In A Vase on Monday – Fire Bolt and Disney

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Spring in South Florida, the ever subtle season. The Fire Bolt? The Firebush or Firebushes (Hamelia patens and H. patens var patens) have started to flower in the garden again. The bolt? The white flowers in the arrangement are from my salad garden bolting from the heat, specifically the Arugula. The rest of the arrangement I don’t necessarily associate with spring. Most of it may or may not flower year round. The vase/teapot is English, a Blue Willow marketing device from a long ago tea merchant. I was enchanted by the teapot in an antiques store some years ago. 20180415_121717

There are two kinds of Firebush and berries in the teapot. At the edge, the red flowers and leaves are from the native Firebush (H. patens var patens) It has not rained here very much this year (+/- 2.5 inches) so it is pretty dry and the leaves actually look burned? The berries and flowers are from its Bahamian cousin that cheerfully resides in my back garden attracting the rare hummingbird and numerous butterflies that call this area home. White flowers are from Arugula, the vegetable. Yellow daisies, Beach Sunflower (Helianthus debilis); red spikes, Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); striped foliage and flowers, New Zealand Flax (Dianella spp) and the ever present Asian Sword Fern.

The Disney part, while we live a fairly short distance from DisneyWorld in Orlando, I haven’t been up there in at least 30 years. Circumstances led us to EPCOT and the garden festival this week. Here is my favorite topiary, Lady and the Tramp:

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Followed by my favorite dogs, Charles and Alan, making the post Disney commute from boarding. Note the tired, yet happy faces.

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I always like the real ones better. Although the Lady topiary has ears made from Love Grass. For those of you not reared in the Deep South – Love Grass is used as erosion control grassing to stabilize slopes on highways. Because it holds on like love.

I love the sentiment of Love Grass, though I would be surprised if anyone at Disney was aware of this bit of horticultural trivia.

Happy Monday. Happy Spring. Happy Gardening.

In A Vase on Monday – Cheers to Spring

Apr2

I joined my husband on a short road trip this week (about 80 miles north). Along the way, I noted green buds on trees and the first flowers on roses climbing fences as we drove through Melbourne, Florida. Signs are more evident of spring further north as we have few deciduous trees and roses are a long forgotten dream in my garden.

What is a harbinger of spring in South Florida? The Hong Kong Orchid trees and Winter Starburst Clerodendrum are two of my top picks. I have featured the Orchid tree flowers a few times this spring and killed every Clerodendrum I so much as looked at…

Hong Kong Orchid Flower

What’s toasting spring in my garden:

Front and center, the Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet); in purple, Mexican Sage (Salvia luecanthum); in blue, our native Porterweed; Asian Sword Ferns for greenery and some bits of a Purple Spike Dracaena along with the foliage from a Solar Sunrise Coleus. The white spikes are from a recent addition to my garden, Sweet Almond (Aloysia virgata) native to Argentina reportedly flowering year round with the scent of honey accompanying the flowers. I have planted this beside our screened porch for fragrance and hopefully butterflies and pollinators.

The vase:

The vase is actually one half of a pair of wine glasses I painted to go with my Portmerion Botanic Garden china at a fund raising event hosted by my longtime friend Diane. In respect of the length of our friendship, I have ceased using the term ‘old friend’. Diane raises funds to provide college scholarships for kids with Tourette’s syndrome. A great cause, the foundation was started in honor of her daughter, Kelsey. For more information, here is the link: https://www.dollars4ticscholars.org/

The glass not filled with flowers from my garden will be filled with wine to toast spring.

Cheers!

In A Purse on Monday

Mar5

After breakfast on Saturday morning I discovered I was completely out of cereal. This meant a trip to the detestable grocery store. During winter, the population of South Florida doubles and the grocery stores are filled with sunburned people in inappropriate attire blocking access to all the food while gaping at the selection. This becomes tiresome after a few months. It is hard to decide which is worse, the attire, the people, or the gaping.

That said, feeling better now. I decided to go to the grocery next to the Thrift/Charity shop and have a look around before facing the cereal dilemma. I came across this blown glass handbag/purse/pocketbook and bought it immediately. Being quite cheered up by my new vase, I survived the grocery endeavor with style and, having purchased cereal, could once again eat breakfast.

I am please to report the Cactus Zinnias attained some height after being cut back and fertilized. Other components of the vase include: in orange and the top are Firebush (Hamelia patens); in orange and the bottom of the arrangement, Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera); lighter purple flowers are Purple Verbena (Verbena spp.); darker blue are our Native Porterweed. The ferns are Asian Sword Ferns. There are a few native Gallardia (Gallardia pulchella) at the base.

Updating my continuing saga of the Potager, I have added two Southern Highbush Blueberries, the variety ‘Sunshine Blue’ is purported to produce fruit with 145 hours of temperatures below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. I think that will work. Strangely enough, these shrubs have set fruit since they have been in the garden. I may have four blueberries this summer! My Thai Dessert Mangoes are setting fruit as well, here they are:

Eventually the berries will drop off to two or three Mangoes and the flower will turn upside down from the weight of the fruit. Hoping for a Mango with Four Blueberry Pie this summer.

