Tag Archives: Mexican Bush Honeysuckle

In a Vase on Monday – Sunday Mother’s Day Madness

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It’s Mother’s Day in the US this Sunday. As I collect flowers, my thoughts are always with my mother, the Greatest Generation Southern Belle, Miss Betty, who would have adored In a Vase on Monday. I am certain if she was still with us (she would be 98 years old) I would be printing out blog posts and mailing them to her. Computers were not happening in her world, ever.

My father’s mother, Blanche (yes) was the Blue Willow collector. I suspect there is a gene as I love the pattern and china. The teapot was found on a shopping mission with my mother.

The Sunday Madness? A Food and Travel magazine contacted me a couple of months ago – soon after the historic freeze, and they wanted to photograph food in my garden. I agreed. And am madly putting things right. This week I am baking! I will share more as things progress.

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A closer view. The white flowers spilling down the side are Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata). Orange flowers are Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera). Blue flowers are Plumbago (P. auriculata). White spikes are White Flame Salvia. Scent is added by chartreuse culinary dill flowers.

Foliage is ‘Mammey’ Crotons and Asian Sword Ferns.

Please send me positive vibes for the photo shoot. To see more vases, visit Cathy at RamblingintheGarden!!

In a Vase on Monday – Mexican Garden Safari

It has not rained here in weeks, I am not sure if rain has fallen during the month of March. Of course, our irrigation well had to roll over and die in the middle of all this and I had to hand water the garden for a couple of weeks because all the irrigation contractors were overbooked. Finally, I told one I was an old lady and I could not hand water my half acre garden anymore. They showed up the following day. Now I know what to say. It turned out there were ants in a switch that made the whole thing work. We have water again, but it is very dry in the garden.

I thought there wasn’t very much in bloom until I went on a garden safari. Wandering through the garden, I found a few things – trees, shrubs and vines and few perennials. The native wildflowers are usually blooming by now. The Firebush, usually covered in flowers in March is just starting to flower, I decided to leave that for the butterflies as it is a favorite nectar plant and there are many teenage Zebra Longwings in the garden. The cold in January zapped a lot of the flowers back and then this dry March has continued the trend. Rain is forecast for Thursday, fingers crossed.

A closer view:

The vase is a pottery wine cooler I picked up in the North Georgia mountains a few years ago. It has been used as a vase more than to cool wine. The Mexican Flame Vine (Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides) that my neighbor has allowed to ramble through the big hedges between our gardens is in full bloom and the butterflies are going crazy for it. The smaller orange flowers are from the Mexican Flame Vine. They are quite fragrant and it is no wonder the insects love them. The larger orange flower is Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera). White flowers near the base of the arrangement are White Geiger tree (Cordia boisseriei), another Mexican native. White daisy flowers are from Bidens alba, a Florida native. The white Begonias are another gift from Mexico; Lotusleaf Begonia (Begonia nelumbifolia). There is a bit of Red Firecracker Plant around the edges (Russelia equisetiformis) – yet another Mexican native.

Happy Gardening and Cheers to Mexican flowers. The safari has made me thirsty.

Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting In a Vase on Monday. Follow the link to see more vases from around the world.

In a Vase on Monday – South of the Border

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I called this ‘South of the Border’ as most of the plants are from Mexico and it has a festive vibe, just need some Enchiladas (have some in the freezer, chicken) and maybe a cold beer with a lime squeezed in. Voila! South of the Border Party. A Mariachi Band would be a great addition.

Here is a close up:

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The bigger orange flowers in the arrangement are Mexican Bush Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera), reportedly a great hummingbird and butterfly plant. I have had this in the garden for a few years and noticed none of the above. The smaller orange flowers are from the Mexican Flame Vine (Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides). No, I could not spell that one on a dare. The vine is an escapee of the confines of my neighbor’s garden and the butterflies do love this one. It climbs through the hedge of Surinam Cherries and I don’t mind a bit. Every now and again I give it a whack with the loppers. The grey foliage in the arrangement is from the Licorice Plant (Helicryseum petiolaris); when reading about this plant you will find mentions of ‘slight scent of Licorice’. For the record, this plant is native to South Africa and I have never detected any licorice odor, despite having them in my garden off and on for decades.

Given the images of indoor Amaryllis on IAVOM this winter, I thought you all might like to see the one that lives in my garden. The bulb originally belonged to my father in law, Glenn, who is long gone. I have had it for decades and planted it in my garden about six  years ago. Currently, it is about 3 feet tall, not staked, and has 4 flowers and 8 buds on three stalks. I was taking pictures in a high wind, so add some imagination. The ferns have overrun things a bit.

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Interestingly enough, Glenn’s birthday is March 20, the Amaryllis is usually flowering in celebration.

Happy Birthday, Glenn from my garden and Happy Monday.