Tag Archives: six on saturday

Six on Saturday – Succumbed to Temptation

SOS time again! Here is the pretty picture this Saturday. To see more SOS posts for a fascinating tour of what grows where in this world, visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk

Below is a Dwarf Red Ixora (Ixora taiwanensis) having a really good year.

It’s Saturday morning and after looking around my overgrown garden – I decided to make a confession. I have succumbed to the End of Season bulb sales. The dahlias and gladiolus were too cheap to resist, so I stocked up. The bulbs and tubers arrived in wonderful condition. Stored in dry peat moss and holey plastic bags.

In South Florida, the state of garden weirdness rules and I had to dither about storing the bulbs for a couple of months until I can plant them for winter cut flowers. I asked fellow bloggers about storage and dithered until the dahlias started sprouting. This spurred me into action. I cut the sprouts off, shook the peat moss off and laid the tubers out to dry. Then, decided on the Mousseau method (Chris at County Gardening) wrapped the tubers in cling wrap, rolled them into a paper bag and put them in the refrigerator.

These shall luxuriate in cool, dry air until October at least. I suppose I should have a look at them to make sure they aren’t molding. I could not cope with the idea of sprinkling fungicide on something and keeping it in the refrigerator.

Green Flash Parrot gladiolus joined the dahlias in the fridge. I marked them so my husband won’t eat them. Ha! The last instructions I read about growing glads in Florida was they needed to be coated in DDT to keep insects or everything away. Not happening here and crossing my fingers for future flowers.

All the bulbs made it necessary to reclaim a bed that has been lying fallow for a year due to root knot nematodes. The weeds must be removed and a layer of clear plastic put over the top of the dirt to solarize the bed and kill the nematodes.

Root knot nematode damage. This is a tomato plant that has passed on. You can see the thickened roots and knots on the roots. Nematodes infest the roots and feed on the nutrients, the plants come up, look great and slowly wither away. I have grown some really wimpy vegetable plants, not realizing what was happening. This plant was in a pot, these microscopic worms amaze me, they have gotten into pots set on pavers on my front porch while I wondered why I had the worst herbs ever! Solarizing that pot, too.

Of course, after the bulb and tuber event some new types of seeds were required. The Moonflowers were sent to me by a friend. I am going to try to grow these along with the Bougainvillea for scent this fall. I have not had Orlaya or Buplerum before and look forward to trying these as cutting flowers. I should have some mad green bouquets this winter. Hopefully with dahlias!

Happy Gardening!!!

Six on Saturday – Steamy Summer Florals

Saturday is here again. I took a steamy tour of my garden this morning. The humidity was at 90 percent! I wasn’t sweating, but my skin had condensation on it and so did the windows in my house. The plants continue to thrive and I have a new weed, Rice Paddy Weed.

To join the SOS World Garden Tour – visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk

The Purple Prince zinnias are gaining strength and size. I am hoping for long stemmed cut flowers. Unfortunately, I usually get short stemmed zinnias.

Hummingbird or cypress vine rambling through white salvia. I am probably going to regret this when all the little seedlings come up – until then I will enjoy the little pops of color.

New flowers on the Medinillia cummingii. So tropical. These grow in tree tops in their native habitat. The green orchid bees love the flowers.

Brown Eyed Girl sunflowers continue to flower. I got these in February and they are still blooming. Oddly, they have lost their brown eye.

Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) is a summer standby.

Another stalwart in the summer garden, Spiderwort, the wildflower is sprinkled around sunny spots in the garden. I love the blue and am not sure which Transcandentia this one is.

Here is the Rice Paddy weed. A new one in my world. I thought it was an old fashioned penta (which would have been great!) so I left it in a pot and came to find out – it is an invasive weed in swamps and rice paddies that can produce 250,000 seeds each flower. As my garden is non-water holding sand I am not feeling afraid but getting rid of it shortly.

I have a question for you gardeners. I have been waiting to try this natural weedkiller, Torched, that is non toxic. It was supposed to be available in smaller quantities than a gallon ($74 gallon plus shipping) but the manufacturer decided against the smaller bottles. Would you pay about $90 US to try this?? Thanks for answering, I am curious. Here is a link:

https://www.southlandorganics.com/products/torched-all-natural-weed-killer?variant=43855976661237

That is it for this Saturday. I wish you Happy Gardening.

