Category Archives: treasure coast gardening

In a Vase on Monday – Fall Outside the Box

As I was searching the garden for flowers to cut, I started thinking outside the box. Well, I inhabit the area outside the box anyway and it dawned on me that there is fall color in South Florida. It is just not the typical seasonal color changes – it’s the flowers and berries! Such a relief after all these years of feeling deprived of fall color.

With a fresh perspective, I snipped a fall vase and plonked the flowers into a mason jar. Here are some closer views.

Yellow flowers are Beach Sunflowers (Helianthus debilis); orange tubular flowers and berries are Firebush (Hamelia patens); white flowers are ‘White Flame’ Salvia.

Red spike flowers are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); red and yellow flowers are Parrotflowers (Heliconia psittacorum ‘Lady Di’.

Feeling ever so autumnal now..

To find more vases for viewing visit Cathy at this link – RamblingintheGarden.

Six on Saturday – Changes

Fall brings changes to my garden. Cooler weather is the best! It seems odd to me that the more tropical plants (like Bromeliads) start to reproduce like mad and it is time to thin and move them around. I am not sure why I think they should like the rainy, steamy weather better. Maybe that is why I enjoy them so much.

To see more changes in SOS gardens follow this link GardenRuminations to Jim’s blog.

October inspires the ‘Candy’ Portea Bromeliads to flower. This is just the beginning. These get longer and have fat pink stems.

I am trying to decide if I love this or not. These Purple Queen (Transcandentia pallida) pop up in the Bromeliads and add a little color – or does it look unkempt? A dilemma.

A bit more typical fall scene, the Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is starting to show off.

An unusual post hurricane occurrence. The Papaya tree knocked down by the wind is still alive. I think rabbits are eating the leaves. I am wondering if I can prop this up to make an easy to pick Papaya tree. The fruit is usually at least 8 or 10 feet off the ground.

The Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa). A native wildflower makes its seasonal appearance.

Another change in my garden I am sad to share. Fiona the Greyhound was lost to bone cancer this week. She was only seven and diagnosed in late August. I thought we would have more time with her. Here she is looking for bees to munch on in better days.

Six on Saturday – Milton was Here

It’s a sunny blue sky Saturday morning in South Florida. Two days ago, it was a totally different story. Late Wednesday afternoon, Hurricane Milton made his presence known by dropping several tornadoes a little too close to my house. If you have seen the Spanish Lakes damage images in the media, that is about 15 miles from my house. The tornadoes were spawned by an outer band of the storm as it was making its way towards landfall. Milton eventually passed about 100 miles north leaving only minor damage in the garden, frayed nerves, sore backs (We had put up our hurricane shutters in a rush) and 24 hours without power.

This garden update is for Gill, from Off the Edge Gardening blog, who always checks in after a storm in Florida. It warms my heart to get these checks. Thank you, Gill.

To visit more gardens on Saturday morning, that are entirely hurricane free, visit Jim at Garden Ruminations.

My first ever video – the outer band going through the garden THE VIDEO

My Papaya tree was smashed by a falling branch. I am going to cut it off and see what happens.

The solitary Avocado hung on through the storm. The foliage on this tree looks good so far.

Rangpur limes are still intact and ripening. A few were lost to the wind.

The Nam Doc Mai Mango had most of its interior leaves blown off.

Miss Alice Bougainvillea was blown off her support. She is reclining in the shrubbery and shall be righted soon. The support blew over with her – it’s hogwire that hooks over the brown post at the top of the wall.

Amazingly, within hours of the storm passing, the butterflies were back out. A little worse for wear, like us.

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.

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 – Summer is Back

After a short lived, but meaningful, cool front respite the humidity and heat has bounced back in the form of heat advisories. The heat has produced a tremendous amount of rain. The garden has vacuumed up the copious water and is producing some nice flowers for a celebration of precipitation. To see some likely cooler gardens celebrating a different seasonal vibe follow the link to Jim’s blog –GardenRuminations

After a dry spell rest, the Sweet Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata) grew about five feet and is flowering prolifically. I will need to cut it back after it slows down. This is planted by my screen porch so I enjoy the fragrance and the bees stay outside.

