Tag Archives: six on saturday

Six on Saturday – Spring Scents and Surprises

It’s Saturday morning and time to look around the garden for new things. I have been noticing pleasant fragrances upon stepping out on my porch in the morning and did a little detective work. Warmer weather and longer days bring the fragrant flowers into bloom. Nothing says tropical summer like the scent of Frangipani in the air.

This is a locally common Frangipani (Plumeria spp.) I have no idea what variety it is, but these are everywhere and likely shared as cuttings for decades. A friend gave me a cutting several years ago, it is now about four feet tall. They make a nice small tree, if you know how to prune them. I don’t, though it is big enough to give it a try this winter when dormancy reappears.

The first Tropical Gardenia (Tabernaemontana divaricata) of the season. These are not as fragrant as the Gardenia jasminoides, but leave a light scent at night. The Frangipani are also more noticeable at night.

I pruned the Sweet Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata) rather severely about a month ago. It is rewarding me with fresh, deep green leaves and a flush of fragrant flowers. This fragrance is more noticeable during daylight hours, so I have round the clock scents right now.

Now I am wobbling into things that smell weird. This is a New Gold Lantana. I have issues with this plant from working on the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where it was a theme plant. There were so many plants around town, I never wanted to see another one. I guess it took me 27 years to get over it. I bought two in pots last year as they are sterile and a great butterfly plant. They remained in their pots until a couple of weeks ago and look at them now.

Gallardias or Indian Blankets (Gallardia pulchella). Another wildflower that does well in hot Florida sand. Despite being considered native for years they have been ruled non native. These have jumped into the crushed shell walkways for some reason. Left in place and stepped on sometimes, they are thriving with no water and growing in the shell. Amazing. Do I care if they are native? Not one bit.

Presenting the ‘Alaska’ Nasturtium. I planted a package of these seeds a little late (February, I think. December 1 is the time here) The seeds in the beds came up, gasped and died. A few in pots grew up and flowered. My opinion on these is the varigated foliage looks a bit sickly instead of crisply attractive. Back to Jewel Mix Nasturtiums, here’s hoping I will remember in December.

Voila, my Six for this Saturday. To see more SOS posts follow this like to Jim’s blog –http://gardenruminations.co.uk

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Stormy Benefits

SOS time again! Six items of interest to share with fellow gardeners from all over. To see other SOS posts, follow this link http://gardenruminations.co.uk

Warm and cold weather fronts crashing together from the Atlantic Ocean and elsewhere caused some mad weather in my South Florida garden this week. Neighbors were saying a mini hurricane hit our area, evidenced by 85 mph wind gusts and flying lawn furniture. The rain brought about some welcome changes to the garden.

Schomburgkia Orchids burst into flower and managed to stay attached to the Gumbo Limbo tree.

Blue Daze Evolvulus finally in full flower. These have been in the garden for years and rarely look like this. I have been wondering what to do with them and I am thinking lots of water is the answer.

Native Purslane popping up in the flower border. A weed I like, I am told it is edible – but haven’t tried it.

‘Bossa Nova’ Neoregelia enjoys the sunshine following the storms. I recently discovered these are supposed to grow in full sun. I moved them and we will see. I am not sure why it just seems odd to grow bromeliads in full sun. To me, anyway.

Another bromeliad basking in the sunshine. ‘Fireball’ Neoregeli; usually grown as groundcover for their foliage colors – varying from green to red depending on light conditions. These are in a container with Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers.

‘White Flame’ Salvia with a Red Cypress Vine growing up the side. I suppose I should separate these two. Black and Bloom Salvia in the background. The butterflies are starting to enjoy all of these flowers.

That is it for this week. Next week’s weather is looking good for gardening. I am hoping the dragonflies show up soon to eat the mosquitoes that came along with the rain.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Turkey Tangle Frogfruit

I am joining the SOS gang this week with my latest garden adventure. Weather in South Florida is transitioning from Not Summer into Summer, rain showers have started back up, the humidity is up and a platoon of mosquitoes showed up this morning to interrupt my walk. I slathered myself in mosquito spray and braved the onslaught long enough to pot up the Frogfruit cuttings. Hoping for the dragonfly crew to show up soon and dispatch the mosquitoes.

To see more SOS posts, visit Jim at www.gardenruminations.co.uk.

The Frogfruit:

These don’t look like much right now. I want to get rid of the St. Augustine lawn in my garden. It needs too much of everything, water, sun, fertilizer and I refuse to put weed killers – especially Atrazine on my lawn. Florida, as a state, has mostly ruined their local waterways with lawn chemicals and sewage. And people wonder what happened to all the sea grass that the Manatees eat, duh. Put enough grassy weed killers on the zillions of acres of turf grass on sand and it’s going into the watershed to kill other things, especially the animals that rely on sea grass. The Manatees rely on sea grass and are starving, so the state is feeding them Romaine lettuce. I am so disgusted with these people. So, in my garden the lawn is mostly gone. And really ugly.

Rant is complete.