Six on Saturday – Small Things

Saturday has rolled around yet again and it is time for the worldwide garden tour called Six on Saturday. To complete the tour visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk.

Sirius the Dog star is still shining in the night sky, so we are deep into the dog days of summer. It seems the world is a hotter place these days and my garden is no exception. Most days I walk outside, look around, think of several things I should do and then retreat into the air conditioning.

One of the many things I enjoy about gardening is the details of flowers, seeing something new or noticing how plants grow.

These are African Horned Melons, grown by my neighbor. They are very seedy and should be ‘mixed with yogurt’. I tend to avoid vegetables that require yogurt to be palatable and decided to dry these. Christmas ornaments, anyone?

The flower of a Neoregelia Bromeliad.

A new Gumbo Limbo (Bursea simarouba). These trees are native to South Florida and the Caribbean. They are called living fences in some places as a limb can be stuck in the ground and a new tree will grow. A few months ago a UPS delivery truck knocked this branch off another tree, I trimmed the leaves off and stuck it in the ground. Voila! a new tree is growing.

These zinnias are positioning themselves to stay out of the midday sun. It makes for a curly stemmed zinnia.

First summer zinnias. Purple Prince and Envy.

This is not from my garden, but a common summer sight in South Florida. The Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia) These are often called Flamboyants, for good reason. I don’t think there is anything quite like this.

The dog days end in approximately three weeks! I think my dog has the right idea of what to do until then.

That’s all for this Saturday from inside the house!

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Jungly July

I am joining the SOS garden tour again this Saturday. In South Florida, July has settled around us with a wet blanket of humidity, regular temperatures over 90 F (32C) and nearly daily downpours. The garden is turning into a jungle, overrun by happy plants, weeds and everything green. To see less jungly gardens, visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk and take a virtual tour via posts from gardeners from less sodden climes.

This is about as tropical as it gets. A Lobsterclaw Heliconia (Heliconia rostrata) in full bloom. They turn black if cut and don’t stretch the smaller yellow petals(?) out.

The fruit of Seagrapes (Coccolobo uvifera). These grow on shorelines and are a very hardy native tree. Native Floridians will eat the fruit as have some of my greyhounds. The flavor is somewhere between a fig and a grape but mostly seed that requires gnawing to get a taste. I am told it makes a good jam. I find it makes a big mess.

The fruit from my garden I do like. This is the end of the mangoes. These are Nam Doc Mai. There were too many for us to eat so I have been freezing them. They actually freeze quite well. I found fresh local swordfish at the market this morning – we are looking forward to grilled fish with mango salsa for dinner. The little pineapple was grown from the top of a grocery store fruit. I think I got to it just in time, before the critters caught the fragrance.

Welcome to the jungle. The Transcandentia zebrina is draping over a lot of things with all the rain. I am not regretting this yet as I planted it so I wouldn’t have to mulch. Now I have to pull out the T. zebrina. The red flower pops up like clockwork in July. It is Aechmea miniata bromeliad, a great garden flower.

An interesting Gallardia pulchella from plants crossing in the back garden. I like the seedling varieties better than the named cultivars.

Firebush (Hamelia patens var patens) in full flower. Another favorite, this shrub sneaks up on you by growing a few feet a year if conditions suit. The conditions are evidently perfect and they need a trim.

That is all from the heat zone.

Happy Gardening

Six on Saturday – Summer Beginnings

Saturday has rolled around once again. Time to take a stroll around the garden to see what is new and compare notes with other SOS gardeners. To take a virtual stroll through gardens around the world visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk

After a dry week (I had to get out the hose!) it started raining again yesterday. This morning I took some photos and then a thunderstorm blew up offshore and it is now pouring down rain. When researching recommendations for when to plant in South Florida you often see at the start of the rainy season – June 1 as a good date. This works if it is indeed rainy, otherwise, the plants fry. I try to get everything in the ground in March. I am seeing some mad growth in the garden and other plants rescued by the rain.

Purple Haze Billbergia bromeliad pups emerging from a mother plant on its way out.

Coontie cycad (Zamia integrefolia) rescued from annihilation. I am not sure what happened here, these are usually very hardy. This one lost all its foliage last summer when it was droughty and was not recovering. I potted the caudex, put it in the shade and watered it – much to my surprise, it came back. The cycads are notorious for not liking disturbance.

Native Florida Poinsettia (Euphorbia cyathophora) hugging my garden greyhound. These appear when rain is plentiful and add a little color.

