Tag Archives: South Florida Gardening

In a Vase on Monday – Cheers to 2024

I decided some fireworks from the garden and a quote were necessary to celebrate this first Monday of 2024. Having read dozens of quotes, I chose the one that made me laugh. I like Irish blessings and this is my favorite. My temple bells from last week have reappeared to assist ringing in the New Year.

“As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way”

I feel like I ran over a few splinters last year, so hopefully this will ease any future damage.

The oversized wine glass assisting the toast was a gift from a dear friend – the back side says ‘Girlfriends are Forever’.

The floral fireworks:

The orange flower front and center is a ‘Choconiana’ Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorum); ephemeral pink grasses at back are Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capallaris); purple fuzzies are from Red Velvet Aerva (Aerva sanguinolenta); yellow daisies are Beach Sunflowers (Helianthus debilis); white daisies are Bidens alba.

Orange tubular flowers are Firebush (Hamelia patens); red flowers are ‘Maui Red’ Ixora. There are a few ‘White Flame’ and ‘Mystic Spires’ Salvia lurking in the glass.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting IAVOM for all these years. Follow the link to visit Cathy’s blog and view more vases. http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

It’s surprising how many flowers can be stuffed into a wine glass.

Cheers to 2024!!

Six on Saturday – Gifts from the Garden

I am joining SOS this Christmas weekend with a grateful heart. I take so much pleasure in interacting with my fellow garden bloggers weekly and thank Jim for his stewardship of SOS. To see more SOS posts, visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk.

Winter in a South Florida garden always brings enjoyable gifts. Some expected, some not so much. But all make me appreciate what is possible and how much I have learned. A little touch of Christmas color is appreciated in the tropical setting.

Meet Neoreglia McWilliamsii, a member of a group sometimes called Blushing Bromeliads. These show color in winter and are green in summer. This one colored up just in time.

Bromeliad Alcanterea odorata finally showing its grey stripes. This one produces grass pups rather than offsets. A friend sent me several pups a few years ago. They are somewhat difficult to grow and start out plain grey green and finally develop variation and then a nearly powdery grey coloration. Grown primarily for a foliage accent they last about 5 years, get about 3 feet wide, have a spectacular flower and die.

Another pup success, the ‘Purple Haze’ Billbergia, from the rock n’ roll series. There is one called ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ I must get. These flower in winter, but are not old enough.

Bay leaf, finally recovering from near defoliation by me in pursuit of soups and pasta sauces. I love fresh bay leaves a little too much.

Another favorite herb, always in a pot on the front porch. In my opinion, Giant of Italy parsley has the best flavor and I eat it nearly daily with fresh vegetables in vinaigrette.

A surprise and wonderful gift – two more dahlias are coming up. I planted the tubers in October and now have seen 3 out of 9 emerge. I am not sure what inspired the emergence, cooler weather and rain, the solstice?? I suspect removing the spotty leaves would be a good idea.

That is all of my surprises for this week.

Happy Holidays to all!

Six on Saturday – Holiday Gale Gardening Fun

I am joining the SOS gang again this week featuring six items of interest from my garden. Most of this week our weather has been dominated by gale warnings. The skies are overcast, the wind has been gusting to 45 mph with downpours of rain sometimes blowing sideways. Floridians crave sunny blue skies and they were few and far between this week. My holiday gardening adventures have been indoors or on the porch this week. To see more SOS posts visit Jim at http://gardeningruminations.co.uk

The front door received a holiday makeover with a bromeliad cutting wreath. I was gratified to read that hoop wreaths are currently in style as I didn’t want to spend too much time in the wind hunting bromeliad cuttings (the hoop part is covered with winding gold and green ribbon) Red bromeliads are Fireball Neoregelia and the bigger green and red one is Super Fireball Neoregelia. Gold accents are fronds from Cabbage Palm trimmed to size.

Front porch pots were replanted. I am trying some more northern favorites mixed with tropicals for the winter. The grey plants are an old favorite ‘Bath’s Pink’ Dianthus. I have never seen one around here, but will be thrilled if it flowers. The bromeliads are mixed Neoregelias, garage sale finds, no one remembers the names but they always thrive, so I am happy to have them. The fern is an Autumn Fern (Dryopteris erythrosora), again way too far south, so I am hoping for some nice coloration with bronze new growth.

Porch propagation. Another batch of Turkeytangle Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora) to replace my former St. Augustine lawn.

I found a tiny Noble Fir tree, slightly crooked, so the angel overseeing things is dancing on top. The scent from the tree alone is worth the effort to me.

Decorating Fiona didn’t go so well. She doesn’t want to be a reindog.

Oral sustenance is required to get through the holidays and the dreary, haunting calls of the gale. Rum cake baking became necessary.

I am wishing everyone a happy holiday season. I think the garden will be a better place next week!

Six on Saturday – December in South Florida

I have lived in South Florida for almost 12 years. The things I find growing in the garden this time of year still seem odd to me. I planted dahlias in October and gave the other perennials the Chelsea chop in November and now most of it is thriving. Then, I find myself wondering what to do with the orchids in the trees and cycad seeds. A blog friend calls my garden another planet. Sometimes I think she is right.

