Tag Archives: six on saturday

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..

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.

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.

Six on Saturday – Lime in the Coconut

I’m joining the SOSers again this Saturday sharing six items of interest from my garden. Winter brings tropical fruit and flowers to the garden in South Florida. I have been enjoying Rangpur limes for the past couple of weeks. I just noted my new Finger Limes are flowering and bearing fruit! The bees have been busy and the first mango of the year has set fruit. Exciting times.

To see other SOS garden posts, visit Jim at GardenRuminations.

The Australian Finger Lime, also called Caviar Limes, looks like caviar when squeezed out of the rind. These are native to low lying areas in Australia. I am looking forward to trying this. Once again facing the “when is it ripe?” dilemma.

Fruit setting on the Australian Finger Lime.

The weather this week was cool. A good time to do battle with oddly growing tropical fruit trees. I donned my leather gloves and arm covers and pruned the Rangpur limes. See why above. The branches that bear fruit have some serious thorns.

The trunks of the Rangpur lime are smooth and the fragrance is wonderful when pruning. It is a pleasant experience if the thorns on the branches can be avoided. This lime tree has taken a strange shape. I hope I have cleaned it up and made the fruit easier to pick next year.

The first tiny Nam Doc Mai mangoes of the year. I was happy to see the bees at work on the flowers this week. Sometimes it is too windy for the flowers to bee pollinated and you get no mangoes. Interestingly, I have flowers on the opposite side of the tree this year. Last year all the fruit was on one side. 100 days from flower to fruit on mangoes is the mantra. I am not so sure about that!

As the song goes “Put the Lime in the Coconut” here’s the coconut. These are baby coconuts on a tree in my neighbor’s yard.

That’s all from South Florida this Saturday. Happy Garden Dreaming..

Six on Saturday – Winter Gardening Adventures in South Florida

I have recovered from my SOS slump and got it together to take some photos of South Florida winter gardening fun. To see more potential examples of winter gardening fun, visit Jim at GardenRuminations.

I had a little surprise encounter while picking Rangpur limes. This is a corn snake, non venomous and a good snake to have in the garden. They eat rats and other things you don’t want around. Unfortunately, this one is a very similar color to the fruit. They usually don’t bite, unless, say you try to pick them. Fortunately, I realized what it was before I tried to pick it!

The Rangpur limes are having a good year. We have had Rangpur pie, chicken marinated with garlic, black pepper and fresh oregano and limeade. I am going to channel my Southern old lady and make some Lime Sour bar cookies (I had to find the biscuit pan first). I have frozen juice and zest for pies, given limes to friends and neighbors and still have a few left on the tree. I stopped picking them before I almost picked the corn snake.

More of the weird and wonderful in my garden. This is a Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea) seedling seeking ground from the top of a Sabal Palm. The fruit from the Strangler Fig is left by wild life in the crown of the palm. It sprouts and eventually sends a tree back down to the ground. The tree roots and grows up around the palm and “strangles” it. Very Harry Potter.

Flowers of the China Hat (Holmskioldia sanguinea) sometimes called Chinaman’s Hat. These are native to the Himalayas, seems strange to me they grow here.

This is a Mona Lavendar Plectranthus. These are fairly common around here, generally used as annuals. I use them in containers. They last a year or two and are very hardy. This container has Licorice plant (Helichhrysum petiolare), a charteuse coleus, and Starry Night Petunias.

The container next to the Mona Lavendar is planted with Wishbone flowers (Torenia fournieri). I am not sure which named variety this is – it is my first time trying these. So far, so good. I am enjoying the color.

There, slacking off did not happen this week. I am wishing everyone good gardening surprises. No snakes in the lime tree.

Six on Saturday – Solstice Colors

Despite living in South Florida for a decade, I am still surprised by what grows where and flowers when. Today is no exception. Flowers on tomatoes and zinnias on the Winter Solstice still bend my mind. I do love the clear light this time of year. The tilt of the earth softens the strength of the sun. This effect renders nicely in photos.

It is Saturday and I have been slacking off on my SOS posts, but am back. To see other solstice posts, visit Jim at GardenRuminations.

The cactus zinnias just started to flower. I planted these in the ground rather than pots and will be interested in how they fare. So far, so good.

There seem to be several of these. I am wondering if I planted a batch of Envy zinnias. The rain washed away the labels..

Heirloom Pentas (Penta lanceolata). These are big Pentas – they can reach four feet. I have not seen these anywhere else. Sold here for butterfly gardens.

First flowers on the cherry tomatoes. It seems to take much longer this time of year to get fruit.

Autumn Fern (Dryopteris erythrosa) in full color. These are my favorites from my garden further north. I am surprised I have managed to get it to grow here. A very pampered pot on my front porch. Doused twice daily with dog bowl water.

Rangpur limes nearing ripeness. I baked a pie this week. Ginger snap crust with toasted coconut and Rangpur lime filling. It is gone.

Happy Holidays to all and Cheers to longer days.

Thanks to Jim for hosting.

Six on Saturday – Winter Color

I am joining SOS sharing my new winter flowers and vegetables. The cool season in Florida is the best time of year for gardening. Late in the year I plant vegetables and update annual flowers in my containers. I am trying some new flowers this winter. Gardening is a constant experiment for me.

To tour other winter gardens visit Jim at GardenRuminations.

I think these are Splash Dance Violet Vogue petunias. I did not realize how many different types of the dark spotted petunias there are and recycled the tag. I also did not realize petunias are not toxic to dogs but Callibrachoa is. Sure enough, I left the Callibrachoa out of the dog reach and later observed him trying to take a bite out of the petunias! Details.

The new Callibrachoa the dog did not get to try. I have varying luck with these. They seem to look great for a short period of time and then poof! no more.

This is a new variety of Begonia called Big Pink (Begonia x benariensis). They are said to thrive in shade or sun and can grow up to 28″ tall, which seems unlikely. Has anyone tried them? Below is Big White with Fireball Neoregelia Bromeliads in a container.

The Cherry Tomato and Zinnia seedlings (in bud!) are more than ready to be planted. I am waiting until tomorrow as warmer weather returns next week.

My first Cuban or Catalina Avocado was a bust. It fell off the tree before it was big enough, there is usually twice as much fruit around the seed. I gifted the seed to a friend – in ten years or so, she might have an avocado. I am hoping for some Christmas 2025.

I am getting back in the garden this sunny Saturday morning. It is 67 degrees F/19 C, good gardening weather.

Happy December to all!

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.