My first Rangpur lime, ever! My neighbor grew this tree from seed and it has been in my garden for six years or so. I am excited! These are hard to see right now, hopefully there are more on the tree. This type of lime is orange when ripe and considered a sour orange in Florida. We make ‘key lime’ pies with the fruit or use it like lemons. It is also used in Cuban cuisine for mojo marinade.

One of my summer favorites, Thyrallis (Galphimia gracilis) is finally flowering.

Tree Spinach (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) is one of the best nectar plants for butterflies in the garden. There were three different butterflies feeding on the flowers when I took the picture. This is a Gulf Fritillary. I have never seen as many flowers on this plant, the butterflies are having a smorgasbord.

That is all from my now very damp garden.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Caterpillar Condo

It’s time for the weekly world garden tour. My South Florida garden has a wealth of butterflies and tropical flowers loving the heat and humidity more than I do. I let some native passionflower vine (larval host plant for butterflies) ramble through a mixture of flowering nectar plants and I have some astounding butterfly action going on in the front garden. Pairs of Gulf fritillary butterflies circle each other and then land on the passionvine where the ladies lay eggs. Caterpillars from both species of butterflies (Gulf fritillary and Zebra Longwing) that host on the vine are currently in residence. The caterpillars moved off the vines and now there are chrysalis hanging on the front porch. I am watching day by day hoping to see new butterflies emerge.

The Gulf fritillary looking for nectar.

Zebra Longwing doing the same thing.

Gulf fritillary caterpillars on the passionvine. The passionvine is Florida native Passiflora suberosa. It is not a particularly attractive vine and bears small flowers and blueberry sized fruit. I did not plant this, it came up from the garden gods and I let it go to ramble through the Dwarf Red Ixora shrubs creating a caterpillar condo with a full service restaurant.

The much less colorful chrysalis of the Gulf fritillary.

And we have to have some tropical flowers and fruit. The flowers today are Lobsterclaw Heliconia (Heliconia rostrata)

Fruit of the week – Papaya. This is the Papaya tree started from seed last fall. I planted the seedlings in the garden in May. They are almost three feet tall now and looking a little spindly. I have read it is possible to have fruit in nine months. At this point, the trees won’t be able to support it.

That is all from sultry South Florida this Saturday. To enjoy the world garden tour visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Fun Things

The weekly garden tour commences now. So many tropicals coming to life with the onset of the rainy season in South Florida. It has been stormy all week and the first named tropical storm of the year appeared in The Gulf of Mexico this week – Arlene. The storm is a long way from here and set to wind down into a tropical depression before making landfall in Cuba with a lot of rain. The first thing I spied when powering up the computer this morning was a Coastal Flood Watch; rainy season is definitely here.

To see more SOS garden tours, visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk

The Frangipani hedges are flowering. This is Bridal Bouquet Plumeria (Plumeria pudica). I have these in front of wood fences that aren’t so pretty. They are columnar plants about 8 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide. These are unusual as they are semi evergreen.

The Frangipani hedge with a Java White Copperleaf shrub accent.

A psychedelic Aucuba? No, this is a Pie Crust Croton. Named as the edges of the leaves are crimped like – pie crust. New growth is yellow and will mature into a mostly red and black shrub later in the season.

In the above image you can see a bit of an orange flowering shrub – this is a Dwarf Red Ixora, a butterfly nectar source. I let the larval host plant, Corkystem Passionflower, a vine, ramble through the shrubs for the Zebra Longwing butterflies to lay eggs on. This is the first caterpillar I have spotted this season, though the butterflies have been out in force.

I am finally picking a few mangoes. They are delicious. The lower mango is a condo mango, Pickering. The others, Glenn Mango, a big tree. Condo mangoes are usually less than 6 feet tall.

And just for fun, a gift from my friend Lu. Gardening socks!

That is all from the moist South Florida. Thanks to Jim for hosting and…

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Broms and Bunnies

It’s time for the weekly visit with other SOS gardeners. My South Florida garden received plentiful rain this week, the plants enjoyed it and are starting to show their summer colors. Bromeliads in the garden change colors with the seasons. Some in the winter and others in summer. The color change I notice most is from green to red (and back). Markings on the foliage that change vary from spots to streaks to bands of color.

For the SOS garden tour follow this link to visit Jim: http://gardenruminations.co.uk

‘Jill’ Neoregelia climbing a palm trunk. The foliage tips and cups on this one deepen in color in the summer.

