Tag Archives: South Florida Gardening

Six on Saturday – New for Spring

I am joining the SOS gang yet again looking at Spring additions to my garden. To see more Spring (and maybe some Fall) fun from fellow SOSers – visit http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.

Fruit on the Malaysian Orchid (Medenillia cummingii). These eventually turn purple and collapse leaving a sticky substance with seeds. I have smashed the goopy stuff on trees around my garden, hoping for trees filled with Malaysian Orchids.

New pot of succulents from a visit to Pinder’s Nursery in Palm City, Florida. No clue what any of them are.

New crop of Zinnias for cutting and bedding. Apricot Profusion, Pink Cactus and Envy Zinnias to be planted out soon.

Never seen it before in my garden, Chinese Forget Me Nots (Cynglossum amiable). Grown from seed and just about to flower.

Leonitis leonurus, Lion’s Tail. I have had L. nepetifolia, an annual for a few years. These plants are somewhat difficult to establish in beach sand, so I decided to try the perennial version and grew two very slowly from seed. Catalogs say these grow to about six feet and are very drought tolerant once established. We shall see. Looking forward to orange flowers.

Copper Canyon Daisy (Tagetes lemmonii) also grown very slowly from seed and I had to buy two batches of seeds and try a couple of different sowings to get the time of year right for germination. I managed to grow two plants! This is another reportedly very drought tolerant after establishment perennial, native to the mountains of Arizona. What it will do in South Florida is anyone’s guess. It does have a strange smell and it is not like lemons. A couple by the name of Lemmon discovered the plant.

That’s the Spring update. Hoping to see more flowers soon.

Happy Gardening!!!

In a Vase on Monday – Leftovers

I had been eyeing my growing crop of Shell Ginger all week to use in my Monday vase. My hopes were dashed on Saturday night when we had a tremendous thunderstorm. Gusty winds and the downpour beat up most of the Gingers, so I had only two flowers left! The rain event left me looking for floral stand-ins. Surprisingly, the more delicate green seedheads (further away from the edge of the roof) survived intact.

The close up:

The pink flowers are Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet); delicate seedheads are from the Lotusleaf Begonia (Begonia nelumbifolia), maybe I should say delicate looking seed heads – the stems are at least a half inch in diameter that hold these three or four feet tall flowers aloft. Small white flowers are from Asparagus Fern (Asparagus aethiopicus) the common houseplant, I did not know flowered. In the background, another common houseplant, Boston Fern (Nephrolepsis exaltata). Both ferns grow wild in my garden.

Another view:

It’s late Sunday afternoon as I am finishing this blog post. The skies have clouded over again and I can hear thunder in the distance. I am also thinking about dinner, specifically leftovers!

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

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Herbal Essence

I keep vases in my entry foyer so I can enjoy the fresh flowers when I go in and out of the front door. Between dog walking, trips to the mailbox and gardening the vases are a frequent sight.

This Monday, my foyer is filled with herbal fragrance. I think the combination of scents (dill, sage and almond) would make a good dish or hand soap.

The crystal vase, a gift from my dearly departed brother, was chosen for its verticality (design gobbedlygook rearing its ugly head). The dill flowers are my new favorite, well, this week. Here is a closer view:

Chartreuse flowers are from ‘Long Island Mammoth’ Dill; white and pink spikes are from Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); blue spikes are from Mystic Spires Salvia; a white sprig of Sweet Almond (Aloysia virgata) is visible below. The burgundy foliage is from ‘Purple Haze’ Billbergia Bromeliad.

I’ll make an announcement if I decide to go into the gardener’s hand soap business!

Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for keeping my entry foyer filled with flowers. Follow the link to find more spring vases.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Daffy

After cutting the yellow flowers and placing them in the ‘vase’ – the first thing that popped into my head “Looks just like daffodils.” As a nod to Disney’s famous Daffy and the Daffodils, the brass ducks were added. The ducks are a long ago gift from my father – to remind me to keep my ducks in a row. They make excellent paperweights and also make me laugh, reminding me of one of my father’s favorite sayings.

More daffiness, the weather. We are having the four seasons (not Vivaldi) this week in South Florida. It was dry and 87 F/30 C here one day last week, followed by wind, thunderstorms, a cold front – this morning, temperatures were half that and we are expecting everything in between over the next week.

Daffy.

A closer view:

The mason jar ‘vase’ is a thing now. I suspect this is part of the Millenial ‘farm wedding’ aesthetic. I am fine with mason jar vases, using them as drinking glasses is another story, ugh. I acquired this vase when recieving a flower arrangement.

What’s in it?

Yellow flowers are from Esperanza or Yellow Bells (Tecoma stans); crinkly white flowers with buds are from the White Geiger tree (Cordia boissierei); white flowers at top of arrangement are Lotusleaf Begonia (Begonia nelumbifolia); the chartreuse seedheads are from Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata ‘alba’); ferny foliage and yellow starburst flowers are culinary dill. I love the scent and was surprised recently that two friends (father and daughter) did not like dill at all. Daffy genes?


We
Photo by Anthony on Pexels.com

Well, it goes with the color scheme…

Thank you to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.com for hosting IAVOM. Follow the link to find, probably (sorry) less daffy vases.

Happy Gardening!!

Six on Saturday – Spring Prospects

March is roaring like a lion this Saturday in my South Florida garden. We had a tremendous thunderstorm yesterday that arrived with a cold front. Very little rain has fallen in the past few weeks so the precipitation was a welcome relief and the dragonflies were hard at work as I was walking through the garden. So many things to look forward to this spring.