Turkey Tangle Frog Fruit (Phyla nodiflora) is an evergreen, low growing native wildflower – or weed, depending on who you ask. It is recommended as a lawn replacement in places other than Florida (Texas and California). It is also a host and nectar plant for many butterflies. For some reason, it is extremely difficult to source. I ordered cuttings in January and they just showed up in my mailbox. Now I have potted the rooted cuttings after several days of rehydration. Fingers crossed they grow. Who knew it would be so hard to grow weeds, uh, wildflowers.

The “lawn” as it is. Ugly!

On to prettier things.

Three miniature pineapples and a lizard on a favorite bromeliad. The minature ones are more reliable about fruiting than the big ones, but you can’t really eat them. I have read they can be juiced, but how much juice could really be in there? I like to cut these and let them dry, they are fun additions to flower arrangements.

Another oddity, Coral Plant (Jatropha multifida) The leaves look like marijuana, though the whole plant is very toxic.

A plant combination I like. On the left, the foliage, Golden Duranta (Duranta erecta); grey foliage with yellow ball flowers ‘Golf Beauty’ Craspedia; ‘Mystic Blue’ Salvia and the small yellow flowering plant is a native purslane, I am not sure which one.

Flowers on a Lotusleaf Begonia (Begonia nelumbiifolia). The leaves on this begonia are easily 18 by 18 inches. It is a great coarse texture accent in the garden – considered a roadside weed in South America, where it inhabits ditches.

That is all from lawnless land in Florida. Thanks to Jim for hosting and..

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – The Bugs are Back

Thankfully, we had a couple of inches of rain fall this week. Flowers are bursting out and the buzzing of bees in this flower on my Dwarf Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebellini) caused me to look up and take note. It is a pretty flower though not easy to see unless you are a gardener standing under it looking at other plants. Note the thorns on the stems of the fronds, I wear a hard hat when pruning this one. The butterflies are also back – I have been chasing them but as of yet unable to catch one.

Flowers on the Adonidia Palm (Veitchia merrilli). If left on the palm these get much bigger and turn into bright red fruits in December. This is also called Christmas Palm for that reason. Most people cut them off. There is actually a palm pollen advisory in effect.

The final Ranunculus, about a quarter of the size of the first two. No clue why.

The Desert Rose (Adenium obesum) has been spectacular this year. Again, no idea why.

A Latania Palm (Latania loddigesii) I bought as Blue Latan is probably a Red Latan – due to the red leaf margins. This has been in the garden for years and years and has not developed a trunk. I did not realize how slowly palms grow. I hope to see a tree someday. Right now it is still a shrub – palmetto?

Nam Doc Mai Mango ripening. The wind and rain knocked the mango crop from maybe 50 to about 15, which is normal and expected. I was concerned about what to do with 50! Waiting for one of the 15.

That’s my Six this Saturday from South Florida. Where are yours? To see more SOS posts, visit http://gardenruminations.co.uk

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – The Jesus Lizard

It’s Saturday again and time to share garden happenings. I suppose it is very appropriate to find a Jesus Lizard in the garden during Easter week. I had been seeing a fast moving animal in the garden for a couple of weeks, it appeared to be running on its back legs like a little T Rex dinosaur. I am beginning to think I am seeing things. Things that aren’t there. Finally, it stopped and I was close enough to get a picture.

Here is the lizard. Google was able to identify this as a Brown Basilisk or Jesus Lizard. It does run on its back legs and has paddle shaped feet that make it appear to walk on water if it runs into a lake at high speed, hence the name. These are not native to Florida and considered invasive. Mental health crisis averted. Additional information, if you need it. loridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/2023/02/22/jesus-lizard-florida-what-to-know-brown-basilisks/69902695007/

I was thrilled to get my second Ranunculus flower.

I am looking forward to eating this pepper. Tonight. My first successful red pepper.

I have been moving bromeliads around this week. A new container of Neoregelia bromeliads was assembled for the porch from random plants in the back garden.

‘Purple Haze’ Billbergia bromeliad added to the front garden. A ring cut from a nursery container supports the plant as it roots into its new space.

I planted three Papayas grown from seed in the back garden. Hopefully a male and female plant emerge from the trees and I get some fruit. These are Mexican Papayas. I have them amongst the pineapples that were gnawed by something. Maybe the Jesus Lizard.

Happy Easter and Happy Gardening!!

To see more SOS posts visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk

Six on Saturday – Flowers

I am joining the SOS gang once again after checking out the flowers in my South Florida garden. The sun is shining and the weather is heating up again. I have been attentive to watering and fertilizing and have some new flowers to show.

The Chandelier plant (Medinilla cummingii) had a rough winter, not enjoying our unusually cold December weather. It has come back nicely and started flowering again. This plant usually flowers year round. This is the flower.

The fruit follows the flower and is just as ornamental. Eventually, the berries turn dark purple and become sticky. I am guessing in their native Philippines the birds eat them and distribute them in the tree tops. I smashed some of the berries onto some big branches in the trees in my garden last summer and nothing happened..

I am enjoying my recently planted Salvias tremendously. The sun was hitting the Black and Bloom Salvia as I walked outside this morning and I had to snap a photo.

Roman Red Salvia is also shining.

