Tag Archives: Amelia Grant

In a Vase on Monday – September Crazy Quilt

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September brings all types of flowers to my garden. I cut several varieties and slipped (plonked) them into a mason jar. A crazy quilt is the most apt description I could come up with for this array of very different flowers. This jar reflects late summer in my South Florida garden. The selection runs from very tropical bromeliad flowers to the more familiar cottage garden stalwarts, the Salvias.

Bromeliads flower year round in the tropics, but I think summer is the peak; some lasting for months. I have at least five in flower, mostly Aechmeas from Brazil. The odd man out is in the vase, Billbergia pyramidalis, common name Flaming Torch or Hurricane Flower. Last week was the peak of hurricane season (which has been blessedly quiet) So I think either name is appropriate.

The close up:

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The patchwork of colors include: Hurricane Flower (Billbergia pyramidalis) in pink. ‘Mystic Blue’ Salvia, the blue spike. The final pink zinnia of the summer. Yellow spikey flower is a side shoot of a much larger flower from ‘Pinot Noir’ Aechmea Bromeliad. White Sweet Begonias (B. odorata) hang over the edge of the jar. The yellow flower in the center is a side shoot from ‘Little Harv’ Aechmea Bromeliad. A few white Salvia (S. coccinea) are in the back with Asian Sword Ferns and Coral Vine (Antigonon leptopus) in pink.

That’s all from my garden this Monday. Thank you to Cathy for hosting IAVOM. Visit her blog http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com to see more vases.

In a Vase on Monday – Zinnia Finale

This has been a glorious summer for zinnias. Heat, humidity and generous downpours have provided a bouquet of pink zinnias weekly. The plants seem to know (the weather doesn’t) this is the last official weekend of summer and the flowers are getting smaller by the day. I am getting a bit tired of pink and just planted some Green ‘Envy’ and ‘Aurora’ zinnia seeds. We shall see what colors fall brings when the plants get going.

One of many bouquets from the garden this summer. The plants are easily four feet tall with 1/2 inch thick stems.

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This weeks mix. The yellow leaves and spikey flowers are from ‘Java White’ Copperleaf (Acalphya wilkesiana ‘Java White – a large tropical shrub that has returned with a vengeance from our February freeze. Pink viney flowers are from Coral Vine (Antigonon leptopus) currently growing in the very thorny lime tree, causing a pruning dilemma. Zin Master Zinnias in pink. Coral and white Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) and a few invasive ferns for foliage. The container is from an orchid gift from a neighbor. I think I killed the orchid…oops.

Happy Labor Day to those celebrating and a big thank you to Cathy for hosting IAVOM. Follow this link to see more vases http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

In a Vase on Monday – End of Summer Grace

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It’s been a while since I have joined IAVOM. I unintentionally took the summer off. While it has been dreadfully hot this summer, the reason I have remained indoors is primarily because I am recovering from brain surgery the first week of July. The grace – I am alive and well and haven’t lost any more marbles! The weather is cooling ever so slightly and I have done a bit of gardening and ordered seeds for fall tomatoes. We had a very rainy summer and plants good and bad went wild, lots to do this fall.

The vase is filled with Parrotflowers (Heliconia psittacorum “Lady Di” in red and “Choconiana” in orange) These produce flowers nearly year round – when it rains. One of my favorite tropical flowers.

The foliage is from Asparagus ferns (Asparagus densiflorus) These are dreadfully invasive in South Florida and very difficult to eradicate. I did not realize the flowers were so attractive and fragrant to boot. The bees were angry when I cut them, but I am hopeful I saved the universe from a few unruly ferns by cutting them for a vase.

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That’s all from my garden this week. I look forward to reconnecting with everyone this fall.

Visit Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com to see more vases.

In a Vase on Monday – Tea in the Garden?

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So far, June has been oddly cool. I could cheerfully have tea in the garden. Me being me, I decided to arrange some flowers reflecting the form of the teapot. Design school is a lifelong curse. Where else would these ideas come from?

The teapot is vintage 1950. The year my parents married and one of their wedding gifts. My mother always used it to brew the basis for sweet iced tea, a beverage that is a Southern staple. The tea stained patina on this teapot makes me smile. I remember this teapot as a constant companion to family dinners. I am terrible about not making iced tea, even though I enjoy it.

The closer and more complicated view. While Southern sweet tea is pretty simple water, sugar, tea, and mint and lemon on the side, if you like..there is a lot of stuff in this vase.

