Tag Archives: Aechmea burgundy

Six on Saturday – Garden Goodies

I am joining the group at Jim’s blog this Saturday, sharing six items of interest from our gardens. Follow the link to join the garden party GardenRuminations

This week has been wonderful weather wise. Clear blue skies, sunny, low humidity and a rain storm that quenched the thirsty plants in the garden. I have been enjoying homegrown produce, admiring fruit coming along in the trees and spying orchid flowers in the Gumbo Limbo tree.

First up, the orchid. This is a Dendrobium superbum. The fragrance was fantastic when it first opened. It has been flowering for about a week. I tied this into my Gumbo Limbo tree last spring.

Second, another mad bromeliad flower. This is from Aechmea ‘burgundy’. They do not flower often, but it is an interesting bloom.

Another bromeliad, the pineapple. I think it doubled in size with the addition of fertilizer and rain.

More fruit in the garden. The Thai dessert mangoes are coming along.

I have been enjoying heirloom Arugula and cherry tomatoes – in everything possible.

The heirloom Pentas (Penta lanceolata) are doing their best to welcome spring.

That is all from South Florida this Saturday. I am waiting for another set of rain showers to move through and hopefully wash some pollen away.

Happy Spring!!

Six on Saturday – New for Spring

Spring plant shopping is irresistible for most gardeners. Buying a few new things for containers, resupplying herbs and shopping around my own garden for new finds was on the SOS agenda for the week. Here is what I found around the garden this Saturday morning.

The updated herb container on my front porch. I have been looking for thyme this winter and finally found some English thyme. I can’t recall having English, but it probably won’t last the summer. The pink Dianthus won’t either, but I will enjoy them while they last and hopefully the rosemary in the back of the container will take over, if we don’t eat it all first.

A new mixed container. This is purple agastache, white calibracoa, silver helichrysum, and chartreuse coleus (or whatever they call it nowadays) I am not sure which is the thriller or filler – the agastache or coleus.

One of the orchids from last week is just opening.

At long last, flowers on the Catalina Avocado! Seven years in the garden.

I haven’t seen these in a while. Flowers on the Aechmea ‘burgundy’ Bromeliad. I can never figure out what inspires bromeliads to flower.

The big Begonia nelumbiifolia in flower. The flower spikes are about three feet tall. This is an impressive Begonia and forms tubers like potatoes.

That is it from my garden this Saturday. For more spring tours or maybe a fall tour from the Southern Hemisphere – visit Jim’s blog, gardenruminations and follow the links in the comments section.

Happy Spring!!

Six on Saturday – The Year of the Dragon

Welcome to The Year of the Dragon. Chinese New Year is today and what will the Dragon bring to my garden? Above, in celebration of this event I have shared a piece of art created by two local ladies who are responsible for the creation of https://www.facebook.com/tctrashart, A Facebook page dedicated to raising awareness and getting rid of garbage on the beach by creating and sharing art they make from their finds.

I went looking in my garden this morning to find six new possibilities for the Dragon. Fruits and flowers are budding and sprouting, it’s looking promising for the New Year! To tour other garden possibilities, visit the host of this weekly meme, Jim, at his blog.

The Rangpur lime is flowering and has set fruit for next winter. I managed to collect enough fruit and made a pie with the juice and zest this week. We ate it!

Rangpur limes are considered sour oranges as it is a mandarin/lemon cross. So – in Old Florida this would be considered a sour orange pie.

The Mexican papayas I planted from seed last year are now five feet tall and setting buds. Upper right side of photo. Papayas are not true to seed and are either male, female or hermaphrodite. I planted two trees, the other one is looking male, so I hope this one will be female or hermaphrodite.

Zinnias or sunflowers sprouting. I haven’t planted anything in this bed for a couple of years, it was infested with nematodes and has been “lying fallow” to get rid of the buggers. Fingers crossed.

Ice plants, they used to be called Delosperma cooperii in latin. I think the botanists have changed the name again. There are two schools of thought about these growing in South Florida – yes and no. I found some very low priced plants and am trying them. They are looking good so far, August will be the true test.

Alligator Lilies (Hymenocallis latifolia) waiting to find a new home. They are a very pretty native lily, but they are difficult to site in the garden. They are looking for moist, well drained dappled sun and they only make foliage if not in their preferred location. I move them around sometimes, contemplating their next location.

‘Burgundy’ Aechmea bromeliad showing new spring color. These have finally found their happy place. And I don’t want to move them as they are sharp.

That is all from my garden this Saturday. Happy New Year!