Tag Archives: South Florida Gardening

In a Vase on Monday – Jarred Summer

While collecting flowers for my vase on Sunday, a thought passed through my mind. This is like a jar of summer from my garden. Most of these plants flower all summer and are hot colors. I added the cut flowers to an old pasta container – viola, jarred summer.

Summer can be a bit jarring to those not used to the tropical heat South Florida produces. I have heard it described as a hot, wet blanket that surrounds and then stuns you on the way out of the airport. This is accurate.

I am from the Deep South and thought I knew hot weather. South Florida is a different kind of hot. The first time my husband and I came down (inadvertently) it was the peak of hurricane season and the heat. All I could think was that my hair is hot. Blessed with thick hair, it is still hot – though, I am ready for it and fortunately; it is lighter in color – grey!

In this climate, lighter is better. I started life as a brunette; the grey is cooler, my real color now, though the flower is fake. I learned from this it is difficult to take a picture of your own hair. An old friend from college (a guy) and I have been sending hair pics back and forth. His is longer…

I digress, here is a closer view of the vase:

I love all the high colors, especially in the harsh light of summer in South Florida. Pink just doesn’t stand up to the tropical rays. The yellow daisies at the base are Beach Sunflowers (Helianthus debilis); yellow spikes are Thyrallis (Galphimia glauca) a new and long lasting favorite cut flower. Purple flowers are another new favorite, Mona Lavender Plectranthus, though I question the wisdom of whoever named this plant. Beautiful foliage and flowers and thriving in icky heat – I think it needs a more attractive name. Orange tube flowers are from Firebush (Hamelia patens); lighter orange and sage green flowers are from Soap Aloe (Aloe saponaria). Red spike flowers are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea). Blurry white spikes in back are Sweet Almond (Aloysia virgata) for fragrance. A few sprigs of varigated foliage (Dianella spp) set off the flowers.

To see more In a Vase on Monday posts, visit Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com.

Happy Gardening.

Six on Saturday – Garden Happies

This Saturday I am joining the SOS gang featuring six things in my garden that made me happy today. To see more SOS posts visit Jon at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

First, from my refrigerator – the growing jar of nasturtium capers..made from seed pods from my garden. The capers are luxuriating in a bath of white wine vinegar, red pepper, bay leaf and thyme.

Second, the Fire Sticks Pencil Cactus (Euphorbia tirucalli) is putting on new growth – earning its name.

Third, despite virtually no rain the Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) is flowering abundantly.

Fourth, the Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) flowers.

Fifth, the results of my pruning the Miss Alice Bougainvillea, here is the before:

Sixth, the results of last September’s pruning.

The greyhound is still standing sentinel. The image made me realize I need to go put the landscape light back on the Bouganvillea, it is lying on the left side lighting nothing!

Happy Gardening….

Six on Saturday – Seeds and Bulbs

This Saturday I photographed the new plants I have grown from seeds or bulbs this winter. As usual, my learning curve for Florida gardening extended into trial by fire to find the proper season or temperature for success with germination. It seems all seeds come with some instructions for planting times based on frost – we have no frost here so timing is a wild guess for me most times.

Waltham Broccoli, a cool weather crop everywhere is a winter crop in South Florida. I started seeds in November, the package says these take 50 days to harvest, I think not.

My first Calendulas ever! Planted in early January, the seed collected by my neighbor last year. I am looking forward to the flowers.

Fiona the Greyhound checking out the Nasturtiums. I found these will not come up at all if planted when the temperature is too high. After trying them in August, I forgot about them until January and they came up then. Later I read December 1 is the magical start date. Sigh, these haven’t flowered yet and maybe that is why.

Tropical Milkweed, the larval host plant for Monarch Butterflies. Seedlings started when too cool. These suffered through December and January, developing nice root systems for some reason, so I planted them. I recently found out the seeds should be planted now..since I had a lot of seeds I scattered them all over the butterfly garden. The seeds have a reputation for high germination rates, though the ones I planted earlier in pots 3 out of 12 came up. It will be interesting to see what happens in the garden.

Spinach, Basil and Cilantro seedlings on my front porch. The seeds were planted in January. I gave up growing herbs in the ground, these are my best herb seedlings so far.

Shamrocks were originally collected in Ireland by a friend’s grandmother decades ago. These had been thriving in her South Florida garden for years. I think these will grow almost anywhere.

My Six for this Saturday. For more SOS posts, visit Jon at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Solstice Solace

I decided not to do a vase after a rough weekend, emergency room visit at 2 am, etc. We had rain showers overnight, this Monday morning the sky is clear blue, sunshiny and warm. Some December mornings I really love South Florida.

I took a cup of coffee into my garden, met a lovely friendly cat (I put her outside the greyhound fence, though the dogs were fascinated) then noticed I should cut the Zinnias or they would stop flowering. A stroll through the tropical garden revealed the Tropical Hydrangeas had just started to flower.. a vase was calling and I answered.

