My husband and I took a few days off and motored to the Keys for a little R&R this week. I decided to share some of the local flora and fauna we encountered this week on our trip. The Keys are very nice this time of year and the seafood is worth the trip – as is the Key Lime Pie! We both gained a couple of pounds, from the pie, I think. Follow this link to visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk for more flora tours of gardens around the world.

A classic inspiration for many tropical motifs and one of my favorites, the Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) tree. Almost oak-like in appearance, these produce fruit that only someone who grew up on them could love. I live a bit too far north for these.

Hanging over a 6 foot fence is a Pink Mussaenda (Mussaenda phillippica). These look a bit like pink squashed Poinsettias to me. I see many white and yellow ones where I live. The pink ones may be more tropical, they are from the South Pacific.

Pink Tabebuia (Tabebuia rosea) these are used as shade trees and can drop a lot of pods. They are a pretty, upright evergreen tree, not known for good wind resistance and a relative of the tree that tropical hardwood, Ipe comes from.

Ferns are not something I usually think of as a hedge. I think these are Macho Ferns (Nephrolepis biserrata). I like this, so tropical.

Key West has a wonderful butterfly conservatory we enjoyed very much. This is a high ceiling greenhouse structure with a meandering pathway and stream that is filled with butterflies sipping nectar then landing on your shoulder. My husband is not the gardening type and he said this was the highlight of the trip. The butterfly is a Menelaus blue morpho, a big butterfly – 12 cm or almost 5 inches across, they look like brown spotted moths on the backside and travel in groups, spectacular.

The quintessential South Florida flamingo. This is either Scarlett or Rhett, one of the pair of flamingos that live in the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. https://keywestbutterfly.com/

That’s my Six for this Saturday. I am heading to the garden for some chickweed removal!

Happy Gardening!!