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The big, pink flower is a ZinMaster zinnia. White flowers are Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata ‘Alba’). Blue flowers are Plumbago, likely Plumbago auriculata ‘Blue Imperial’, or just darker than usual. Purple flowers are the wonderfully scented Heliotrope. There are a few Mystic Blue Salvia and Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa) above the zinnia and a trimmed palm frond provides a green backdrop. It has a delicious, sweet fragrance from the Heliotrope, Begonias and Juba Bush

Thank you to Cathy at RamblingintheGarden for hosting this weekly meme and bringing gardeners together to see what is blooming where. Follow the link to see more vases.

In a Vase on Monday – Summer Transplants

Suddenly it’s 90 degrees! 32 Celsius sounds so much cooler. However you take your temperature, it’s hot. The garden is responding in kind and producing hot colors.

I performed a swallowtail butterfly caterpillar rescue while cutting flowers for the vase. The dill has been going to seed and I witnessed a beautiful lady swallowtail butterfly laying eggs on the dill. So did several lizards lurking nearby. The tiny caterpillars had hatched and were just starting to devour the dill when I cut the flowers. The cats were relocated to a parsley far away from the lurking lizards. I’m enjoying the dill flowers and I hope the caterpillars are enjoying the parsley. I did not realize how much parsley I had planted and it all came up! Happy to share with the swallowtails and I hope I see a few more.

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Success! The caterpillars have easily doubled in size from when I moved them. I am wondering how much parsley they can eat.

A closer view of the vase:

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There are two kinds of orange tubular flowers. The lower flowers are Firebush (Hamelia patens). The upper are Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera). Long red flowers are Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreum, depending on who you ask) Red spikes are Salvia coccinea. Dill flowers, of course and the creamy spikes are from Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa)

Thanks to Cathy for hosting this weekly meme. Visit her blog at MoreVases to see more vases!

In a Vase on Monday – Zinnias, Actually

After several false starts in 2026, I am pleased to post my first zinnias of the year! I usually have zinnias much earlier than this, nearly year round. I think they were worth the wait. The longest stemmed flowers I have ever grown. As usual, no clue why!

The first batch of seeds I planted – frozen. The second – eaten by unknown varmints. The third time was the charm. I have planted so many zinnia seeds, I am not sure what these are. ZinMaster, I think. I really wanted Cactus Zinnias, but I think I have gone through all those seeds

The closer view:

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The vase is a jar that held specialty tea. The small green flowers at the base are seed heads from Pentas, an annual flower, I am not sure what kind. Creamy white flowers are from Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa). Ferns are from the invasive Asian Sword Fern.

Simple pleasures from the garden.

Thank you to Cathy at RamblingintheGarden for hosting. Follow the link to visit her garden and see more vases.

In a Vase on Monday – A Paloma Posey

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More than 30 years ago….my parents went to Mexico. I know this because when they returned, I received this bird, a Paloma, with strict instructions from my mother. It was a dove “a symbol of love and fidelity in Mexican culture”. I had recently married when I received this gift and after the Mexico trip my parents went through a Paloma phase. I had not realized it was also a cocktail!! It is difficult to picture my father drinking tequila with grapefruit soda..but maybe it happened?! There was some parental giggling about tequila. Hmm.

My parents have been gone for over 15 years. This little bird always brings a smile to my face. It resides in my kitchen with the cookbooks, so I see it often. The flowers reflect the colors in the Paloma.

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The orange flowers on top are ‘Dwarf Maui Red’ Ixora, a shrub. The orange tubes are Firebush (Hamelia patens var patens) Blue and white spikes are Salvia, White Flame and Mystic Blue. The blue flowers are Plumbago auriculata. The little white vase had a tiny orchid in it that is still floating around the front garden.

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The Paloma. Still standing sentinel over my cook books, decades later. I can only hope my parents are enjoying a grapefruit cocktail in the great beyond.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting In a Vase on Monday. Follow this link RamblingintheGarden to see more vases.

Six on Saturday – Spring Shift

It’s time for the weekly garden tour hosted by Jim at GardenRuminations Follow the link to see what is going on with gardeners around the world.

In my South Florida garden spring is rapidly shifting into summer. I’m trying to get the garden tucked in for the oncoming blast furnace of heat and humidity. The rainy season officially starts May 15, but the usual May forecast is hot and dry. I’ve decided to try some tropical vegetables. I bought long bean and winged bean seed and have Roselles coming up from seed. I will post pictures when they are coming along. As usual, I have some unusual things going on.

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Desert Roses (Adenium obesum) love the heat. These plants fry is a cast iron pot on my driveway and love it. I rarely water and throw a little liquid fertilizer on them in the spring. A gift from African deserts.

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The last White Bird of Paradise picture, I promise. These are shattering from the heat.

