.

‘Lady Di’ Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorum) in place in the garden. These skirt another lady ‘Miss Alice’ Bougainvillea.

That is all from my garden. I will be pursuing cooler pursuits this Saturday.

Six on Saturday – Solstice Joy

Truth be told, I think the days are a little too long. I am happy the sun is heading back down in the sky. Living as far south as we do there can be a dramatic shift in light, especially on the due north side of the house. Full sun in summer followed by full shade in winter. A plant selection dilemma. I’m still finding a lot of joy in the garden . Here are my six tidbits of joy from this morning.

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Buds are shooting up on the Soap Aloe (Aloe saponaria). I love these buds, so architectural. They are taking over the garden and have thorny foliage, so I leave them be for the most part.

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The Bridal Bouquet Frangipani (Plumeria pudica) is ready for June brides. I may cut a bouquet for myself as I think this one is a bit too tall.

I am not sure a bridal bouquet from this plant would be a great idea. The drip toxic sap after cutting. But it would smell great.

The Firebush (Hamelia patens) is underplanted with lush Alligator Lilies (Hymenocallis latifolia). The Firebush is a major pollinator nectar source, so I have masses of butterflies. This is the best Alligator Lily foliage I have had – these are shy about flowering and seem to enjoy being crowded. Fingers crossed for fragrant, white lilies that open at dusk later this summer.

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A true summer joy and a symbol of endurance. A nice array of hot colors from zinnias

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More garden joy. This is as late in the year as I have ever had tomatoes. Many South Florida gardeners grow tomatoes October through May. I planted a second crop and will plant another crop in August. Hoping for year round cherry tomatoes. These are yellow pear, sweet 100, and Brad’s Atomic. Brad’s is off the list for the next crop, just a bit weird tasting and not very prolific.

I’m still harvesting Nam Doc Mai mangoes and have pounds of mango in the freezer. Also doing rain dances. Things are looking more promising for next week.

Thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations for hosting. Follow the link for more garden tours.

In a Vase on Monday – Tropicow

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I decided a little fun was in order this Monday and selected my cow vase to contain my beguiling tropical flowers. I dodged soaking rain showers while selecting flowers then stopped to dig up and move a Heliconia in the rain. Upon returning to the house drenched and bearing cut flowers; the dog looked at me like I had lost my mind. The Heliconia doesn’t seem to have noticed its new location. Rain is predicted all week, so it is a good time to move tropical plants.

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A closer cow view. The cow is wreathed in white Tropical Gardenias (Tabernaemontana divicata) accented with a pink Zinnia and a pink seedpod from Aechmea “Burgundy” Bromeliad.

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Bringing up the rear of the arrangement is the lovely fragrant “Aztec Gold” Frangipani. The lavendar spikes are from Arabian Lilac (Vitex trifolia). This doesn’t have a fragrance, though it sounds like it should. I like the purple backed leaves.

Happy Sultry Summer from South Florida!

To see more vases follow this link to Cathy’s blog RamblingintheGarden

Six on Saturday – Rainy Season Up!

The rainy season in South Florida officially starts June 1. And it has! One day early. Which is a good thing, because the garden was getting parched. I toured the garden before the rain started to fall and the typically clear blue skies were overcast – one look at radar confirmed it, water would be falling from the sky shortly. Rain Dance successful. My six images today reflect typical garden sights that start the season. To see more tours with six items of interest from the garden the world over, visit Jim at GardenRuminations

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A sure sign of a quenching rain. New growth on Mango trees. This happens when the fruit is nearly ripe. It reminds me of fall color, a rare sight in South Florida.

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Rangpur limes coming along. I fertilized all the fruit trees ahead of the rain. They are very happy.

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Wildflowers are making their presence known. This is a White mouth Day flower (Commelina erecta) I have no idea where it came from, but I enjoy these every summer.

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This is Vitex trifolia, a Chastetree that grows this far South. I planted this for butterflies. They like it. I have mixed feelings, it is difficult to prune into anything attractive. I am considering a round bush concept.

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The great indestructible Shrimp Plant (Justicia brandegeana).

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Another harbinger of the rainy season. These are either called Flaming Torch or Hurricane Bromeliads (Billbergia pyramidalis). I prefer Flaming Torch, if the light hits them just right – that is exactly what they look like.

SOS mission complete! Happy Summer!

Six on Saturday – Smells Like Summer

My garden tour started early this morning. Upon stepping outside I was greeted with South Florida’s summer signature – a wet blanket of humidity. The slimy blanket was countered by the combination of several lovely scents from new flowers inspired by the onset of the rainy season.

This is Aloysia virgata, Sweet Almond. It actually smells like almond extract. I cut this out of control shrub back to the ground during the winter and this is the second flush of growth.

What would summer be without Gardenias? This is a Tropical Gardenia (Tabernaemontana diviricata) it’s deciduous, probably 15 feet tall and blooms all summer. The scent is more prominent at night.

The Frangipani is also gearing up. This is a variety of Plumeria rubra. It is too tall to get a close up.

The straw flowers of the tropics, Aechmea rubens. Another Bromeliad I acquired somewhere.. The flowers last for months. These are easily three feet tall and will open further.

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It doesn’t get much more tropical than this. Lobsterclaw Heliconias (Heliconia rostrata). I gambled and put some Holly tone fertilizer around these. It has paid off handsomely, although no one recommends it. The ‘soil’ in my garden is sand with virtually no nutrients and nearly neutral pH.

