Tag Archives: photography

Six on Saturday – Summer Additions

It seems I always find a few things I want to add to the garden – in July. Not a great time for shipping plants to South Florida. I managed to control myself (a little) and bought a few new plants shipped from nearby. July can be a good time to plant things due to copious rainfall.

My garden tour this morning revealed a few other new things in the garden – one has already been eaten! Please join other SOS bloggers and their six items of interest at Jim’s Blog (Garden Ruminations) for more summer fun.

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The Yellow Dragonfruit is once again teasing me with a flower. These are pollinated by night flying bats and moths. At this point I am not sure I have any of those in the garden. Usually I get some flowers for a short (hours long) period and they fall off. I thought I would try the paint brush around the inside of the flower and then looked inside.

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The flower was loaded with insects doing more than I could ever hope for with a paintbrush. I’ll know in a week or so if there will be fruit.

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The homegrown pineapple (on the left) was harvested and devoured. These pineapples are usually much smaller than the grocery store varieties (on the right) I am not sure why because they are grown from the tops of grocery store pineapples? The fruit is sweeter and juicier than pineapples from the store. Delicious.

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These are new to the garden. I bought the cuttings of Reed Orchid (Epiprenum radicans). These can be grown in the ground here and are used as a groundcover. This one has orange flowers that look like dendrobium clusters, but they come in many colors. I put it in a terracotta pot to keep the rabbits away. It should take and creep over the sides of the pot and fill in the bed.

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Meet ‘Absolute Zero’ Crypanthus bromeliad. These are shade lovers and should have pink flowers. The common name is Earth Star. I intend to put these in the ground near the Epiprenums. After receiving the plant I realized the sun needs to go down in the sky a bit before I plant them. A little too much afternoon sun currently.

A locally grown coconut. I bought this to bake a pie, without thinking through the fact that power tools are probably needed to open it and it is the wrong kind for baking coconut. Green coconuts have coconut water and jelly. Brown coconuts have the grateable meat for pies. Sigh. Both involve screwdrivers and hammer prior to use. They can be sprouted and planted in the garden – but I am not sure which kind.

That’s all from South Florida. There is a heat advisory in effect for the next couple of days so all gardening has to be done before 9 am. I am done!

Happy Gardening

In a Vase on Monday – A Little Tropical

Maybe I should call this Big Tropical! It is too big for the house, so I left it on the porch.

At least once a year I attempt to arrange the Blanchetiana Bromeliad flowers. These are the red and yellow things that look like crab claws in the vase. The flowers are 4 or 5 feet tall this year and last forever. I think they started blooming in June. I sometimes make Christmas wreaths with the flowers.

We are enjoying a spell of ‘why people come to South Florida in winter’ weather. It makes for great gardening, but the winter flowers aren’t quite going yet to cut a bouquet. So cutting crab claws in the yard seemed like a good idea. Here are the close ups:

The crab claws, in red and yellow, are Aechmea blanchetiana Bromeliad flowers; in yellow, Yellow Bells (Tecoma stans); in red, Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreum). Foliage is a White Bird of Paradise leaf (Strelitzia nicolai), a Cabbage Palm (Palmetto sabal) frond and a leaf from a Split Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron selloum)

Here is the flower of a Lemonade Blanchetiana Bromeliad. The one in the vase is from the red version, Red Raspberry. The foliage on that one is red.

That’s all from my garden this Monday. Thanks to Cathy at RamblingintheGarden for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases.

Six on Saturday – Avocado and Friends

I have been absent from SOS the past few weeks. I have been occupied with houseguests, not much going on in the garden, followed by an unexpected road trip to pick up a new hound. My house and garden feel much more like a home with the addition of Handsome Rob, a rescue Greyhound. There was a major garden event this week – my first ever Avocado!

To tour more SOS gardens, visit Jim at GardenRuminations

The avocado. This is a Catalina or Cuban Avocado. To my knowledge, the only variety that is true to seed. These grow wild in the Caribbean, my Puerto Rican college classmate tells me the woods are full of them on his island. Another college friend grew my tree from seed, it has been in the garden since 2016. These are big avocadoes, about twice the size of a Hass. I hope it gets ripe!

The Rangpur limes continue to taunt me – not quite ripe.

The garden provided a few dry season floral surprises this week. A Gallardia pulchella seedling flowering in the shell walkway.

Red Shrimp Plants (Justicia brandegeana). I think the cool weather deepens the color.

Who knew Ti Plants (Cordyline fruiticosa) flowered? This was a surprise to me, they resemble Dracaena flowers.

Meet Handsome Rob – doing what greyhounds do best, holding down the floor. Handsome Rob was a character in the movie The Italian Job. Not the dog, Jason Statham.