Here is a closer view:

The pink flowers and green bud are Tropical Hydrangeas (Dombeya wallachii); Zinnias are Zinderella, grown from seed started in August; white flowers are Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata ‘alba’); a few bits of Asian Sword Fern in back. The vase is a well loved thrift store find.

I wrote an article about Tropical Hydrangeas for The American Gardener, published in November. Here is a link if you would like to read more about Dombeyas. People like to call them Pink Ball Trees, I prefer Dombeyas! https://lscpagepro.mydigitalpublication.com/display_article.php?id=3813727&view=683131

Thanks to Cathy, at http://www.ramblinginthgarden.com for hosting and Happy Holidays!! To see more vases visit Cathy’s blog..

Six on Saturday – Florida Holiday Cheer

Another SOS post this holiday Saturday. South Florida during the holidays is still a bit weird to me, despite having been here for nine years. Flamingoes pulling a sleigh are a common sight.

A friend, a longtime Florida resident, gave me this a few years ago – and had tell me what it is:

A nautical Christmas tree, it stays out year round….

Florida, being Florida has its own native Poinsettia – Poinsettia cyathophora. The Wild Poinsettia are larval host plants for the White Peacock butterfly, a favorite of mine and now I know where they live.

In keeping with the season, I decided to find red and green foliage..here is a Piecrust Croton.

And a Jill Neoregelia Bromeliad.

And Martin Neoregelia Bromeliad.

Wonder if Martin and Jill are getting together for Christmas! Seems they are related. Maybe sharing a pie with the Croton family…no masks required.

Happy Gardening and Happy Holidays from the palm infested sands of South Florida. Here is my greyhound, Fiona – looking out to see what the heck I am doing out in the rain taking pictures.

Thank you to Jon the Propagator for hosting – to see more SOS posts, go to http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

In a Vase on Monday – Senza fiori

Today is the seventh anniversary of In a Vase on Monday. Cathy, the hostess of IAVOM issued a challenge to celebrate – creating a vase without flowers, hence the title – without flowers, sounding much sportier in Italian.

Here is a closer view:

This vase is mostly composed of edible plants that I haven’t eaten. The dark green leaves in the back are from Tree Spinach (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius), an odd tropical vegetable that is very poisonous unless cooked correctly – I have not learned the method and haven’t eaten any. Purple berries are Beautyberry (Calliocarpa americana), Floridians make beautiful jewel tone jam from these – reviews always mention it tastes just like sugar! The grey foliage is the top of a pineapple, I admit to growing and eating it. Burgundy fruits on left side are Roselles (Hibiscus sabdariffa), an edible Hibiscus. I have been freezing these for a later, undetermined use. Ferny bits are from Asparagus Ferns and the grey succulents are Graptosedums of some sort, I am wondering if they will root or rot in the vase? The leaves creating the vase by covering a pickle jar are from Blanchetiana Bromeliad (Aechmea blanchetiana)

Thank you to Cathy for hosting this addictive (yes, very) meme on WordPress. Seven years is outstanding and I am looking forward to many more..

Happy Blogaversary and Happy Gardening….

In a Vase on Monday – Cattleyas on the Rocks

My garden had a stormy weekend. Hurricane Sally passed within about 100 miles, hurling bands of drenching rain and wind in her wake. The air is so saturated with moisture it is difficult to describe; imagine air having a presence. I think of it as feeling the evil, hot breath of the tropical Atlantic Ocean. My slightly curly hair is literally standing on end, bigger by the moment. Given the humidity and knowledge that another hurricane is headed towards the Gulf coast, I will most likely look like I stuck my finger in the electrical socket on Monday.

The White Cattleya orchid opened on Sunday morning and was being buffeted by the winds, so I decided to cut if for a vase. The rocks are in the base of the glass vase holding the orchids in place. The title sounds a bit like a cocktail; I am trying to dream up something that tastes like an orchid, this one has a sweet fragrance and always blooms in pairs. Limoncello, Coconut Rum and something? Tonic water? Club soda? Hmmm.

Here is the bud from Saturday. I am surprised it opened so quickly and with little sunshine.

A closer view of the Cattleya, I have no idea of the variety, my neighbor gave me the orchid and I am trying not to kill it. Orchids usually meet an untimely end in my garden. Anything that needs fertilizer every two weeks is destined for demise. This one has been around for at least two years – though it is turning brown..sigh.

Happy Monday and Happy Gardening. Thinking positive thoughts for those in the path of Hurricane Sally.

Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this addictive meme. Follow the link to see vases from gardens around the world.

