Category Archives: gardening

In a Vase on Monday – Brown Eyed Girl

One of the new plants I am trialing may be a new favorite, the Brown Eyed Girl Helianthus. I have had this plant for a little over a week and have already cut enough flowers for 3 vases. Officially called the SunBelievable Brown Eyed Girl Helianthus, the marketing spiel states it will produce a thousand flowers over the summer, it is a warm season annual everywhere. It will be interesting how long it will last in South Florida. August triumphs over many things in the garden. Though I can believe it will produce a thousand flowers.

The weather is wobbling between spring and summer already, but fortunately the humidity is still lurking in the Atlantic Ocean. I have finally figured out what to do with all the new plants and will hopefully get them settled in before the inevitable summer heat.

A closer view:

Brown Eyed Girl is stealing the show. The three new Salvias are the back up singers. I am hoping they will all be garden stars. The Salvias are: in white, ‘White Flame’; in red, ‘Roman Red’; in blue, Black in Bloom. The foliage is ‘Lagoon’ Rosemary and Varigated Flax Lily (Dianella tasmanica ‘Varigata’).

That is all from South Florida this Monday. Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com, to see more vases follow the link.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Green

I am joining the SOS crowd this Saturday, watching for any signs of ripening fruit and not finding any. It is all green. The tomatoes are especially frustrating- green for weeks, and it hasn’t been cold. Temperatures were in the high 80’s (31 C) yesterday, so maybe the intermittent heat is slowing them down?

All tomatoes I have planted are red, yellow or purple when ripe. Yet they all look like this now and there are a lot of them. Grrr.

Red Bell Peppers, resolutely green. I have high hopes for these, when they turn red.

Craspedia or Woolyheads. This should be yellow flowers, yet they are slammed shut.

Tiny miniature pineapples. Too cute to be mad at.

Glenn Mangoes, fruit set and growing.

Thai Dessert Mangoes, Nam Doc Mai, setting fruit.

Well, sooner or later I will be eating Mango Salsa!

That is it from South Florida. To see more SOS posts, visit Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Snap!

This is a first from my South Florida garden; featuring stalwarts of late spring further north – Snapdragons and Dianthus. I thought these would grow here but figuring out when can be a bit of a trial and error situation. Pinder’s, a local nursery, has concentrated on growing flowers to cut this year and gifted me some plants to trial for vases this weekend. The first order of business was to cut the Snaps and Dianthus; both are the tallest versions I have seen around here. The Dianthus is called ‘Giant’ and the Snap looks like ‘Tetra Mix’ to me, but I am not sure. Winter is rapidly turning into summer here as temperatures are forecast to rise into the mid 80s F (29 C) this week, so I am going to enjoy this floral bounty while I can.

A closer view:

This arrangement smells as good as it looks. The white spike is a ‘White Flame’ Salvia, new to me and sweetly fragrant. I am looking forward to seeing how it performs in the garden. The Dianthus has a light clove fragrance. Background greenery is the native (read weed) Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) The vase was a sample sale find from years ago.

I am hoping to get into the garden and plant these new vase worthy plants then watch and cut them through the seasons. More new flowers will be coming soon.

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

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Trials

It is a beautiful sunny Saturday in my South Florida garden. Yesterday I received a wonderful gift from my favorite local nursery, Pinder’s. Several new (to me, anyway) varieties of Salvia and some interesting cut flower plants to trial in my garden and use to make vases.

I am joining Jim and the SOS gang to share what is going on in our gardens. Follow the link gardenruminations.co.uk to see more garden tours from bloggers around the world.

Salvias:

My love affair with Salvias continue:

Black and Bloom Salvia. This is supposed to grow 3 feet tall and wide. I hope it does.

Roman Red Salvia. This one has a very herbal, sage fragrance. The butterflies came out to see the new plant as soon as I took it out of the car. Another good sized Salvia, 24 ” height and spread.

White Flame Salvia, this one has a sweet fragrance and is almost grey. It will be a wonderful accent for flower arrangements.

A new sunflower to cut, Brown Eyed Girl. I am interested to see how it grows, theory is a mounding mass rather than a tall stick. This one will have to live in a container in my garden.

A surprise to me. Giant Dianthus. It is 18-24 inches tall and the biggest Dianthus I have ever seen. I am not sure what these will do in my garden. I suspect it will be too hot shortly for Dianthus. I cut some of this and it has a wonderful classic clove fragrance.

Craspedia globosa, perhaps the answer to the lack of Alliums in South Florida. These produce bright yellow balls that are long stemmed, good cutting and drying flowers. I am not quite sure where to put this, but I like the silvery foliage. The instructions on line say well drained clay?! I think that the nurseryman speak for take your chances.