That is all from South Florida this week. My fingers are crossed for a bit of rain this week and warmer weather. I have been moving my tomato and zinnia seedlings in and out of the house as we have had morning temperatures in the 50s.

Six on Saturday – Fall Finds

I am joining the SOS gang to share the discovery of my first ripe Rangpur lime this Saturday. I shall be heading to the grocery store soon to buy ingredients for a pie. Gardening is Good! Eventually I end up with a pastel orange “Key Lime” pie.

To see more SOS posts, follow this link Garden Ruminations to visit our host, Jim and travel the world of gardening through the comments section.

The Rangpur lime. This fruit is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. Why it is called a lime I am not sure.

More unusual fruit. This is a Bitter Melon (Monmordica) These grow wild here and are very prolific. Some call them Stinkweed due to the smell of the foliage. They are considered health food for some – I stick with the Rangpur pie.

Fruit of the Jatropha multifida, called physic nut. It is supposedly medicinal, but known to cause mild gastrointestinal distress, I am not sure why you would eat it.

Yellow Elder (Tecoma stans) starting its show.

Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreum) waking up.

Another fall find, the cone of a Cardboard Palm (Zamia furfuracea) – this one has been trimmed off and is nestled in trimmings from a Gumbo Limbo (Bursera simaruba). These are prolific reseeders and not a good thing to get loose in the garden.

That’s all from South Florida this morning. Off to find baking ingredients.

Six on Saturday – Changes

Fall brings changes to my garden. Cooler weather is the best! It seems odd to me that the more tropical plants (like Bromeliads) start to reproduce like mad and it is time to thin and move them around. I am not sure why I think they should like the rainy, steamy weather better. Maybe that is why I enjoy them so much.

To see more changes in SOS gardens follow this link GardenRuminations to Jim’s blog.

October inspires the ‘Candy’ Portea Bromeliads to flower. This is just the beginning. These get longer and have fat pink stems.

I am trying to decide if I love this or not. These Purple Queen (Transcandentia pallida) pop up in the Bromeliads and add a little color – or does it look unkempt? A dilemma.

A bit more typical fall scene, the Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is starting to show off.

An unusual post hurricane occurrence. The Papaya tree knocked down by the wind is still alive. I think rabbits are eating the leaves. I am wondering if I can prop this up to make an easy to pick Papaya tree. The fruit is usually at least 8 or 10 feet off the ground.

The Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa). A native wildflower makes its seasonal appearance.

Another change in my garden I am sad to share. Fiona the Greyhound was lost to bone cancer this week. She was only seven and diagnosed in late August. I thought we would have more time with her. Here she is looking for bees to munch on in better days.

Six on Saturday – Summer Survivors or Not

It has been a hot and humid week. I strolled the garden in search of plants surviving and thriving in the heat. There is always a surprise or two. I pulled a few weeds, but mostly noted that there are weeds – waiting patiently for their demise during cooler days.

To join the world wide SOS garden tours visit Jim at GardenRuminations

Neoregelia bromeliads are very reliable survivors here. There are so many varieties, I don’t know the names of these two. This one is just starting to flower, signaling the end of its life.

Another Neoregelia of unknown origin. I bought many of these at garage sales (nobody knows names at garage sales) as broms are absurdly expensive when nursery grown.

Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) in white. These love summer rain and heat.

The coleus tree. I have pruned it again. The winds from Tropical Storm Debby knocked a woody branch off the side. It is surprising how woody the trunk is.

It has been a great year for butterflies. I have been lacking the patience to stand in the shrubbery and wait for them to pose. This is the state butterfly of Florida, Zebra Longwing. It is sipping nectar from a Chaya tree. Chaya is a tropical spinach that grows into a multi stemmed shrub. I thought it would grow 4 or 5 feet – this one is almost ten feet tall!

Here is the not survivor. My hopes were dashed for Dragon fruit yet again. Sigh.

That’s all from South Florida. Dreaming of cooler days and a dragonfruit from the garden.

Six on Saturday – Discoveries

My Saturday morning garden tours always bring a few surprises, happy and sad. I discovered my first Avocado! And I missed some bromeliad flowers. Oops. I found a few other things along the way to share with my fellow SOSers. Follow this link GardenRuminations to visit Jim’s blog for a Saturday morning world garden tour.

TaDa, the avocado. This is a Cuban or Catalina Avocado, a pebble textured, green skinned avocado. It should be the size and shape of a football (the American kind) when ripe towards the end of the year. Fingers crossed I get to eat it.. A friend grew this from seed and bought the seedling to me in 2016 – it takes a while to get fruit. A rare self pollinating, true to seed avocado, these are native to Cuba.

These are summer Florida avocados my neighbor picked at a friend’s house. This type is the result of many crosses between Central American avocados and available in several skin colors. The black ones are especially good. Guacamole is in my future. Food forests do exist!