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Some new container plantings and a washed up mermaid were added to my front garden.

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I read up on using Purslane as a summer annual as everything I have ever tried has burned up in the full sun. Charco broiled Begonias are not pretty. My Bronze leaf Begonias will grow anywhere theory was quickly roasted in the SoFla summer. This is a named cultivar (name already lost) of a native Purslane. Despite the propaganda stating these plants do not like rich soil or water – you guessed it. The one planted in the container with rich soil and water is twice as happy as the ones in the supposed perfect gravelly soil! Unless the mermaid has magical purslane powers. Hmmm.

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Several people have asked me about this plant I use in flower arrangements. It’s the ferny thing – it’s called Asparagus Fern (Asparagus setaceus). It’s not the usual thing, it was once grown around here for use in floral arrangements. Native to Africa, it escaped cultivation (have you heard this before??) and is now invasive along with the other types of Asparagus Ferns that are common houseplants. These appeared from who knows where and grow up the stems of the Lobsterclaw Heliconias. They are thorny and pretty enough to use in floral arrangements, so that is how I control them.

This is a new plant in the garden. I realized when I bought this it was quite possible I had eclipsed horticultural norms by having pineapples and bananas in a foundation planting – is this an American term? Pineapples and now a banana are planted in front of my house. I bought this as a Red Abyssinian Banana. Having never seen one before, it doesn’t look particularly red?? Anyone have thoughts? Thank you! My husband has a near phobia of bananas, so I sought out an ornamental.

Happy Spring Gardening to all. Cheers from South Florida!

In a Vase on Monday – Fall into Spring with a side of weird

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It is still officially spring in South Florida…but we already hit 90 F/ 32 C and the humidity is rising. There is always some point when the heat and humidity hit critical mass and I begin pining for fall. We are definitely not there yet, however, the colors in this vase reminded me of my future fall aspirations early.

There are some strange things going on in the garden. The mango trees that were hit by frost in early February have all come back, seemingly from the dead and are producing flowers. This usually happens in early February followed by fruit in June. We have dead foliage, new foliage and flowers on the same tree. I am puzzled, but think I should fertilize them. So weird. Creatures are eating the buds off the zinnias I planted in tall pots for cutting – giraffe rabbits??

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The closer view. This is mostly flowers from trees and shrubs. I really enjoy cutting from these plants as they are rarely seen in this venue. The white flowers are White Geiger tree (Cordia boisserie). Yellow flowers are Esperanza tree (Tecoma stans). Orange tubular flowers are from the native Firebush (Hamelia patens var patens) Red fruit with foliage is Brush Cherry (Syzygium paniculatum), a common hedge here. The bronze foliage is an unnamed coleus bought locally.

I’m adding to the weird by buying obscure tropical vegetable seeds to grow over the summer. I planted edible Hibiscus (Roselles) recently (the calyx is the edible part, tastes like cranberries) Yard long and winged bean seeds go into pots soon..more weird to come…

That is all from South Florida. Thank you to Cathy for hosting IAVOM for all these years. Follow the link to her blog RamblingintheGarden to take the garden tour.

In a Vase on Monday – Sage Advice

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I am joining Cathy and the intrepid vasers again this Monday sharing a Vase of flowers collected from our gardens. To view more vases follow this link to Cathy’s blog RamblingintheGarden.

My vase features all types of sage grown in my garden. My advice – plant some!

It seems to be a very good spring for sage in my garden. I planted some new plants a few weeks ago and they are thriving to the point I need to cut the flowers. The bees were not happy with me, but I emerged, clippers in hand, from the flowers unscathed. The annual sages seemed to have enjoyed the rare freezing temperature we had in February followed by a lot of rain and popped up all over the garden. They are already producing seed. For some reason, they are mostly red.

The close up:

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Sage is, of course, Salvia. This is Salvia with a few wildflower friends, a side of Golden Dewdrop in a mason jar with a dried bromeliad leaf collar. Only in South Florida!

The red spikes are Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea). Blue flowers are Mystic Blue’ Salvia. White spikes are ‘White Flame’ Salvia. White daisies are Bidens alba, cream colored spikes are Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa) These are both wildflowers. Chartreuse foliage is Golden Dewdrop (Duranta erecta). I also have River Sage (Salvia misella) in the garden. This is reportedly a dense mat forming native that grows everywhere and out competes weeds. Bahahaha, need I say more. It is not vaseworthy. More Sage Advice.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting. Happy Gardening.

I will sign off with the fact that it is so dry here I am seriously considering going outside for a rain dance, the sky looks so promising!!