Tropicals & Tender Perennials: 'Phoenix' bird or paradise, 5 by dyzzypyxxy

dyzzypyxxy wrote:
Hey Phil, good to hear your garden recovered from the deluge. The yellow C. pulch is really nice. They're such elegant flowers, who cares what color they are? And when you get a whole shrub full of them, it's over the top.

I've been collecting some seeds from mine lately, and what a funny story! Had a few of those brown seed pods in a plastic container on my sewing table. It's across the room from where I sit at the computer. A couple of days during Debby's wrath I was stuck indoors, kept hearing this odd crackling sound. I thought maybe the cat had brought in a mouse, or something. Then one night as I was in bed reading, I heard a couple of distinct "pops" and the sound of things bouncing off the windows and walls. When I pattered out to find out what the heck it was, found one side of a seed pod on the floor by the table. Turns out those pods twist and pop open throwing the seeds all over the place when they dry out! What a riot. I'm going to put the lid on the container next time I collect some so they don't all fly away. I'm finding those seeds everywhere.

Anyway, I have lots of gingers and cannas blooming like crazy now that they're all standing up again. I finally cut down the huge Mexican sunflower plant that was looming over my little C. pulch so it is coming on like gangbusters now, too. Once I hack through the waist-high weeds (brought on by the rain) with my machete, I'm finding lots of lovely things out there in the jungle.