Tag Archives: Gardening

In a Vase on Monday – Spring Bouquet Florida Style

This year I have been enjoying vases of spring bulbs from all my northern blog friends. It had not occurred to me I could have a ‘faux spring bulb’ vase until I was in the garden rooting around for flowers to cut. This is sort of a hand tied bouquet (rubber band version) As I was twirling it around it dawned on me it could pass for daffodils and Dutchman’s breeches. From a distance…I’m not sure what the orange flowers resemble.

What are they really?

Yellow and white flowers are from small trees. The white flowers are White Geiger (Cordia boissieri). The yellow flowers are Yellow Elder (Tecoma stans) Both trees have loopy growth habits and I have not quite figured out how to prune them. It seems if I cut about half off during the winter they look better in summer. Odd, but true. The pink flowers are Coral Vine (Antigonon leptopus) I have been trying for years to get this thing to grow on a fence, but it insists on climbing a nearby lime tree. A thorny lime tree.

Orange flowers are from a Mexican Flame Vine (Pseudogynoxys chenopodiodes) that creeps over from my neighbor’s yard – Giant Swallowtail butterflies come with it, so I really don’t mind. The chartreuse seedheads are from Lotusleaf Begonias (Begonia nelumbiifolia) and the ferns are the invasive Asparagus fern – currently being controlled by flower arrangements. The blue crackled container was a gift. I am not sure if it is a Vase or a candle holder. It has been used for both.

That’s all from South Florida this Monday. I am hoping for water to fall from the sky again. The predicted rain keeps not quite materializing..

Thanks to Cathy at RamblingintheGarden for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases. Possibly with real spring bulbs.

Six on Saturday – Life Cycles

Spring in South Florida brings changes to the garden. It took me a while to figure out what was going on and I am still observing the action.This Saturday morning I noted my fruit trees growing and changing and the ever fascinating (to me) Bromeliads. To see more spring (and maybe fall!) garden pictures, visit Jim at GardenRuminations

O’ Rourke bromeliad flower. These start out very pale pink and are now gaining a deeper color. The flower stalks came up at the end of January. I am not sure how long they last.

Pickering Mangoes starting to color up. These flowered prolifically and set a lot of fruit. I am left wondering what happened to it. There are maybe 10 or 12 left on the tree. Did the evil Agama Lizards eat it?? A garden mystery.

Gallardia pulchella, once considered native but its status was rescinded. For some reason, these only grow in the shell walkway.

The life cycle of the Jill Neoregelia bromeliad. These are stoloniferous. The top picture is the mother plant at the end of the cycle, turning deep red and flowering. This plant will soon die and I will twist its dried up remains off the stolons. The bottom photo is what Jill looks like most of its life.

Blushing Bromeliads (Neoregelia carolinae) doing the same dance. New pups are visible on the right side of the picture replacing the mother plant and spreading. These are considered ground cover bromeliads.

The first ‘Miss Alice’ Bougainvillea flower of the year. Miss Alice was knocked off her trellis by one of the hurricanes last year and remained naked until just now. I was beginning to wonder if she would come back, but here she is! It is hard to keep a Bougainvillea down.

That is all from my garden this beautiful Saturday morning.. Happy Spring!

Six on Saturday – Begonias and Giant Houseplants

My Saturday morning garden tour revealed a budding collection of white Begonias. I actually have more. I did not realize I liked them so much. I have also been collecting plants for some Uber tropical containers I am planting outside my low windows, so I can enjoy viewing flowers in air conditioned comfort this summer. Follow this link GardenRuminations to visit Jim, a fellow Begonia enthusiast, and see what other gardeners have found outside this Saturday.

New to the garden, a Dragonwing Begonia, white with a pink blush.

From the roadside ditches of Central America, Lotusleaf Begonia (Begonia nelumbiifolia)

A South Florida stalwart, the Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata “Alba”). There must be another color somewhere. I have never noticed a scent from these and have had them for years.

A new Ti Plant for the tropical containers. This is Cordyline fruticosa “Hot Pepper”. The containers will have charteuse Coleus, a creeping silver fern, Dragonwing Begonias and Malaysian Orchids.

The Malaysian Orchid (Medinilla myriantha). The rooted cuttings spent a week in the post to travel 70 miles. They are recovering nicely and should be sporting mad pink flowers in weeks. This is one of those wonderful plants that flower abundantly for a while and then drop dead for no apparent reason. They grow in tree tops in the South Pacific and must be spectacular in their native environs.

