My Saturday morning garden tour revealed a budding collection of white Begonias. I actually have more. I did not realize I liked them so much. I have also been collecting plants for some Uber tropical containers I am planting outside my low windows, so I can enjoy viewing flowers in air conditioned comfort this summer. Follow this link GardenRuminations to visit Jim, a fellow Begonia enthusiast, and see what other gardeners have found outside this Saturday.

New to the garden, a Dragonwing Begonia, white with a pink blush.

From the roadside ditches of Central America, Lotusleaf Begonia (Begonia nelumbiifolia)

A South Florida stalwart, the Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata “Alba”). There must be another color somewhere. I have never noticed a scent from these and have had them for years.

A new Ti Plant for the tropical containers. This is Cordyline fruticosa “Hot Pepper”. The containers will have charteuse Coleus, a creeping silver fern, Dragonwing Begonias and Malaysian Orchids.

The Malaysian Orchid (Medinilla myriantha). The rooted cuttings spent a week in the post to travel 70 miles. They are recovering nicely and should be sporting mad pink flowers in weeks. This is one of those wonderful plants that flower abundantly for a while and then drop dead for no apparent reason. They grow in tree tops in the South Pacific and must be spectacular in their native environs.

The giant houseplants…Snake Plants or Mother in Law’s tongues are an invasive weed in South Florida. It is virtually impossible to get rid of them without heavy equipment. These line a path to my tropical garden. I pull them out frequently to keep the path clear.

White Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia nicolai) reaches for the sky. This is about 15 feet tall and frames a view into the garden from the screened porch. These rarely bloom, the flowers are creamy white with blue accents.

That is all from my garden this Saturday. I hope everyone is enjoying spring!