‘Hallelujah’ Billbergia. These tend to go a bit green in the summer. The purple color deepens in winter.

Aechmea ‘fasciata’. The bands of grey coloration sharpen with warm weather, these produce big pink flowers every other summer. Also known as the Silver Urn Bromeliad.

‘Luca’ Neoregelia, one of my favorites, is almost too dark but the chartreuse spots lighten things up.

An unknown Neoregelia in flower. This one has pink stripes in sunny areas and white in shady areas.

The bunny, we have had a banner year for bunnies. Fortunately, they like weeds and are eating something in the so called lawn while tormenting Fiona the Greyhound. This is a Marsh Rabbit. I am impressed with the camouflage, I could not see the rabbit as I was taking a picture of it.

That is my Six for this Memorial Day weekend Saturday. Thanks to Jim for hosting.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Early Summer

Memorial Day usually kicks off the summer season in the US. Memorial Day is next Monday, as usual Florida starts summer early. It has been pleasant here, mid 80s (F) daytime highs and thunderstorms breaking up our usual dry May weather and giving the garden a few good soakings.

For a global view of gardens in early summer, late spring everywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere, follow the link and see more SOS posts. http://gardenruminations.co.uk

The mangoes continue to mock me, almost ripe. We have eaten one. I shared a bowl of mango salsa with my husband, served as a side dish with roasted steelhead trout. It was delicious. These will be picked when the blush is covering most of the fruit. Several friends have advised they pick them when the squirrels start eating them.

Another out of season bromeliad. This one, Quesnelia testudo, usually (and did) bloom in February. Last week the September broms were flowering. I don’t know what to think about this.

Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers have given me a lot of flowers this year. They seem to be gearing up for summer with another flush.

Another sure sign of summer. The Sunshine Mimosa (Mimosa strigillosa) is on the move and flowering. This is a low native groundcover pushed as a lawn alternative. Unfortunately it is not evergreen and looks dreadful for several months, now it looks great and is running amok in the garden.

With the rain this week the Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) has burst into flower. I have two varieties, this is the old fashioned pale blue.

This is a newer variety of Plumbago. I am not sure of its name, or if it has one. This one is more reminiscent of hydrangeas to me. I am too far south to have much success with hydrangeas, so this is a good alternative.

That is all from the heat zone this Saturday.

HAPPY GARDENING!!

Six on Saturday – Prelude to Summer

I am joining Jim and the gang yet again for a Saturday garden update. South Florida is slowly working its way to summer and some plants are a little early this year. This makes me worry a bit about what the weather gods are planning for the rainy season. For a world tour of gardens on Saturday, follow this link to Jim’s blog. htpp://gardenrumininations.uk.co

Torch Bromeliad (Billbergia pyramidalis) blooming very early. These are sometimes called Hurricane Lilies as they usually flower at the peak of hurricane season, the first week of September.

Mangoes are mostly a summer fruit. These are Nam Doc Mai, Thai dessert mangoes. I bought the tree in 2016 because it can produce up to four crops a year and is coconut flavored with no fiber. This is the most fruit I have had and it has always been this time of year. They are almost ready, turning a solid apricot color when ripe.

This is a Red Jaboticaba. A tropical fruit from Brazil. This one is a shrub, reported to grow five feet tall. These are usually trees that take forever to produce fruit. Interesting fruit. The flowers are borne on the trunk and the fruit is like a Muscadine grape on the trunk. The tree looks like the trunk is covered in swirls of purple grapes. Tasty. It took a long time for this to establish, four or five years. Maybe some fruit, someday. The Red Jaboticaba is supposed to set fruit earlier than the trees. There is some cold damage I need to prune out.

Jaboticaba – A Fruit Worth the Wait

The Sweet Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata) blooming its heart out. This smells wonderful and is bouncing back from a severe prune.

Tree spinach (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) flowering for the first time this year. This is a subsistence vegetable for tropical climates, growing without supplemental water and providing nutrition to those who know how to cook it. Poisonous to those who don’t. I don’t eat the stuff and planted this for its flowers – they provide a nectar source for many tropical butterflies.

Frightened frog hiding from Fiona. I walked out with Fiona the greyhound the other night and found this native tree frog sitting on an ottoman on the porch. Fiona started barking and the startled frog hopped under a pillow.

That is all from SoFla. Happy Spring to everyone further north.