Our native Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) sometimes appears in white. This amazingly hardy plant is happy with Blue Daze Evolvulus at its feet.

More blue and white flowers. White Flame and Mystic Blue Salvia.

Wishing everyone sunny days and warmer weather. Thanks to Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk for hosting. Follow the link to see more gardens.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Spring Happenings

I am joining Jim and the SOS gang this morning from my South Florida garden. Our weather continues to seesaw between spring and summer. I am wearing a sweatshirt one day and shorts the next. The good news is some rain has finally fallen after a long absence underscoring that we are still in our dry season. I am very grateful for the rain. To see more Six on Saturday posts, follow this link to Jim’s blog http://gardenruminations.co.uk

First up: Some of the tropical plants are showing their colors. These are the first flowers on ‘Lady Di’ Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorum). These are one of my many favorites.

The ‘Little Harv’ Bromeliads are flowering again.

A pineapple top I set aside and forgot about has rooted and is growing a pineapple.

The Nam Doc Mai Thai Mangoes have set fruit. Fingers crossed I get to eat a lot of these before the squirrels do.

On the less tropical side, the Golf Beauty Craspedia is in full bloom. Golf Beauty is a very appropriate name.

I planted a couple of ‘Black and Bloom’ Salvia last week. The black is a bit startling, but I love the contrast with the emerald green foliage.

That is all for this Saturday from my garden.

Happy Gardening !!!

Six on Saturday – New Things.

I am joining SOS this Saturday with six new things from my South Florida garden. Below is a new addition to the ecosystem on my porch. This is a tree frog that has been sleeping inside a Billbergia bromeliad for the past several days. I am hopeful he or she is eating mosquitoes. Fiona the greyhound noticed the frog first. Fortunately, she dislikes amphibians, a squirrel would have been an entirely different story.

I have finally eaten a tomato! And there are more ripening, at long last. And yes, it was worth the wait. Delicious.

I cut the last of my Sunspot Sunflowers this week and have been enjoying them in a vase by the kitchen sink.

The sunny, warm weather inspired the Desert Rose (Adenium obesum) to flower. It caused me to realize I should thin the branches.

The red Desert Rose is budding and in desperate need of pruning. Maybe next week, I have been told to treat the pruning wounds with cinnamon to help them heal? Both of these plants were damaged by the cold in December and are bouncing back nicely.

This is Craspedia ‘Golf Beauty’, a new addition to the cutting garden. I kept waiting for the flower to open, but this is it! I will say it looks great in flower arrangements and lasts for weeks.

That’s it from my garden this week. To see more SOS posts visit Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Green

I am joining the SOS crowd this Saturday, watching for any signs of ripening fruit and not finding any. It is all green. The tomatoes are especially frustrating- green for weeks, and it hasn’t been cold. Temperatures were in the high 80’s (31 C) yesterday, so maybe the intermittent heat is slowing them down?

All tomatoes I have planted are red, yellow or purple when ripe. Yet they all look like this now and there are a lot of them. Grrr.

Red Bell Peppers, resolutely green. I have high hopes for these, when they turn red.

Craspedia or Woolyheads. This should be yellow flowers, yet they are slammed shut.

Tiny miniature pineapples. Too cute to be mad at.

Glenn Mangoes, fruit set and growing.

Thai Dessert Mangoes, Nam Doc Mai, setting fruit.

Well, sooner or later I will be eating Mango Salsa!

That is it from South Florida. To see more SOS posts, visit Jim at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Trials

It is a beautiful sunny Saturday in my South Florida garden. Yesterday I received a wonderful gift from my favorite local nursery, Pinder’s. Several new (to me, anyway) varieties of Salvia and some interesting cut flower plants to trial in my garden and use to make vases.

I am joining Jim and the SOS gang to share what is going on in our gardens. Follow the link gardenruminations.co.uk to see more garden tours from bloggers around the world.

Salvias:

My love affair with Salvias continue:

Black and Bloom Salvia. This is supposed to grow 3 feet tall and wide. I hope it does.

Roman Red Salvia. This one has a very herbal, sage fragrance. The butterflies came out to see the new plant as soon as I took it out of the car. Another good sized Salvia, 24 ” height and spread.

White Flame Salvia, this one has a sweet fragrance and is almost grey. It will be a wonderful accent for flower arrangements.

A new sunflower to cut, Brown Eyed Girl. I am interested to see how it grows, theory is a mounding mass rather than a tall stick. This one will have to live in a container in my garden.

A surprise to me. Giant Dianthus. It is 18-24 inches tall and the biggest Dianthus I have ever seen. I am not sure what these will do in my garden. I suspect it will be too hot shortly for Dianthus. I cut some of this and it has a wonderful classic clove fragrance.

Craspedia globosa, perhaps the answer to the lack of Alliums in South Florida. These produce bright yellow balls that are long stemmed, good cutting and drying flowers. I am not quite sure where to put this, but I like the silvery foliage. The instructions on line say well drained clay?! I think that the nurseryman speak for take your chances.

That is my Six for this Saturday. I am looking forward to taking my ramble around the world this afternoon visiting other gardens.

Happy Gardening!!