In a Vase on Monday – Labor Day

Today is a holiday celebrating the American worker. Labor Day was created as a national holiday by President Grover Cleveland in 1894. The creation of Labor Day ended an ugly chapter in American history. Striking workers demanding better pay and working conditions burned trains and disrupted travel; eventually the government sent troops to restore order. There were casualties on both sides. Follow link for more history https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/labor-day-1#:~:text=Labor%20Day%20pays%20tribute%20to,a%20federal%20holiday%20in%201894.

Beware a rant, I am not given to writing political posts. Skip to the next image if you don’t want to hear about it.

This sounds a bit familiar. The players and reasons are different, but the situation, eerily similar. I was unable to read our local newspaper on Sunday morning, just did not want to read anymore about what is going on in America. Our local congressman was just outed for making sexual jokes about 15 year old girls. This is not the America I grew up in, not the American that helped our Allies win the World Wars, who are these people? What are their values?

These people go all the way to the top of our government. People we elected on both sides of the aisle. Some of the behavior I have witnessed from our leaders over the past few years, appalling and pervasive. So pervasive that politics has trickled down to my garden blog. Which is sad. Before anyone makes America great again, they are going to have to make America whole again.

Enough with my political rant.

We had a lovely rain shower on Sunday morning that cooled my garden down to a tolerable temperature and I was able to enjoy selecting flowers for a red, white and blue palette for my vase.

Here is a closer view:

Red flowers, from the left – bell shaped flowers are Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformis), at edge of vase Coral Plant (Jatropha multifida); blue and red panicle, Miniata Bromeliad (Aechmea miniata). Fragrant white flowers on the left side, Bridal Bouquet Frangipani (Plumeria pudica) and hanging over the edge, Tropical Gardenias (Tabernamontana diviricata). The blue flowers – at the top, Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata); the darker blue stemmy flowers are from Blue Porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis).

Happy Fall, Ya’ll.

I forgot to thank Cathy, at ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting In a Vase on Monday, and my late mother in law, Joan, for crocheting the flag.

In a Vase on Monday – Rain Delay

Early this morning I was greeted with brilliant blue skies and informed by my phone of very little chance of rain. So, I hand watered some of the garden as our irrigation system had a valve get stuck open and couldn’t be turned off (we had to turn off the water supply to get one zone of sprinklers to stop) Strange going ons in the garden.

Then, an enormous thunderstorm blew in and it rained off and on until late afternoon. Relief for my parched garden; I was in and out between rain showers cutting flowers for this vase.

The vase is a Rose` bottle, I like the bottle better than the wine. I have wrapped the bottle with Bromeliad foliage to add some color. The burgundy leaf at the top is Luca Neoregelia, the yellow leaf is Lemon Blanchetiana Aechmea.

Below is a closer view, I was searching for contrasts in color and texture of the plant material. The lurid purple berries are from Beautyberry (Calliocarpa americana); orange flowers are Mexican Bush Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) and the ferns winding their way through are Wild Asparagus Fern that pops up in the garden.

To see more vases from gardeners around the world visit Cathy at www. ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com.

Happy Gardening, hopefully I will get the valve unstuck on my irrigation this week. Hand watering is not fun in the South Florida summer.

Six on Saturday – Like a Lion

March is coming in like a lion in South Florida. There is a steady 20 mph northeasterly wind blowing today. The wind is coming from the Atlantic Ocean, making it a bit chilly despite clear blue skies. I think Alan the Greyhound has the best idea about what to do this Saturday morning.

00000img_00000_burst20200306194801712_cover

The fruit and flowers are coming along in the garden. The pineapple seems a little bigger every day.

00100lrportrait_00100_burst20200306151708636_cover

The Pickering Mango – a condo Mango, known for small size and high yield is doing a magnificent job at both. About four feet tall; setting fruit and putting out more flowers. Last year the squirrels got 2/3 of the fruit.

00100lrportrait_00100_burst20200306151746378_cover

My neighbor grew some Petunia exserta from seed I gave her and gifted some seedlings to my garden. The first flowers:

00100lrportrait_00100_burst20200306151554916_cover

This grouping is next to the Petunias, it is turning into a hot colors butterfly garden. Gallardia, a little Tropical Red Salvia and Penta lanceolata. I would like some more of the Pentas, does anyone know how to propagate these? While I like this picture, the Pentas are not terribly clear, the blurry reds in the background.

00100lrportrait_00100_burst20200306151547762_cover

Last, but not least. The obligatory Bromeliad from my garden. This is a Neoregelia with a really odd name that completely escapes me. Another one I bought somewhere for 5 bucks; its sole purpose – to catch the sunlight in the afternoon. The rest of the bed is a bit dark.

00100lrportrait_00100_burst20200306151859346_cover

There are my Six this Saturday, to see more posts follow THE LINK to Propagator Blog.

I will be joining Alan the Greyhound in a nap shortly.

Happy Gardening.