To visit other gardens around the world and see six items of interest, follow the link to Jim’s blog http://gardenruminations.co.uk

Dahlias in December!? Here they are. I bought 9 tubers at an end of the season sale, stored them in the refrigerator and then planted them. Some varmint dug up several and ate at least one. This one appeared after a few weeks and more are poking through. When I will have flowers is anyone’s guess.

White Flame Salvia after the Chelsea chop. These survived the summer heat by making much smaller leaves and flowers. They are now full and lush again.

Red Velvet plant or Purple Aerva. Native to Africa, this seems to like winter better than summer.

This Schomburgkia orchid has finally rooted into the trunk of the Gumbo Limbo tree. It’s time to take the bindings off.

This is a Cattleya orchid, it has purple flowers and is hanging on by a thread (jute twine) in the boots of a Dwarf Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebellini) – I need to tie this in more securely in hopes of the roots anchoring to the palm.

Fruit of a Coontie cycad (Zamia integrefolia). This is the female cone, I must have some male plants as there are several of these cycads in the garden. They are pollinated by beetles. I would like to have a colony of Coonties as they host a rare butterfly.

That is all from my garden this sunny Saturday morning.

Happy Holidays!!

In a Vase on Monday – November Candy

November in South Florida brings some sweet and unusual treats to the garden. When living further north I doubt I could have dreamed of finding something like this in flower this time of year. Actually, I am not sure I could have dreamed up the flower at all!

The purple flowers in the vase are ‘Candy’ Portea Bromeliads. I’m thinking they resemble Good & Plenty licorice candies, just not quite the right color. This is a good one to cut as for unknown reasons it flowers on the backside of the plant and can barely be seen. A pair of loppers accessorized with a suit of armor is a good ensemble for cutting these as the foliage is very sharp. The older I get, the less appreciation for thorns I have.

After some puzzling and tromping through the slightly storm ravaged garden (we had 50 mph wind gusts and I had not realized the volume of branches down, a task for another day) Here are the components of the vase:

Fan shaped foliage in the back is a trimmed frond of Cabbage Palm (Palmetto sabal); pink flowers are courtesy of the storm, Rain Lilies (Zephyranthes spp.); purple flowers are ‘Candy’ Portea Bromeliads; foliage is from Asparagus Fern (Asparagus sprengeri).

Dark purple foliage is Purple Queen (Setcreasea pallida) – I have a feeling some botanists changed this name, but am getting over it. The grey roses are Graptosedum succulents.

That’s all from my garden this week. I will be planting tomatoes and herbs I started from seed this week and starting seed for a few new varieties of cut flowers. And picking up branches.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting. Please follow the link to visit her blog and see more vases: http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

In a Vase on Monday – Anniversary Challenge

In celebration of the tenth anniversary of IAVOM, a challenge was issued by Cathy – to use a wacky container as a vase. Of course, I looked in my closet and came up with a pair of cowboy boots. I tried a pointe ballet slipper first, but was unable to overcome the shape of the shoe. It is a bit of a balancing act to persuade flowers (I use the term loosely here) to stay in a cowboy boot. The structural arrangements involve a rock, packing tissue and a plastic cup of water – and a bit of a lean towards the wall as these are probably 30 year old boots and I have a tendency towards overpronating and the boots are slanted from wear. The grey “flowers” are kind of crunchy and shatter on impact, so careful placement and balancing is essential. One hit the floor by Fiona the greyhound, who was quite startled and is consciously avoiding the boot now.

Given the container, I decided on a western themed plant palette, succulents and hot colors.

The grey “flowers” are the succulent Graptosedum and I added a few sprigs of another type of sedum, I am not sure which one. Burgundy foliage is a ‘Fireball’ Neoregelia Bromeliad pup; orange and red flowers are the dried flowers of Aechmea rubens Bromeliad. There are a few sprigs of Muscadine grapevine in the back of the arrangement.

Another view:

My thanks go to Cathy for all these years of hosting In a Vase on Monday. I enjoy starting my week with vases of flowers from all over the world and sharing ideas with other gardeners. It is fascinating to me what others grow in their gardens and why.

Follow this link to visit Cathy and see the wacky 10 Year Anniversary vases..http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

Six on Saturday – Experimental Fall Greens

I am joining the SOS gang once again this Saturday. My morning discoveries on my garden tour are mostly green. No vegetables, although the tomatoes I grew from seed are ready to be transplanted. Follow this link gardenruminations.co.uk to visit Jim and connect with more gardeners worldwide in the comments zone.

South Florida’s gardening season is the flip side of most of the Northern Hemisphere. We grow summer vegetables in winter and many summer perennials thrive here during the cooler weather that would wilt in the heat during their “normal” flowering season. I am thrilled to find my first Dahlia tuber emerging from the ground. Nine tubers were planted in the garden, three in pots, I know one was eaten, so the rest???? I bought the tubers at an end of season sale, then wrapped and refrigerated them until October, planting time here. All Dahlias were red, for what reason I have no clue.