Fruit on the White Geiger tree, These eventually turn white and are enjoyed by wildlife. Supposedly edible, but not tasty.

Another invasive lizard. The red headed Agama. UGH.

The Bridal Bouquet Plumeria (Plumeria pudica) hedge is flowering.

One of the most reliable summer flowering perennials in my garden. The Firecracker plant (Russelia equisetiformis)

That’s all from South Florida. Rain dances shall begin shortly.

Six on Saturday – Porch Views

It’s Saturday morning, as I was finishing my coffee hatching plans for my SOS post it started pouring down rain! After checking my trusty (ha!) weather app on my phone, it was suggested this was going on for quite a while. So, this Saturday we have views of what can be seen in my garden from the front and back porch without getting too wet.

The kitchen seemed like a good place to start. This is my first Thai dessert mango of the year (Nam Doc Mai). It is not quite ripe. It should have a fully developed peach color and floral fragrance before peeling and eating. I am finding it is a bit of a trick to pick and ripen the perfect mango. Sometimes they fall off the tree and it is okay, sometimes not. If picked too soon they don’t ripen at all.

Mango blueberry upside down cakes (pineapple as well) These are made with Glenn mangos from my other tree.

I am still at work on the Coleus tree. I pruned it back again this week. I think it might need a harder prune to develop a nicer top.

Turkey Tangle Frog Fruit (Phlya nodiflora) lawn is finally growing in. ‘Bossa Nova’ Neoregelia bromeliads in the foreground.

I have been waiting for this flower. Grown from seed. This is a Zin Master Zinnia. I thought it was going to be bigger! The plants are just huge and beautiful.

King of Siam Croton (Codieum varigatum). A new addition to the garden this spring, finally showing its coral spots.

That is my Six for this Saturday. Visit Jim at Garden Ruminations to see more SOS posts. I will be in the kitchen contemplating more mango desserts.

In a Vase on Monday – Ladies of the Front Garden

I begin to more fully appreciate the occupants of my garden near the front door as summer embraces my garden in full heat and humidity. Embraces may be too delicate a word, bringing the hammer down is more accurate. I enjoy these two ladies growing near my door in the garden and in a vase this Monday.

Miss Alice Bougainvillea in white and Lady Di Heliconias relish the heat and don’t even break a sweat being beautiful in summer. Both of the ladies have the ability to flower year round but seem to enjoy the summer most for showing off. I did not realize Miss Alice was a big bract (?) Bougainvillea until I was researching who Alice might be.

Miss Alice in full glory. Who Miss Alice is remains a mystery.

We were hoping for some rain this week in Central and South Florida after a droughty spring. If the predictions are right we will have a full season’s worth of rain this week. Seven to twelve inches is forecast. I guess I can put up the hose for a bit.

Lady Di Heliconias (Heliconia psittacorum) in red and yellow are nestled in a frond from a Sabal Palm seedling.

Miss Alice Bougainvillea bracts and true flowers with a few sprigs of charteuse coleus. The vase was inherited from my mother.

That’s all from South Florida. We will be frying, steaming or sauteing in the garden this week. To see more vases visit Cathy at ramblinginthegarden

Six on Saturday – Learning Curves

My Saturday morning garden tour found a few more learning curves to navigate. Living this far south in the US is much different from a gardening (and other) standpoints. As a gardener I find it interesting and frustrating at the same time. It amazes me what will and won’t grow here. More water or less? Always a dilemma. I found some successes this morning. To see more garden tours and visit other SOS gardens follow this link to Jim’s blog.

The Schlomburkgia orchid in the Gumbo Limbo tree is flowering. This one makes a stiff 6 foot long stem that is actually kind of hard to see as the flowers end up straight overhead. Here is the base.

Growing orchids in trees is one of the amazing things about South Florida gardening. Once established they are relatively carefree. Water in the dry winter and enjoy flowers in summer.

Dancing Lady Oncidium orchids are taking well in the Sabal Palm boots. I hope these are the beginning of a spray of orchids. Hope springs eternal.

I was advised by the nursery I bought these Chicken Gizzard (Iresine herbstii) to plant them in full sun. This one is in partial shade as I did not believe them.

The other Chicken Gizzard plant, placed per directions and starting to fry. Full sun in South Florida is a whole different thing.

My neighbor decided to build a Coral rock wall on my property for some reason. He had to move it over, not to worry, this guy could bench press a Volkswagen. Now I have a little planter I am working on filling up.

Last, but not least, the Nam Doc Mai mangoes are starting to blush, I am so ready to eat one! Frozen mangoes from Aldi are just not the same.

That’s all from my garden this Saturday morning. I am looking forward to seeing what everybody has going on in theirs.

Happy Gardening!!