In A Vase on Monday – Hairy Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Feb19

On this lovely sunny Sunday morning, I spent time in my garden, repotting annuals in some of my clay containers, completed the planting of my new Mango tree, and then searched for flowers for IAVOM. Some of the Zinnias were leaning a bit so I decided to cut them and add flowers from the native pollinator garden near the vegetables in the Potager garden. The silverplate goblet, a remnant from my mother’s household, was selected as the vase for this week.

The Zinnias have not grown more than 8 inches tall and I have cut them with short stems to see if the plants would grow taller. This made the plants branch out and produce more shorter stemmed flowers – which works well with the goblet. I cut the leaning flowers, puzzled, until I realized fire ants had moved into the Zinnia flowers – weighting them down with the beginnings of an imported sand nest. I shook them off quickly and remain unscathed despite my ant encounter.

Joining the Zinnias from the native pollinator garden are in purple, a Mexican Sage (Salvia leucanthemum) not native but the bees love it. In blue with long green stems, our native Porterweed; in peach, native Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) and in orange and red, the native Gallardias (Gallardia pulchella). The herb Dill has already started to go to seed (planted for me and the butterflies to eat)- so there is a Dill flower at the top.

The native pollinator garden was started to attract the fantastic butterflies we have in Florida, an added bonus, and unconsidered by the gardener – the native pollinators will help keep the bad bugs out of the nearby Potager. And it works, I have not sprayed the first bug in the garden and only recently threw some tomatoes away that tomato worms had gotten into.

Here is the work in progress Potager, behind is the native pollinator garden. I think I cut most of the flowers off for the vase. I am planting the dwarf Mango and fruit trees where I am standing, hopefully considering the sun angles properly! I planted the last of the vegetable seeds for the season, Zucchini, pole beans, radishes and green onions about a week ago. We should have Salads and green vegetables until May and then the garden will be put to sleep for the summer. Here is my garden to table lunch salad, mostly grown by me.

If you are wondering about the Hairy Potter, that would be me. I am well known for my abundant tresses – causing more than one exhausted hairdresser to ask after cutting my hair “Do I really have to dry it”.

Happy Gardening.

In A Vase on Monday – Crystal Blue Persuasion

Jan29

Last week our fearless hostess, Cathy from ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com posted about Blue, an album by Joni Mitchell, relating the album to her vase. My In A Vase on Monday post had some crystals from my father, the geology professor. This made me remember the song, Crystal Blue Persuasion, by Tommy James and The Shondells. The song never made any sense to me, but it is pretty catchy and I had some blue crystals and some flowers I have been trying to persuade to flower.

The flowers I have been trying to persuade are in a blue glass inherited from my in laws. This is my second attempt at Cactus Zinnias, they seem to top out about 7 inches, cute but I would like them to be taller. The Mexican Sage (Salvia leucathemum) is listless in the garden, reluctantly sending up a puny purple flower. The purple Verbena is a native beach plant, supposedly rare. I bought this at a native plant sale last year – I passed by it a couple of weeks ago, indiscriminately chopped it back and was rewarded with two flowers. I think all need more heat or longer day length

The crystals are from my father. I think they are soapstone, blue tourmaline and pyrite.

Feeling the need for more flowers, I assembled another vase. I would entitle this one: Junk That Came Up in My Garden, because, truth be told – that is exactly what it is, and, dang, -it is pretty. And in a crystal blue, uh, container.

What we have here- the flowers:in yellow, Beach Sunflowers (Helianthus debilis); in white Bidens alba, in purple, the uber weed, Florida Tasselflower-my opinion (exclusively) as botanists are contemplating something about this plant. the peach pink flowers – something that came up from the native Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea): and the mystical Wireweed, another volunteer.

Here are both vases:

And the song:

Lyrics

Look over yonder
What do you see?
The sun is a’rising
Most definitely

A new day is coming, ooh, ooh
People are changing
Ain’t it beautiful, ooh, ooh
Crystal blue persuasion

Better get ready to see the light
Love, love is the answer, ooh, ooh
And that’s all right

So don’t you give up now, ooh, ooh
So easy to find
Just look to your soul
And open your mind

Crystal blue persuasion, mmm, mmm
It’s a new vibration
Crystal blue persuasion
Crystal, blue persuasion

Maybe tomorrow
When he looks down
On every green field, ooh, ooh
And every town
All of his children
And every nation
They’ll be peace and good brotherhood

Crystal blue persuasion, yeah
Crystal blue persuasion, aha
Crystal blue persuasion, aha
Crystal blue persuasion, aha

Songwriters: Eddie Morley Gray / Mike Vale / Tommy James

Hmmmm

Happy Gardening and Happy Monday.

The Shrub Queen

Garden Thoughts from Florida's Treasure Coast

Category Archives: so fla

In A Vase on Monday – Fire Bolt and Disney

In A Vase on Monday – Cheers to Spring

In A Purse on Monday

In A Vase on Monday – Hairy Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

In A Vase on Monday – Crystal Blue Persuasion

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