Category Archives: theshrubqueen

Six on Saturday – Life Cycles

Spring in South Florida brings changes to the garden. It took me a while to figure out what was going on and I am still observing the action.This Saturday morning I noted my fruit trees growing and changing and the ever fascinating (to me) Bromeliads. To see more spring (and maybe fall!) garden pictures, visit Jim at GardenRuminations

O’ Rourke bromeliad flower. These start out very pale pink and are now gaining a deeper color. The flower stalks came up at the end of January. I am not sure how long they last.

Pickering Mangoes starting to color up. These flowered prolifically and set a lot of fruit. I am left wondering what happened to it. There are maybe 10 or 12 left on the tree. Did the evil Agama Lizards eat it?? A garden mystery.

Gallardia pulchella, once considered native but its status was rescinded. For some reason, these only grow in the shell walkway.

The life cycle of the Jill Neoregelia bromeliad. These are stoloniferous. The top picture is the mother plant at the end of the cycle, turning deep red and flowering. This plant will soon die and I will twist its dried up remains off the stolons. The bottom photo is what Jill looks like most of its life.

Blushing Bromeliads (Neoregelia carolinae) doing the same dance. New pups are visible on the right side of the picture replacing the mother plant and spreading. These are considered ground cover bromeliads.

The first ‘Miss Alice’ Bougainvillea flower of the year. Miss Alice was knocked off her trellis by one of the hurricanes last year and remained naked until just now. I was beginning to wonder if she would come back, but here she is! It is hard to keep a Bougainvillea down.

That is all from my garden this beautiful Saturday morning.. Happy Spring!

Six on Saturday – Begonias and Giant Houseplants

My Saturday morning garden tour revealed a budding collection of white Begonias. I actually have more. I did not realize I liked them so much. I have also been collecting plants for some Uber tropical containers I am planting outside my low windows, so I can enjoy viewing flowers in air conditioned comfort this summer. Follow this link GardenRuminations to visit Jim, a fellow Begonia enthusiast, and see what other gardeners have found outside this Saturday.

New to the garden, a Dragonwing Begonia, white with a pink blush.

From the roadside ditches of Central America, Lotusleaf Begonia (Begonia nelumbiifolia)

A South Florida stalwart, the Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata “Alba”). There must be another color somewhere. I have never noticed a scent from these and have had them for years.

A new Ti Plant for the tropical containers. This is Cordyline fruticosa “Hot Pepper”. The containers will have charteuse Coleus, a creeping silver fern, Dragonwing Begonias and Malaysian Orchids.

The Malaysian Orchid (Medinilla myriantha). The rooted cuttings spent a week in the post to travel 70 miles. They are recovering nicely and should be sporting mad pink flowers in weeks. This is one of those wonderful plants that flower abundantly for a while and then drop dead for no apparent reason. They grow in tree tops in the South Pacific and must be spectacular in their native environs.

The giant houseplants…Snake Plants or Mother in Law’s tongues are an invasive weed in South Florida. It is virtually impossible to get rid of them without heavy equipment. These line a path to my tropical garden. I pull them out frequently to keep the path clear.

White Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia nicolai) reaches for the sky. This is about 15 feet tall and frames a view into the garden from the screened porch. These rarely bloom, the flowers are creamy white with blue accents.

That is all from my garden this Saturday. I hope everyone is enjoying spring!

In a Vase on Monday – Seeing Red

Suffice it to say there are many in the US seeing red this week. I’m leaning towards seeing a monochromatic color scheme that has a tropical Christmas spirit. Making America Garden Again?

Seizing on the garden update. This is an heirloom Amaryllis (Hippeastrum). I think it is a Red Lion. My father in law grew these every holiday and went through an incredible in the closet/out of the closet ritual to force the flowers. Once the bulbs stopped putting up with his behavior, he planted them outside and gave me a few. This one usually flowers on his birthday, which I consider a wink from the great beyond. This year it was about 10 days late. Maybe things are slow in the great beyond.

The Red Lion roars again. The bell shaped red flowers are Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformis). Palm foliage is from Dwarf Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebellini). I found the vase by the side of the road while walking the dog.

The frothy white accents flowers are Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata ‘Alba’) These are a fairly indestructible perennial for South Florida gardens. I am not sure how long this one has been around. Ten years at least and it has provided a few generations of offspring along the way.

I am hoping to see more red flowers! That’s all from my South Florida garden this Monday. Follow this link RamblingintheGarden to visit Cathy and see vases from other gardeners around the world.