It is strange to me that Rudbeckias are difficult to grow here. The summer humidity molds them, quite literally. These are Goldstrum Rudbeckias taking hold in the garden.

Another garden stalwart further north, Moonbeam Coreopsis, is bravely making a stand.

The ultimate experiment, a mass of Ice Plants (Delospermum cooperii). I am fairly certain these will melt next summer, though I have run across gardeners who have success with them in South Florida.

Another experiment, seemingly successful. I decided to try the Chelsea chop on Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) – a reseeding annual. It seems to have worked.

I have not tried any of these plants in winter previously. In the great words of Tom Petty “the waiting is the hardest part”

Will they flower??? Time will tell.

A more typical green from me. The greys are Aechmea fasciata Bromeliads, the dark one is ‘Luca’ Neoregelia. Smaller red broms are ‘Fireball’ Neoregelia. Bromeliad moving and propagating season runs November through March. There is usually movement in the garden this time of year.

Happy Gardening!

In a Vase on Monday – Muhly & Juba Dance

I love a little Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) in the fall. The mix of Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa) and Muhly swaying in the ocean breeze gives me gardening goosebumps. Our very rainy September gave all the wildflowers a boost and the garden is enjoying a late season extravaganza with very happy pollinators cruising the flowers. As these things go we are having a very dry October and now I am hoping for rain!

The Muhly and Juba:

Muhly Grass is in pink in the background joined by off white Juba Bush. The word Juba is a dance move in the Caribbean that involves swaying hips. The Juba Bush is a native wildflower that appears and plants itself where happy. I have found it impossible to propagate, and am happy to find it when it decides to make an appearance. It is perennial and can grow 3 or 4 feet tall. I suppose birds are responsible for the Juba. Another gardening mystery to ponder. The Muhly has a similar modus operandi and I have some odd drifts in the garden.

Other flowers in the photo:

The deep blue flowers with coarse stems are Porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicaensis); the pale blue spikes with lavendar foliage are Vitex trifolia, some call this California Lilac. It is remarkably hardy. Darker purple foliage is Purple Queen (Transcandentia pallida) another great indestructible.

The lower level:

The lower levels in this vase are the wallflowers, the kind that don’t dance. Front and center is the last Purple Prince Zinnia of the season; viney pink flowers are from the Coral Love Vine (Antigonon leptopus); white spikes are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea). The vase is a family heirloom made by the Ute Indian tribe.

I am hoping to dance a lot of weeds out of the garden this week. The rains provided nourishment for a tangle of Muscandines and Inch Plants. I am not sure we have ever had as much rain in late summer and was surprised by the volume of unwelcome growth in the garden. I have determined Muscandines are offensive!

Thanks to Cathy for hosting, visit her at ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com to visit other gardens via vase.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Household Roos

We have a few roos around the house. The vase this week is a Fitz and Floyd coffee cup I found irresistible in the 80s. I found it on a fantastic sale and decided it would be my cute work coffee cup. The kangaroo looks a bit demented, so this was a perfect desk accessory for a design office. I soon realized the reason it was on sale – the kangaroo hits you in the face when you drink out of the cup. It was reassigned to pencil holding duties.

The other rooing around the house is from Fiona the greyhound. Rooing is a peculiar greyhound tradition. Fiona is a dog with a schedule. Every afternoon around 4:30, we all roo (sing with the dog)

Fiona in action:

Vase details:

Blue flowers in the foreground are ‘Blue Daze’ Evolvulus; yellow spikes are Thyrallis (Galphimia glauca); pink and white spikes are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); blue spikes are ‘Mystic Blue’ Salvia.

Another view:

Background spikes are Sabal Palm (Palmetto sabal) seedling bits and the off white bendys are Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa), a native wildflower with a nice fragrance. One of those things that has to choose where it will live.

Thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this weekly event. Follow the link to see more vases.

Six on Saturday – Hoomid

The most outstanding feature of my weekly garden tour – extreme humidity. The plants, house and even the doors and windows are dripping rivulets of water. Not a good gardening day. Next week is predicted to bring blessed relief from the soggy environment I keep finding myself in. To see other, less sweaty garden tours visit Jim at http://gardenruminations.co.uk

Reflections and the view outside this morning. The humidity was 80%, it is creeping downward through as the day goes on.

Some plants are enjoying the onslaught. This is a ‘Jill’ Neoregelia Bromeliad pup climbing a palm trunk.

‘Bridal Bouquet’ Frangipani (Plumeria pudica) is soaking up the moisture and still flowering. These are unusual in that they are considered semi evergreen and the shape of the foliage is different from other Frangipani.

Yellow Allamanda (Allamanda catharitica) is running rampant. Vines can be a little scary in South Florida.

My first tomato seedling. The weather has been good for seed germination, although I did get a bit of dog vomit fungus in some of the pots.

Buds on the Soap Aloe (Aloe saponaria). These succulents seem almost architectural to me. One would think they would rot with all the moisture, but they are reveling in it and flowering like mad. I think this shows how sharp the drainage is in sugar sand.

That’s all from the swamp this Saturday. Wishing everyone some crisp Autumnal days. I am awaiting the end of soggy.

Happy Gardening!!