Tag Archives: Amelia Grant

In a Vase on Monday – Cheers to Spring

This breezy, blue sky morning I went in search of flowers celebrating spring. For some reason almost all the flowers were white. I wonder if it is for the pollinators as many butterflies have recently appeared and white is a favorite flower color of pollinators – or just pale serendipity. More garden happenings to ponder.

To contrast the whiteness, I selected some colorful foliage, then added a little more, then took some cuttings in hopes of getting a few more coleus and eventually spied some yellow daisies! Ah!

The vase is a oversized wineglass I painted at a fundraiser for a friend’s charity. To match my Portmerion Botanic Garden china. This glass has seen more action as a Vase than a wineglass. The glasses were supposed to be baked somehow before using and I never got around to it. So, it is really a Vase.

The close ups:

The flowers: In yellow, Beach Sunflowers (Helianthus debilis); white daisies, Bidens alba; white spikes, “White Flame” Salvia.

The foliage: In chartreuse, an unknown Coleus (hoping for roots); ferny, Bronze Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare); varigated and pink, Chicken Gizzard plant (Iresine herbstii); burgundy, Purple Prince Alternanthera.

Cheers to Cathy this Monday! Thanks for hosting IAVOM. To view more vases, visit Cathy’s blog by following this link, RamblingintheGarden.

In a Vase on Monday – Signs of Summer

Tropical Gardenias and Frangipani flowers mark the beginning of the inevitable slide into summer in South Florida. Spring is fading away, though the pollen isn’t and the weather is fantastic. Of course, being a persnickety gardener, we can’t be happy with what we have and could use a little rain.

The fragrance from this combination would be worthy of a candle. The Tropical Gardenia (Tabernaemontana diviricata) has a much lighter scent than G. jasminoides. Combine that with the sweet yellow and pink Frangipani (Plumeria spp) and add a touch of the herbal tang of White Flame Salvia. I am really enjoying walking into my house and expect the scent to magnify this evening.

The fern in the vase is a Climbing Asparagus Fern (Asparagus africanus). These are invasive in Florida and I pull them when I find them and inevitably find another sooner or later. I enjoy using these in vases and recycling them that way. The plants have thorns so they usually find me.

That’s all from South Florida. I’ll be in the garden not watching the news and getting things straightened out for summer. To see more vases, follow this link to visit Cathy RamblingintheGarden.

In a Vase on Monday – Seeing Red

Suffice it to say there are many in the US seeing red this week. I’m leaning towards seeing a monochromatic color scheme that has a tropical Christmas spirit. Making America Garden Again?

Seizing on the garden update. This is an heirloom Amaryllis (Hippeastrum). I think it is a Red Lion. My father in law grew these every holiday and went through an incredible in the closet/out of the closet ritual to force the flowers. Once the bulbs stopped putting up with his behavior, he planted them outside and gave me a few. This one usually flowers on his birthday, which I consider a wink from the great beyond. This year it was about 10 days late. Maybe things are slow in the great beyond.

The Red Lion roars again. The bell shaped red flowers are Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformis). Palm foliage is from Dwarf Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebellini). I found the vase by the side of the road while walking the dog.

The frothy white accents flowers are Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata ‘Alba’) These are a fairly indestructible perennial for South Florida gardens. I am not sure how long this one has been around. Ten years at least and it has provided a few generations of offspring along the way.

I am hoping to see more red flowers! That’s all from my South Florida garden this Monday. Follow this link RamblingintheGarden to visit Cathy and see vases from other gardeners around the world.

In a Vase on Monday – Boom!

For some reason there are a lot of fiery colors in the garden. I decided to do a hot colors arrangement. I cut oranges and reds and arranged, then added a Palmetto frond, stood back and thought “that looks a bit explosive” Blowing winter back north. Ironically, the next polar vortex is not predicted to get this far south. Boom! I am perfectly happy not to experience the vortex.

What’s in the vase? A lot of things!