That is my Six for this Saturday. I am looking forward to taking my ramble around the world this afternoon visiting other gardens.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Deadheading for Presidents

The third Monday in February is a federal holiday honoring former Presidents of the United States. It began as a holiday to honor George Washington’s birthday (the first President) on February 22 (or 11th depending on what calendar you use). Congress changed the date to make three day holiday weekends in the late 1960s, ensuring it would never fall on Washington’s actual birthday. Different states call the holiday by different names, so there is no correct spelling. I never knew it was such a confusing holiday until I read up on it. Though I do remember when it was celebrated on February 22nd.

The warm up in weather and a nice rain prompted my Salvias to start flowering. These plants do so much better if deadheaded, so I decided to cut a red, white and blue vase for George Washington. Deadheading for President’s Day.

The vase is a crystal rose bowl that belonged to my mother. It is one of those things I keep in such a safe place that I forget about it. It has never held a rose in Florida.

The details:

Red Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus penduliflorus) are napping over the edge of the vase.

Here is the bowl with Salvias on the side. In blue, ‘Mystic Spires’ Salvia; in white, Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) – this is a true to seed white flowering Tropical Red Salvia that appeared in my garden. It is magnificently hardy, requires little water and flowers non-stop. A favorite, I must name it after myself. The red spike flowers are from Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformus), These are sort of a lanky, rambling perennial, but indestructible. A few sprigs of Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) are tucked into the back.

As always, thank you to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this habit forming meme. Visit here to see vases from gardeners around the world.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Zinnias for Cupid

Valentine’s Day is happening this week and my usual reaction is a pink or red vase. I finally collected a full vase of Zinnias and decided Cupid wouldn’t mind some colors other than pink. One of Zinnias flower meanings is lasting affection, I think that works for Valentine’s Day. The Envy Zinnias in here might be more difficult to explain.

The warmer weather over the past few weeks has produced some green tomatoes and Zinnias. Bell peppers are setting buds and the cool season herbs are being devoured (by humans). The Sunflowers are in bud and I am earnestly watching the Ranunculus, having never seen any before, waiting breathlessly to see a flower, or a bud. They look like weird giant parsley right now. I just stuffed a package of “Alaska” Nasturtium seeds into the pots and edges of beds around my front porch. It may be too late to plant the seeds, I usually do it in December.

The details:

The vase, inherited from my mother, was made by the Ute tribe in the Southwestern US. The flowers are Zinnias, grown from seed started in December and nurtured through two unusual cold snaps. Cactus mix in pink and Envy in green. The purple foliage is from an old “Purple Prince” Alternanthera, which has been languishing in a pot for a couple of years. I had just decided to get rid of it and changed my mind to add it to the vase. Maybe I will just start some new cuttings and change the planting in the pot. Decisions, decisions.

Photo by Blue Moon on Pexels.com

Maybe this is Cupid contemplating the Zinnias. Or a garden cherub?

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

Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Gardening!!!!

Six on Saturday – Future Fruits & Feathered Friends

It is an overcast, cool and breezy Saturday in South Florida. The raptors (Hawks, Eagles or Turkey Vultures) are flying lazy circles over my garden. I can’t tell which one unless they slow down. The Eagles are usually solitary, but the Vultures and Hawks will fly with friends. There were two overhead this morning. They are difficult to catch with the camera and the quality of the image reflects that, but it also captures the mood of the day here.

I am finally seeing some flower action in the garden. My first Zinnia bloomed this week. Surprisingly pink. Cactus Zinnias are my favorite.

Cherry tomatoes started flowering this week. I think this must be the Lost Marbles variety, which is new to me and seems to be the first to flower in both groups of tomatoes. I am a lazy labeler, waiting for the fruits to tell what kind of tomato they are. Hopefully it will set fruit. It has been cool enough for tomatoes not to set fruit this week.

Two out of three of the Mango trees sent up buds this week. They look promising, although I have found with these trees looks can be deceiving. Last year, a bit earlier, the trees started to flower and as soon the flowers were open it became very windy and only one fruit was produced from all those flowers. Mangoes are wind pollinated and if it is too windy all the pollen gets blown away and there is little fruit. God is in the details, as always. Below is a Condo Mango “Pickering”. This is a type of Mango selected to be grown on the porch of a Condo and kept under six feet tall in a container. The fruit is yummy, I am hoping for a good harvest this year.

This is a Glenn Mango, a bigger tree topping out at 30 feet. Another tasty one. And I have had two whole fruits! We bought this in honor of my late Father in Law, Glenn, who would have loved the fruit. The flowers do look very different. My third Mango tree is a Nam Doc Mai, a Thai variety known for flowering up to four times a year. This one is not flowering at all!