The Sunshine Mimosa (Mimosa strigillosa) has escaped it’s boundaries and is growing in the shell walkway.

Dendrobium orchids are establishing in the crotch of the Cuban Avocado tree. Note the fat roots.

I have been trying to get this Coral Vine (Antigonon leptopus) to grow up the wood fence for years! I mean Years! Finally it has. These have a reputation of being hard to get rid of – not in my garden.

Blue Porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) it may wane, but always bounces back with rain.

I have been planting a little winter color. Seeds of Gallardia, Rudbeckia and Forget Me Nots went directly into the garden to take advantage of the rain. Fingers crossed, I have never had any luck with Rudbeckia. The new plant is a Gill-inspired purchase from last week. A Blue Eye Fuchsia. I tried Fuchsia last year and it flowered once and promptly fried. It is still too hot to put it outside, though I think I need to pot it up.

That is all from my garden this week. Here’s to Happy Gardening and cooler days.

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 – Formations

Tropical Depression Four formed over Cuba this week, my phone tells me it is 365 miles away. I could feel the wind and caught the scent of the ocean in the air first thing this morning. The storm is headed for the West coast of Florida, so here on the East coast we should get ‘some rain’. It is already pouring down and the weather guessers are madly issuing proclamations. A social media search for the Weather Channel host is usually the best indicator of where the storm will hit. The Jim Cantore effect. I haven’t seen him yet.

I think a dragonfruit formed in my garden this week. This is much more exciting than a tropical storm. For more SOS garden tours, follow this link to Jim’s blog.

The dragonfruit bud. These are a night blooming cactus native to Central America. They are also called Pitaya. This one has been sort of languishing in the garden for several years. Last year I had one flower and no fruit. This year, three flowers and perhaps one fruit!

The flower. These last for one night and must be viewed early in the morning.

The (fingers crossed) fruit. The others turned completely yellow or brown.

One that didn’t make it.

More local avocados:

I’m still enjoying zinnias daily. This red one is a favorite.

Happy Saturday gardening to all!

In a Vase on Monday – BananaRama

A simple summertime vase of tropical flowers. Step back and it looks like bunches of bananas. Or, depending on your flight of fancy, a flock of parrots. This is a mason jar filled with Heliconia psittacorum, common name, Parrotflowers. A favorite perennial in tropical gardens, these can run rampant when in their happy place – at my house beside the front porch suits them perfectly.

A closer view of the Heliconias accented with their own foliage. I covered the rim of the mason jar with a band of varigated bromeliad foliage – channeling my mother “because it just looked tacky.”

That’s all from the doldrums of summer dog days in South Florida. To view more temperate vases follow this link to Cathy’s garden.

Happy Gardening!

Six on Saturday – Discoveries

My Saturday morning garden tours always bring a few surprises, happy and sad. I discovered my first Avocado! And I missed some bromeliad flowers. Oops. I found a few other things along the way to share with my fellow SOSers. Follow this link GardenRuminations to visit Jim’s blog for a Saturday morning world garden tour.

TaDa, the avocado. This is a Cuban or Catalina Avocado, a pebble textured, green skinned avocado. It should be the size and shape of a football (the American kind) when ripe towards the end of the year. Fingers crossed I get to eat it.. A friend grew this from seed and bought the seedling to me in 2016 – it takes a while to get fruit. A rare self pollinating, true to seed avocado, these are native to Cuba.

These are summer Florida avocados my neighbor picked at a friend’s house. This type is the result of many crosses between Central American avocados and available in several skin colors. The black ones are especially good. Guacamole is in my future. Food forests do exist!

Fruit on the White Geiger tree, These eventually turn white and are enjoyed by wildlife. Supposedly edible, but not tasty.

Another invasive lizard. The red headed Agama. UGH.

The Bridal Bouquet Plumeria (Plumeria pudica) hedge is flowering.

One of the most reliable summer flowering perennials in my garden. The Firecracker plant (Russelia equisetiformis)

That’s all from South Florida. Rain dances shall begin shortly.