The orange daisies burning in the front of the vase are Mexican Flame Vine (Psuedogynoxys chenopodioides) – who thinks of these names? White star shaped flowers are Graptosedum. White Begonias are Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata)

Red bell shaped flowers are – you guessed it, Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetifolium). Chartreuse foliage is an unnamed Coleus or Plectranthus. Red foliage is Piecrust Croton (Codieum variegatum). Palmetto frond is from a volunteer, there are two that grow here and I am not sure if this is a Saw Palmetto or Dwarf Palmetto.

Well, I had a blast putting this one together. To see more vases, visit Cathy at RamblingintheGarden

In a Vase on Monday – Diversity

In light of recent events in the US, it occurred to me plants, like people, have diverse qualities and talents. I think it is safe to say nothing in this vase is considered a good cut flower. Yet, here they are. Thriving and beautiful to boot. DEI in a vase. So much for labels.

Oddly and unintentionally, this vase turned out red, white and blue. The blue vase, a long ago Christmas gift from my brother. Big Pink and Big White Begonias provide focal points and color. Graptosedum succulents add structure and color. Green accents are from invasive Asparagus fern I can’t quite bring myself to get rid of. Diversity, what a concept!

An overhead view:

That’s all from South Florida this Monday. I’ll be in the garden for the next four years trying to regain my sanity.

To see more vases, visit Cathy at RamblingintheGarden.

In a Vase on Monday – Jammin

Most Mondays I read Cathy’s blog RamblingintheGarden. As our hostess for IAVOM, she advises: Pop some flowers in a jam jar and join us. A jam jar has been loitering by my kitchen sink this weekend, so I did just that. I have a jam making snowbird neighbor who always returns with raspberry jam.

Follow the link to see more vases – perhaps another jam jar.

South Florida has been suffering a cold spell for the past week or so. It finally broke on Sunday and I went in the garden searching for color. And found some! Enough to jam pack my jar. The zinnias were a surprise. They were about half the usual size. I suppose the cold weather caused this.

What’s in the jam jar? Nothing edible. The purple spotted flowers are petunias, which make a surprisingly good cut flower. White flowers are Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata ‘alba’). Pink and orange Cactus Zinnias. The seedheads are from the Firebush (Hamelia patens). Purple spike flowers are Mona Lavendar Plectranthus.

The remaining jammers are Autumn Fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) and in red, Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetaformis).

That’s all from South Florida this Monday. I hope to get back in the garden this week.

Six on Saturday – Billbergias and Begonias

We have had a dreadful weather week. Cold, rainy, overcast and dreary. Long time local garden dwellers say this is the longest cold spell in 45 years. So not South Florida. The sun came back out today and I am happy to see it. I am not certain it was cold enough to damage anything, but am feeling nervous about the fruit on the mango trees. The temperature was hovering around 40F and anything lower than that they don’t like.

I am joining Jim and the gang posting at GardenRuminations to share what is going on in the garden. I sought tropical flowers to counter the January gloom and was pleased to find some. Follow the link to see what else is going on in the gardening world.

Bromeliad madness. This is a Billbergia vittata. I am not sure if it is a named cultivar or exactly what it is. These plant are just so The Far Side. I have a few that are even more unusual. This is about two feet tall. It took a while to get into the right amount of sun for flowering. Now I have a mass of these shooting up flower stalks in January.

A closer view of the flower.

Another Billbergia. Again, I am not sure what variety. It was sold as ‘Rainbow’ – but I doubt that is right. I think the flowers will open a bit more. Time will tell.

Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata ‘alba’) enjoying the sunshine.

‘Big Pink’ Begonia getting a little bronze with the cool weather. The pink looks more like its parent B.semperflorens (Wax Begonia) to me than ‘Big White’ Begonia does.

‘Big White’ Begonia, richer green leaves and a lower to the ground habit. Still looks great after all the rain and cold. Wondering about summer heat and these Begonias.

That’s all from warming up South Florida. I’m looking for more Billbergias flowers soon to add to the tropical madness. Thanks to Jim for hosting.

In a Vase on Monday – Sticks and Hats

I was out in the garden with my greyhound. I was cutting flowers and we were both watching vultures. He was fascinated and even at greyhound speed couldn’t keep up with them. This is the time of year when the big birds are around. Eagles and hawks migrate south for the winter. It is such a pleasure to watch them fly lazy circles in the crystal blue sky. I have a feeling the vultures were manifesting what is landing in our nation’s capital tomorrow.