The giant houseplants…Snake Plants or Mother in Law’s tongues are an invasive weed in South Florida. It is virtually impossible to get rid of them without heavy equipment. These line a path to my tropical garden. I pull them out frequently to keep the path clear.

White Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia nicolai) reaches for the sky. This is about 15 feet tall and frames a view into the garden from the screened porch. These rarely bloom, the flowers are creamy white with blue accents.

That is all from my garden this Saturday. I hope everyone is enjoying spring!

Six on Saturday – In the Works

I noted a lot of interesting things in the works in the garden this morning. Time to share with other gardeners around the world this Saturday. Visit Jim at GardenRuminations for a worldwide garden tour.

First up, fruits and vegetables. Really just fruits, since the first tomato of the year has ripened.

The first tomato this year is a Sweet 100. I have Yellow Pear and Brad’s Atomic Grape on the way. I gave up growing anything bigger than a cherry tomato years ago.

Nam Doc Mai Mango. Now I start leering at the mangoes every morning for three months until they are ripe.

Winter flowering bromeliads are doing their thing. This is a McWilliamsii Neoregelia just starting to flower. Its cup is full of water from overnight showers.

x Androlaechmea ‘O’Rourke bromeliad starting to flower. This is a big bromeliad, probably four feet tall. I would like to move it …but I don’t really want to touch it. Very sharp spines.

This is some kind of Dendrobium orchid. I have a friend who gives me orchids, she calls this the dead orchid. Because it looks dead and then flowers beautifully. The buds are just forming.

Another gift from a neighbor. Seedlings of Tweedia (Oxypetalum coeruleum) Has anyone tried this? A blue flowering pollinator plant is sometimes called Blue Milkweed. I planted these in the butterfly garden.

That’s all from my garden this Saturday..

In a Vase on Monday – Chasing Winter Away

February has proved to be highly superior to January in terms of my environs. This month is forecast to be warmer and drier than normal. Currently (Sunday afternoon) it is 80 F, warm and sunny outside. I like it and have been enjoying chasing the winter doldrums away in the garden. This called for the most tropical vase possible.

I started the search for tropical foliage and flowers and was rewarded with an odd and large bromeliad flower. I recently discovered the name of this plant, after having it in the garden for years. Drum roll, please. x Androlaechmea ‘O’Rourke’ Discoveries like this leave me wondering who O’Rourke is? No clue.

A closer view:

Foliage accompanying O’ Rourke include: in yellow variegation, Chicken Gizzard plant (Iresine herbstii). Pink varigated foliage is Hawaiian Snow Bush (Breynia disticha). Large, leaves are from Sea Grapes (Coccoloba uvifera). Palm foliage is Dwarf Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebellini)

A closer view of the tropical foliage.

That’s all from sunny Florida. I hope this helps chase the winter away in colder places. To see more vases, follow this link to 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.

Six on Saturday – Post Snap

Saturday morning has rolled around once again. Maybe this is the post snap post? The garden has improved since last week. The cold snap broke. We are back to clear, blue sky Florida days. Daytime temps are in the high 70s. Tomatoes are setting fruit and flowering and seedlings are emerging. This is called false spring in Florida, as another cold snap is inevitable. It usually occurs at the greatest moment of anticipation for fresh tomatoes and they stay green for another week.

Follow this link to Jim’s blog and join other gardeners posting six items of interest from their gardens. GardenRuminations

The Billbergia bromeliad “wethinkiscalledRainbow’ has opened. These remind me of curling ribbon.

Two of my favorite herbs, ‘Giant of Italy’ Parsley and Genovese Basil are up and asking for thinning.

French Dressing Radishes and Heirloom Arugula asking for the same thing. I grow these in a tall container for rabbit abatement.

I am happy to see some Brad’s Atomic Grape tomatoes on the way. The Yellow Pear tomatoes have also set fruit. I covered the tomatoes during the cold snap. I’m planning to trim off the cold damage this afternoon when the leaves are dry.

I cleaned up the ‘Jill’ Neoregelia bromeliads climbing the palm trunks.

Some flowers for a warm up at Number Six. These are Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformis) Totally indestructible here.

Bonus photo of my new gardening assistant, Handsome Rob. He is great at digging holes. For this reason, he has to stay on his side of the fence. Chasing greyhounds is always a futile effort and another reason he stays inside the fence! And, yes, this is the “soil” in my garden. It never fails to amaze me that anything grows in it.

Sending sunshine and warmth your way from my garden.

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..