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A much happier Alcantarea odorata Bromeliad. These are grown for their grey foliage and usually love full sun – except this variety. It’s recovering nicely with lower light. The tips of the leaves were burning before I moved it.

That’s the story from South Florida this Saturday. Visit Jim at GardenRuminations to tour gardens around the world.

Happy Gardening!

In a Vase on Monday – Propavasing

Here’s a new word for you. Propavasing. This occurs when taking cuttings to root in water, followed by finding a few clean vases around the kitchen sink, plonking and fluffing the cuttings – voila!

The cuttings:

I left some chartreuse coleus in a few pots to dress up later for winter container plantings. Not a good idea – especially when combined with leftover moldy zinnias I let go to seed, hoping for some more hot pink/orange flowers next year. The seeds aren’t quite made yet, but the chartreuse coleus is definitely done. Hence the cuttings.

The vining plants are Turkeytangle Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora). I have been propagating these and creating a lawn of curated weeds in the front garden. I am very happy with my ‘lawn’ and the butterflies are loving it. TTFF hosts three different types of local butterflies.

The flowers:

Orange tubular flowers are Firebush (Hamelia patens); red and yellow flowers are ‘Lady Di’ Heliconias (Heliconia psittacorum); white flowers are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea).

It’s still summer here. The fall colors are not making me feel cooler.

Visit Cathy at RamblingintheGarden for a whirlwind garden tour via vases.

In a Vase on Monday – Sage Thoughts

If wisdom is being sought from my vase, it is time to look elsewhere. The sage here is Salvia, I noticed its wonderful sage herbal scent as I was cutting this bunch to fill a crystal pitcher. The crystal pitcher is a wedding gift. I would hazard a guess Tiffany’s would recommend its use to serve orange juice for Mimosas at a fancy brunch — not serving as a receptacle for a native bunch. The native wildflowers in my garden are flourishing from abundant rain in the past weeks. I picked all native wildflowers today.

Closer views:

Red and pink spikes are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) these reseed prolifically and are everywhere. Cutting the flowers saves me some seedling removal chores. The same goes for the white daisies, Bidens alba, incredibly prolific – the pollinators love them so much I almost hate to cut them.

The airy plant in the foreground is native Witchgrass (Dichantthelium spp). These are small grasses that pop up in the garden. They are reminiscent of Panicum. They are not too aggressive so I leave them be.

I’m dreaming of a cold front, realistically, we are a month out from that first delightfully cool day. One can dream. Pop over to Cathy’s blog to view some more vaseage…

Six on Saturday – Mad Shrubbery

The title sounds like a Monty Python skit! It’s not. I walked into the garden this morning and realized I had become accustomed to the wild, colorful shrubs common in South Florida. I decided to share a few. To see more SOS garden posts follow this link to Jim’s blog.

The larger, very colorful shrub is ‘Piecrust’ Croton (Codiaeum variegatum). The edges of the leaves look like a crimped pie crust. The flowering shrub in the foreground is Dwarf Red Ixora, butterflies love this plant and it blooms frequently to the point I almost get tired of it. Almost.

A stalwart shrub in the garden, Thyrallis (Galphimia glauca). I have wondered what Thyrallis means, it seems such a strange thing to call a plant. The only reference I could find said it is Greek for wick. Further confusing me. It is a bulletproof shrub in my garden, living in an unirrigated area and living off of mostly rainwater. It blooms late summer to fall.

This is a Spinach Tree, also called Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) A tree full of spinach! Only in South Florida. Actually, it is from Mexico and a tropical vegetable. It is poisonous unless you know how to cook it. I am told it tastes like spinach and reacts badly (toxic badly) with copper bottomed pans (like I use) so I have never tried it. I planted it for butterflies and they love the flowers.

Another Croton. This one is called ‘Mammey’ and is reliably dwarf at about three feet. Making it great for foundation planting. I have seen this planted in front of a house painted orange. It was a bit much.

The very tasteful ‘Java White’ Copperleaf (Acalphya wilkesiana) backdrop for my concrete greyhound. This shrub grows like mad. I would estimate I cut about eight feet a year off. How tall it would get without pruning is anyone’s guess.

Last, but not least, the ‘no gardening’ zone next to my compost heap. Ironically, probably the prettiest grouping of reseeded Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) in the garden.

That’s all from my garden this Saturday. Happy Gardening !!!

In a Vase on Monday – Summer’s Last Hurrah

It’s Labor Day, the holiday weekend that marks the end of summer. The plants in my garden are feeling the cumulative effects of summer and slowing down. The zinnias I have enjoyed cutting all summer are very capably catching all the fungal organisms Florida has to offer and displaying them on their foliage. The flowers are visibly smaller. It’s time for removal and renewal. The good news! All the seeds are on sale – the bad news, not everything I would like is available. I am making do by trying some new things and thankful I thought ahead a little and bought my favorite tomato seeds. Last year I had weird tomatoes due to poor timing. The tomatoes were good, just sort of oddly gigantic cherry sized fruit that was not quite red.

What’s in the vase:

Multi colored flowers at bottom of image are ‘Zin Master’ Zinnias; white daisies are Bidens alba; purple spikes are Arabian Lilac (Vitex trifolia) ; pink and white flowers are Vinca (Vinca rosea).

Yellow spikes are Thyrallis (Galpinia glauca); red, white and peach spikes are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea). The vase is a thrift store find.

There! A full color display of the summer dregs from my garden. Not bad, all things considered.

For a full late summer garden tour via vases follow this link to visit Cathy’s blog.

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!!