The bud has lengthened on the Hard Cane Dendrobium Orchid in the Gumbo Limbo tree. The bud is about three feet long currently. Very excited to see the flowers on this. Purple flowers on the tree in background are from the Hong Kong Orchid tree (Bauhinia purpurea)

Flowers and petals from the Hong Kong Orchid tree have been scattered throughout the garden like fallen leaves.

The Painted Fingernail Neoregelia Bromeliad is starting to flower and is sporting a few orchids as well.

Guzmania Bromeliads starting to flower in wok container. The flowers last a few months and have been in this container for years. I rarely do anything to this.

Pineapple has set fruit, these take a couple of months to grow to edible size. Then need to be carefully watched as the critters enjoy the sweet fruit as much as I do.

Nam Doc Mai Thai Mango has set fruit. Sometimes it is too windy for pollination and no fruit is set despite flowers. I should be eating mangoes in 100 days! Fingers crossed.

That is my Six for this Saturday. Visit Jon at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com for more SOS posts and some different perspectives on spring.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Solidarity and Vodka

I have been watching, with dismay, along with the rest of the world events unfolding in Ukraine. I hope economic sanctions are reaching their intended targets, though I worry they are affecting more than the intended. Right now our local grocery store is taking Russian made vodka off their shelves.

I am not a vodka drinker, but cook with it. Specifically, Smoked Fish Pasta with Creamy Vodka sauce. Nemiroff Honey Pepper Vodka is my favorite and a key ingredient adding heat and a touch of sweetness to the sauce. Much to my surprise this vodka is made in Ukraine, and a local favorite.

According to Wikipedia – Nemiroff is one of the top vodka suppliers in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemiroff

The dish:

If flowers or pasta can foster solidarity; here are my offerings.

The Ukraine vase:

The yellow bell shaped flowers are Esperanza (hope in Spanish) in latin, Tecoma stans. Yellow umbels are from culinary dill (Anethum graveolens). I am not sure I have ever seen the latin name for dill or knew it is a member of the parsley family. Blue flowers are Mystic Spires Salvia, a wonderful color match for the Ukrainian flag. The vase, inherited from my mother, from the Ute tribe in the Western US.

The American vase. Red spikes, Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); red bell shaped flowers, Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformis); white daisies, the ubiquitous Bidens alba – Spanish Needles in English; blue spikes are Mystic Spires Salvia. The vase, an old Crate and Barrel candle holder that arrived with my husband.

If flowers and vodka could stop wars – I would be on board immediately. Unfortunately, that is not the case. All we can do is watch and wonder and pray for Ukraine.

To see more vases, visit Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com.

Six on Saturday – Tending Benefits

SOS once again. This week I am exploring the culinary benefits of tending my garden. I grew all the vegetables and herbs in the dishes and enjoying the bounty. To see more SOS posts, visit http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com

This is dill crusted salmon with fresh tomato and herb balsamic pasta and steamed green beans.

Green bush beans. I have finally figured out I need twelve plants to have two decent sized servings of beans for dinner. This is my second crop of beans this winter.

A very funky yellow pear tomato. These seem to produce better fruit if fertilized bi weekly instead of weekly?

New to the garden and my first ever pepper success. Meet the wrinkly Criollo pepper. Native to Central American and essential to Ecuadoran cuisine, these are very tasty. I am thinking Chicken Cacciotore for dinner.

Nasturtium finally produced a flower…a future sandwich or salad topping.

My very first, tiny, Sugar Baby Watermelon. Here’s hoping I can get enough water on it.

That’s it from South Florida. Two hours til lunch!

Happy Gardening.

Bees at Work?

I started this batch of Zinnias from open pollinated seed. The first flowers were pink and creamy solid colors. Now I have mixed striped flowers.The plants are winding down and I am letting a few go to seed and see what color comes up next. I am thinking these are not hybrids and have cross pollinated?

Any thoughts?

In a Vase on Monday – The Twist

Do the twist! I spied deep pink twisty stemmed Zinnias in the garden and thought I could wind them through some spiraling grapevines I had been eyeing..(that need to come out). The white paper mache object is from a college design class – the assignment ‘evoke the feeling of disco’ I think they are doing the twist. With the Zinnias.

The vase alone:

The grey glass vase, a thrift store find. Pink Zinnias, grown from seeds found on Etsy. White Begonias, a local botanical garden find; Begonia nelumbifolia or Lotusleaf Begonias. Smaller pink flowers are Globe Amaranth, again from Etsy seeds. Tropicals lounging over the edge are Shell Ginger ( Alpinia zerumbet) Ferns are – the love it or hate it Boston Fern – a native I love. Brown grapevines doing the twist, Vitis rotundafolia; they are difficult to like, producing bitter fruit and overrunning (or ruining) everything else.

Closer views:

I love color and texture..

Happy Monday and Happy Gardening.Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpresss.com for hosting. Follow the link for more vases.

Six on Saturday – Fab Feb Fleurs

Saturday morning has rolled around again and I took to the garden to find February flowers to join the SOS crowd. To see more February fun, visit Jon at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com

Above is an underside view of a Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) opening. Eventually the flower hangs down from the branch. These flower every February and a few other times during the year at their discretion.

Long Island Mammoth Dill flower. I am not sure if I should cut this off or let it go to seed. The dill has been wonderful and is recommended for winter in Florida.

A perversely peachy Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea). One of my favorite reseeding flowers. Probably hasn’t had water in weeks.

Here is the red flower…Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformis) I like the texture of this plant, though it is kind of gangly, and dangly.

Sugar Baby Watermelon flower. Hoping for some fruit! I am trying to grow these on a teak stool to keep them off the ground. Time will tell.

A blessing and a curse, white wildflower, Bidens alba. The blessing, an indestructible, happy prolific flowering plant. The curse, the same, and it can produce 1200 seeds per plant providing Bidens sod.

That’s it this week.

Happy Gardening from South Florida.