Category Archives: treasure coast gardening

Piecrust Croton and Friends

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Piecrust Croton

I have been reworking  the design of my front yard because the access point for the septic tank was in a lawn area and actually needed access. What this really means is once a year a 3 foot circle in the lawn  is dug up and destroyed to clean the (ewww, yes) septic tank filter. The joys of country living. I am certain I did not know septic tanks had filters prior to moving to Florida. I also realized I would like to have a pathway to the side.

For many years I have advised my clients to live in their houses for a while to see how they move around the property as sometimes a good guess just really doesn’t do the trick. The upshot is I did not take my own advice and I like to travel to my side garden (ah, future garden) more than I thought I would. Design that originates with how you live in a place is always a good plan. This may be Plan B as I did Plan A. Who knew St. Augustinegrass wouldn’t be happy over a septic tank. Oh, well. I am liking the new bed thus far.

A nod to my husbands pie making skills was the purchase of a Piecrust Croton, a multi colored tropical shrub that hails from the South Pacific. These shrubs are easy to grow and ubiquitous in South Florida. There are a few stalwart standby varieties that are common, but of course I love the weird stuff.

Here are the standard varieties:

Mammey Croton
Petra and Gold Dust Croton

At the top of the post is the foliage of the Piecrust – it looks like, you guessed it, Piecrust!  The rest, clicking on the picture will give the name. Being the plant freak that I am, I couldn’t resist photographing several more interesting varieties:

Stoplight Croton
Brazil Croton
Eleanor Roosevelt and Petra Croton
Sloppy Painter Croton

I  love all of these, but I think Stoplight might be the next Croton purchase on my Croton bucket list. How many people have a Croton bucket list?

Yes, the beds are getting bigger. The good news is I probably have a quarter acre left!!

Back to the inspiration for all of this, the piecrust. Here are a few of my husbands pies:

I think these merit a celebratory Croton in the front yard.

Speaking of celebratory, Happy New Year to all.

Ahh October

While it seems winter is bearing down on the Northern Hemisphere, things are looking up here in South Florida. The oppressive heat is abating and I have been madly renovating my screen porch furniture in preparation for our gardening season. All new cushion covers and some new (to me) vintage Rattan furniture for lounging. Temperatures are hovering in the 80’s (Fahrenheit, Centigrade confounds me) so it is becoming very pleasant.

I am always looking for signs of Fall here and the pickings aren’t as slim as I once thought. It is your perception that must change. I associate the Royal Ponciana tree with the beginning of Summer.  Their cousin of a different genus, Dwarf or Cuban Ponciana start blooming in earnest in October. The harbinger of Fall:

Dwarf Ponciana Caesalpinia pulcherrima

Dwarf Ponciana
Caesalpinia pulcherrima

These trees are smaller than but similar to the Royal Poinciana, and varieties are available with yellow and coral flowers as well as the red mixed which is most commonly seen. Other things I am now considering fall color are certain Bromeliad flowers (Aechmea blanchetiana) and Bird of Paradise. The tropical Golden Rain Tree (Koelrueteria bipinnatus) is just starting to flower here. In December the pods on the Raintree give us a little more Autumnal feeling.

Blanchetiana Bromeliad

Blanchetiana Bromeliad

Tropic Florida does have some more typical fall fruiting plants. The Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, native to a large part of the Eastern United States is common here as well. The red berries are from our native shrub, Wild Coffee, Psychotria nervosa. I have seen Beautyberry Jelly but never consumed any and supposedly the Wild Coffee has psychedelic effects so coffee brewed with something other than the Wild Coffee berries is a better idea. Blueberry Scones and Starbucks coffee are more in my line of thinking for breakfast fare.

Beautyberry

Beautyberry

Wild Coffee

Wild Coffee

I know that if I wait long enough, I will spy a Red Maple with some dull purple Fall color, usually in December and in a swamp somewhere. But with all these other Fall beauties I am not missing the Maples – Much.