South Florida is experiencing another cold spell. I have been covering summer (ha!) vegetables and flowers at night due to temperatures hovering in the high 30s (F). One more night of cold seems to be on tap, followed by a warm up. The more tropical plants are sulking and browning, leafy plants like Heliconias look particularly unhappy.
Some of the native plants are looking, well, fresh as a daisy. I don’t recall the Beach Daisies (in yellow) ever looking so good in January. They usually flower madly during the summer, get moldy, and are asked to leave the garden (by the wheelbarrow load) due to their scraggly appearance. The new year seems to be presenting new gardening challenges. I will cover my plants one more night and hope for some zinnias in the coming weeks. There are buds!
The cast of characters:
Daisies first! In yellow, Beach Daisies (Helianthus debilis); in white, Bidens alba, sometimes called Spanish Needles; blue spikes, Mystic Spires Salvia; white and coral spikes, another happy native, Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); finer textured white spikes, Sweet Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata).
Fluffy flowers and needle like foliage are from Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris). The vase was left to me by my mother, made by the Ute Indians in the Southwestern US.
The happy Beach Daisies and Tropical Red Salvia in the garden:
I am hoping for warmer days here, but am grateful for the happy flowers in the garden. Thanks to Cathy for hosting this week and every week! To see more vases, visit http://www.ramblinginthgarden.wordpress.com.
It may seem odd, but I think some plants are smarter than others. Is botanical wisdom gained because they are native and used to the vagaries of weather, or something more Darwinian? Currently, the most sage plants in my garden are really a Sage. The Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea). Less than two weeks after the coldest weather in a decade, they were fully greened up and flowering madly. I had to cut some.
Tropical Red Salvia or Sage flowers in four colors in my garden. The brilliant red ones are the most prolific currently and the tallest plant of the bunch. I cut a handful and looked for some companionable colors to cool down the palette. Whites, corals and even a little sage seemed to fit the bill for a warming January vase.
A closer look:
Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) in red and white spikes; Sweet Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata) is the other white spike; Soap Aloe (Aloe saponaria) in sage tipped coral flowers; chartreuse and reddish flowers are from China Hat shrub (Holmskioldia sanguinea); yellow striped foliage is Martin Bromeliad (Neoregelia martin); grey foliage is from Barometer Bush (Leucophyllum frutescens)
Another view:
The white flowers in the center are from the White Geiger tree (Cordia boissieri). I thought this tree wouldn’t like the cold weather, but it seems fine; it has a few yellow leaves and started flowering. The fern trailing over the side is an Asparagus Fern, an invasive weed that tends to pop up under shrubs. I cut these and use them in vases occasionally. They are surprisingly sharp, woe is the gardener who tries to strip the leaves off the stem for a vase.
The garden is bouncing back from the extreme cold. (I know y’all are laughing, not even freezing here, except me, I was freezing) I am finding blackened edges on a lot of shrub foliage and the trees I have that are at their northern limits are showing signs of unhappiness. I have to tap into my gardening wisdom and wait and see what happens. Not feeling particularly sage here yet.
We are gathered here today to celebrate the holidays with a bling filled vase and a wicker deer. Cheers to IAVOM and our weekly hostess, Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com. Follow the link to see more vases.
I seem to recall the deer is actually an antelope and a historical artifact from the Crate & Barrel; though I do enjoy him or her for the holidays. The vase is a roadside find. The bling, gold painted dried Bromeliads and Miniature Pineapples from my garden. I am definitely getting in touch with my Southerness painting dried flowers gold for the holidays. I am certain my mother is smiling in the great beyond.
The merrymakers in the vase:
Red variegated foliage in background is from the shrub, Mammey Croton (Codieum variegatum); wispy green flowers are Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa); red flowers are Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreus); a gold glazed Miniature Pineapple completes the background.
Upside down gold glazed Miniature Pineapple nods along with the Hibiscus.
A single stem of Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata) provides white flowers, foliage and fragrance. The gold glazed dried flowers gracing the edge of the vase are from Aechmea miniata Bromeliads.
I am joining Cathy at Words and Herbs for this year’s Week of Flowers sharing images from our gardens. Today I decided to feature seven images in celebration of the final flowery day. These images are purposefully warm to chase away the winter chill. Hot colors from hot South Florida.
From left to right starting at the top. Aechmea rubens Bromeliad, Tropical Red Salvia, Aechmea miniata Bromeliad buds, Firebush flowers, Balsam Impatiens, The Admiral Red Hibiscus and Lobsterclaw Heliconia in a vase, and finally Aechmea blanchetiana flowers.