Well, that has nothing to do with sticks, hats or my vase. A random garden observation with a side of political disgust.

The hat, is China Hat (Holmskiodia sanguinea). This is a winter flowering shrub I enjoy. They remind me of Quince. One of the more indestructible plants in the garden, rarely watered and forgotten until it flowers.

The sticks are dried prunings from wild Muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia); pale mauve flowers are Zinnias, supposedly Cactus type. I am not so sure about that, another open pollinated oops – my neighbor calls it getting Grandpa seeds.My quest for Dahlia like flowers continues…

The foliage in the background is Bronze Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and some fluffy seedheads of Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris). The vase is a thrift store find.

That’s the story from my garden this Monday. Follow this link RamblingintheGarden to visit Cathy and take a garden tour of vases by following the comments links.

I’ll be watching the birds..

In a Vase on Monday – Posey Sink Shooters

I wouldn’t think of drinking a shot of tequila. But I love to keep a shot glass filled with flowers by the kitchen sink. This glass is from my niece’s wedding. Its intended use is a tequila vessel, however, it has been used frequently as a vase. I have been told on more than one occasion I would like tequila if only I had some good tequila. I tried and it still tastes like dirt to me. Maybe it’s horticulturally related – I am not too fond of Agaves and they are the source of tequila. The same goes for Juniper and gin.

The crystals are Fools Gold – Pyrite. Another good luck crystal vibe for the New Year. Heirloom rocks from my father the geologist.

A closer view:

In pink, the Zinnia I was complaining about recently. I have grown to love it. In blue, Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata), the Hydrangea of the tropics. The purple foliage is Aerva, a weed from Africa. I like it despite its origins. White and coral spikes are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea). Fluffy seedheads are from Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris – I hope I didn’t make that botanical name up)

Here’s another sink posey from last week. Zinnias and Heirloom Pentas.

That’s all from my kitchen sink this week. To see more vases from the world over, follow the link to visit Cathy at RamblingintheGarden

Six on Saturday – Winter Gardening Adventures in South Florida

I have recovered from my SOS slump and got it together to take some photos of South Florida winter gardening fun. To see more potential examples of winter gardening fun, visit Jim at GardenRuminations.

I had a little surprise encounter while picking Rangpur limes. This is a corn snake, non venomous and a good snake to have in the garden. They eat rats and other things you don’t want around. Unfortunately, this one is a very similar color to the fruit. They usually don’t bite, unless, say you try to pick them. Fortunately, I realized what it was before I tried to pick it!

The Rangpur limes are having a good year. We have had Rangpur pie, chicken marinated with garlic, black pepper and fresh oregano and limeade. I am going to channel my Southern old lady and make some Lime Sour bar cookies (I had to find the biscuit pan first). I have frozen juice and zest for pies, given limes to friends and neighbors and still have a few left on the tree. I stopped picking them before I almost picked the corn snake.

More of the weird and wonderful in my garden. This is a Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea) seedling seeking ground from the top of a Sabal Palm. The fruit from the Strangler Fig is left by wild life in the crown of the palm. It sprouts and eventually sends a tree back down to the ground. The tree roots and grows up around the palm and “strangles” it. Very Harry Potter.

Flowers of the China Hat (Holmskioldia sanguinea) sometimes called Chinaman’s Hat. These are native to the Himalayas, seems strange to me they grow here.

This is a Mona Lavendar Plectranthus. These are fairly common around here, generally used as annuals. I use them in containers. They last a year or two and are very hardy. This container has Licorice plant (Helichhrysum petiolare), a charteuse coleus, and Starry Night Petunias.

The container next to the Mona Lavendar is planted with Wishbone flowers (Torenia fournieri). I am not sure which named variety this is – it is my first time trying these. So far, so good. I am enjoying the color.

There, slacking off did not happen this week. I am wishing everyone good gardening surprises. No snakes in the lime tree.