Another far away bird picture, but typical of my garden. I looked out the window and thought “who put a white pillowcase in the front yard?” Then realized it was a White Heron. These are spectacular birds, about four feet tall, they pass through fairly regularly eating insects and grubs. Fiona the greyhound does not know what to think of them as they are taller than she is.

That completes my Six from South Florida this Saturday. To visit more gardens via SOS follow the link http://gardenruminations.uk.com and say hello to our host, Jim.

Happy Gardening!!!

In a Vase on Monday – Herbs and Succulents

I was perusing my front porch recently, noting I have managed to collect a large number of succulents, and decided the array of colors and textures would be fun to put together in a Monday vase. I have a gardening friend who loves succulents and we are bad influences on each other when we visit our favorite local nursery; Pinders https://pindersnursery.com/ to shop the amazing selection of succulents.

The succulents are in need of trim, and while I certainly don’t need anymore I will always take more! I just have to figure out where to put them. These cuttings will be spread around the garden..somewhere. I think I will try a few more in the ground, if the so called soil in my garden is anything – it is very well drained and will hopefully support these plants.

Time for close-ups:

The grey rosettes are Graptosedum; that is all I know. Orange flowers are from the Soap Aloe (Aloe saponaria), which seems to flower quarterly on its own schedule. Yellow green foliage is from a Senecio that flowers with yellow daisies followed by dandelion like seedheads.

The herbs in the arrangement are in the back – Blue Lagoon Rosemary, flowers are deep blue and it lends a wonderful flavor to anything it is added to, even Fiona the greyhound appreciates it in her food. The arrangement has a nice herbal scent I will enjoy passing by.

That is all from South Florida this week. Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Fresh as a …

A Beach Daisy.

South Florida is experiencing another cold spell. I have been covering summer (ha!) vegetables and flowers at night due to temperatures hovering in the high 30s (F). One more night of cold seems to be on tap, followed by a warm up. The more tropical plants are sulking and browning, leafy plants like Heliconias look particularly unhappy.

Some of the native plants are looking, well, fresh as a daisy. I don’t recall the Beach Daisies (in yellow) ever looking so good in January. They usually flower madly during the summer, get moldy, and are asked to leave the garden (by the wheelbarrow load) due to their scraggly appearance. The new year seems to be presenting new gardening challenges. I will cover my plants one more night and hope for some zinnias in the coming weeks. There are buds!

The cast of characters:

Daisies first! In yellow, Beach Daisies (Helianthus debilis); in white, Bidens alba, sometimes called Spanish Needles; blue spikes, Mystic Spires Salvia; white and coral spikes, another happy native, Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); finer textured white spikes, Sweet Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata).

Fluffy flowers and needle like foliage are from Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris). The vase was left to me by my mother, made by the Ute Indians in the Southwestern US.

The happy Beach Daisies and Tropical Red Salvia in the garden:

I am hoping for warmer days here, but am grateful for the happy flowers in the garden. Thanks to Cathy for hosting this week and every week! To see more vases, visit http://www.ramblinginthgarden.wordpress.com.

Six on Saturday – Cool Exotics

It’s another cool Saturday morning in South Florida. A bit windy and the temperature is hovering around 40 degrees F (4 C). I finally got the nerve to go out and check on my tomatoes and pepper plants, left uncovered overnight. They look shivery. A few of the less cold tolerant plants were invited indoors last night. I have found basil and zinnia seedlings do not enjoy being too cool. I am joining Jim and the SOS gang to share what cool exotics are currently in color in my garden. To see more SOS posts, visit http://www.gardenruminations.uk.co.

The flower of the Candy Portea Bromeliad. This is a medium sized Bromeliad with very sharp foliage that reliably flowers every winter in nearly full shade. I think it started showing color in late November.

Another Bromeliad – McWilliamsii Neoregelia, also called Blushing Bromeliad. These show red coloration during the winter and have green mottled foliage during warm weather. They are 2 – 3 feet wide and are quite showy. Below is the flower, reminiscent of a rosebud.

The China Hat (Holmskioldia sanguinea) continues to flower. I like the coloration going towards chartreuse as the flower ages.

Another winter stalwart, the Quesnelia testudo Bromeliad. I have heard native Floridians call these the tulips of South Florida. I think these are a bit burned from the holiday cold weather. They are usually more purple at the tips.

Number Six today is a flowering tree. This is a White Geiger flower. Cordia boissieri is a medium sized evergreen tree with an odd branching habit that I have been puzzling over how to prune for quite a while. Tropical trees have weird twisting habits and need to be sorted. This one remains an unsorted blob. Sigh.

Here’s to warmer days in the garden!