Hopefully these images warm up gardeners living in more northern climes. To see more flowery images from around the world visit Cathy at wordsandherbs.wordpress.com.
I am joining Cathy at Words and Herbs for this year’s Week of Flowers sharing images from our gardens. Today I have a first for my South Florida garden in 2022, Dahlias. It has been interesting reading about the experience of other gardeners with this perennial, but fussy favorite. I am finding the single Dahlias like the red one below don’t rev me up. I like the fluffy, exuberant dramatic ones…
Below, the fluffy, exuberant one.
A drama queen with stems too short to have much fun in a vase..still worthwhile.
Hopefully these images warm up gardeners living in more northern climes. To see more flowery images from around the world visit Cathy at wordsandherbs.wordpress.com.
I am joining Cathy at Words and Herbs for this year’s Week of Flowers sharing images from our gardens. I am adding more blue flowers from my South Florida garden and a post script from yesterday. Below is a Dayflower, a common wildflower I let run free in my garden. I enjoy their ephemeral appearances and interesting common names – one is Widow’s Tears and another (in Spanish) herb of the cooked chicken. I have not eaten any.
Below, making another appearance, the Blue Pea Vine. This one caused some intrigue yesterday, so I looked in the garden to see if I could find a few flowers to make tea. I found flowers and a seed pod, then I made tea.
Blue tea, indeed! Still not very tasty.
Hopefully these images warm up gardeners living in more northern climes. To see more flowery images from around the world visit Cathy at wordsandherbs.wordpress.com.
I am joining Cathy at Words and Herbs for this year’s Week of Flowers sharing images from our gardens. I am adding some favorite blue flowers from my South Florida garden today. Below is Butterfly Pea vine, this finally took hold in my garden after an extended trial with rabbit abatement. For some unknown reason the rabbits, who couldn’t get enough of this vine at first, now avoid it. I am wondering if like some people it gets bitter with age? My neighbor enjoys making cobalt blue tea with the flowers and then adding lemon to turn it pink. I have found I do not enjoy bean flavored tea.
Below, another blue flower, the Chinese Forget Me Not. I was astonished to find out last year I could grow this as a winter annual. I have just planted seeds and hope to see some flowers in a couple of months.
Hopefully these images warm up gardeners living in more northern climes. To see more flowery images from around the world visit Cathy at wordsandherbs.wordpress.com.
I am joining Cathy at Words and Herbs for this year’s Week of Flowers sharing images from our gardens. I am adding some tropical lovelies from my South Florida garden today. Below are the pink flowers from Tropical Rain Lilies, back dropped by variegated foliage from ‘Java White’ Copperleaf; a large, leafy shrub from the South Pacific,
Below, another ultimate tropical flower, the Frangipani (Plumeria). This color is very common around town and I have no idea what its name is. Like most Frangipani, it is quite fragrant and the flowers could be used to make leis if we were in the mood for a luau.
Hopefully these images warm up gardeners living in more northern climes. To see more flowery images from around the world visit Cathy at wordsandherbs.wordpress.com.
I am joining Cathy at Words and Herbs for this year’s Week of Flowers sharing images from our gardens. I am adding some Bromeliad madness from my South Florida garden today. Below are the red flowers from Aechmea miniata Bromeliads, one of my midsummer favorites, along with ‘Mystic Spires’ Salvia and foliage of the tropical Silk Oak, which is not really an oak at all, but Grevillea robusta, the largest member of the Protea family.
Below, another ultimate tropical flower, the Silver Urn Bromeliad (Aechmea fasciata). These were very common during the eighties Interiorscape rage as a long lasting flower for interior use. The flowers last about four months in my garden and flower every other year.
Hopefully these images warm up gardeners living in more northern climes. To see more flowery images from around the world visit Cathy at wordsandherbs.wordpress.com.
I am joining Cathy at Words and Herbs for this year’s Week of Flowers sharing images from our gardens. I am adding some tropical warmth from my South Florida garden. Below are Cattleya orchids that live outside year round. These are deliciously fragrant and faithfully flower every September; they are mounted on a piece of wood and perch on a terracotta container.
Below, in my opinion, are the ultimate tropical flower, the Lobsterclaw Heliconia. These have lush, large, coarse textured tropical foliage and require a great deal of water. They live under the edge of my gutterless roof. There are many varieties of this plant, some with chains of flowers two feet long.
Hopefully these images warm up gardeners living in more northern climes. To see more flowery images from around the world visit Cathy at wordsandherbs.wordpress.com.
The Shrub Queen 