Tag Archives: Tree Spinach

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 – 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.