In a Vase on Monday – Spring Pinks

I’m thinking my spring pinks are different from most everyone else’s?

After a fairly dry month the rain gods finally smiled on my garden and gave it a good, solid drenching. I think two inches of rain fell in a few hours. Some plants responded with flowers while the bromeliads are pushing out pups. Spring showers are inspirational and I suppose a little fertilizer increased the magic.

A close up of the Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet). These are native to East Asia, I can only imagine the fantastic rainforest they are from. They are edible and have a wonderful gingery fragrance when trimmed. Culinary ginger is better for use in cooking, this is a bit thinner in flavor.

The Shell Ginger is actually a bit late this year, though I do associate it with spring. It sometimes flowers a few times a year. So, it is a bit unpredictable and actually multi-seasonal..sounding like a gardening marketing piece here. The Gingers with solid green foliage are a bit difficult to find but flower on a regular basis. Varigated Ginger is known to flower about once a decade.

This is a miniature ornamental pineapple. I am told they are edible and may be juiced. I think about 50 would be needed to make juicing worthwhile, so I just use mine in vases.They are so cute it is difficult to resist cutting them. A friend gave me a start of this plant some years ago, now there are many in the garden. The only downside – sharp everything.

We are meeting at Cathy’s blog again this Monday to share vases. Follow this link RamblingintheGarden to join in.

In a Vase on Monday – Say it with Flowers

These days a simple blue bowl filled with sunflowers packs some political punch. This seems a bit odd to me. It also seems odd that I felt compelled to seek out the closest thing in the garden to a sunflower (actually it is a sunflower, just not one that could be found in Ukraine) The sunflowers are standing up for Ukraine and I agree with my sunflowers.

The sunflowers are Beach Sunflowers (Helianthus debilis), a groundcover reseeding annual that grows naturally on sand dunes. They love sand and are incredibly drought tolerant. They can also be overly enthusiastic and are quite fond of my revolting garden ‘soil’. I have never managed to quite pull them all out. Though I do enjoy their sunny presence in small doses in the garden.

The small blue flowers are Blue Porter weed (Stachytarpheta jamaicaensis). Chartreuse foliage is from an unnamed coleus that has been around for years. Ferny foliage is Copper Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

I really need to declare a media blackout and stay in the garden!

Happy Early Spring to all and many thanks to Cathy for hosting IAVOM for all these years. It is my favorite thing about Mondays!

To see more vases, visit Cathy at RamblingintheGarden and follow the links in the comments section.

In a Vase on Monday – Boom!

For some reason there are a lot of fiery colors in the garden. I decided to do a hot colors arrangement. I cut oranges and reds and arranged, then added a Palmetto frond, stood back and thought “that looks a bit explosive” Blowing winter back north. Ironically, the next polar vortex is not predicted to get this far south. Boom! I am perfectly happy not to experience the vortex.

What’s in the vase? A lot of things!

The orange daisies burning in the front of the vase are Mexican Flame Vine (Psuedogynoxys chenopodioides) – who thinks of these names? White star shaped flowers are Graptosedum. White Begonias are Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata)

Red bell shaped flowers are – you guessed it, Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetifolium). Chartreuse foliage is an unnamed Coleus or Plectranthus. Red foliage is Piecrust Croton (Codieum variegatum). Palmetto frond is from a volunteer, there are two that grow here and I am not sure if this is a Saw Palmetto or Dwarf Palmetto.

Well, I had a blast putting this one together. To see more vases, visit Cathy at RamblingintheGarden

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.

In a Vase on Monday – Jammin

Most Mondays I read Cathy’s blog RamblingintheGarden. As our hostess for IAVOM, she advises: Pop some flowers in a jam jar and join us. A jam jar has been loitering by my kitchen sink this weekend, so I did just that. I have a jam making snowbird neighbor who always returns with raspberry jam.

Follow the link to see more vases – perhaps another jam jar.

South Florida has been suffering a cold spell for the past week or so. It finally broke on Sunday and I went in the garden searching for color. And found some! Enough to jam pack my jar. The zinnias were a surprise. They were about half the usual size. I suppose the cold weather caused this.

What’s in the jam jar? Nothing edible. The purple spotted flowers are petunias, which make a surprisingly good cut flower. White flowers are Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata ‘alba’). Pink and orange Cactus Zinnias. The seedheads are from the Firebush (Hamelia patens). Purple spike flowers are Mona Lavendar Plectranthus.

The remaining jammers are Autumn Fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) and in red, Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetaformis).

That’s all from South Florida this Monday. I hope to get back in the garden this week.