Neuraudia ovata
Tropical Garden #61
We've had so much rain and heavily overcast skies it's been difficult to get decent photos. My place has had about 375 millimetres of rain in the past 7 days (about 15 inches). I like the rain, but I like taking photos too.
The weather bureau says there should be a bit of a break but then next week it'll be back on again.
My dam looked inviting when I got back home this afternoon. But I'm hesitant to go for a swim until I've checked it out thoroughly. With heavy rain and flooded creeks crocodiles move around. My dam overflows into my swamp, which drains into my creek, which runs into the very close by river, which is inhabited by a number of rather large reptiles. The big ones go up the creek but so far only small ones have been sighted in my swamp. I should charge a fee for swimming in my dam, admission by payment only. Crocodiles don't usually carry any money with them. ;O)
I can't match the fantastic sunset/sunrise photos, so how about ..................... RAIN!
Dutchlady, that's why I like the wet season. When the dry season comes even with a lot of watering the garden still doesn't look as lush.
Tropic, beautiful pic of dam. I love everyone's picture. It is cold here and that helps
to have beautiful pictures to look at.
Awesome pictures!!! dh even got in on the fun.
plantladylin, thanks for the new thread, I also think that you are very good photographer. I love your sister's front yard.
Sunshinesw, I hope that you are not planning on having a dinner party anytime soon. I would guess that you have over 100 Hoya plants in there.
Waving to everybody else, thanks for the pictures and comments, I totally enjoyed it all. It is too cold to take pictures, the zippers on my hoop houses are frozen shut. It is a good thing that I am short, it makes crawling under, a little easier.
Philo. 69686 taken yesterday. I find that they do very well in hanging baskets.
Dave: what is that beautiful critter, is it the Hawaiian Nene? That's a great picture.
Dutchlady: any info about the photo you posted from Kauai? Is it a roadside chapel? I see the statuary, cross and what looks to be a plaque on the back wall. With the greenery it sure looks like a serene setting.
Tropic: Wow, 15 inches of rain! That would be a flood for us as we are only 9' above sea level. I love the photo here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=7441048 of your lake/pond, but that is really scary thinking of swimming with possible Croc's around! We have many Alligators here in Florida and every body of fresh water probably has at least a couple. The Alligators are very common here but there have been reports also of American Croc's in some of the waterways. I don't go in lakes at all and will only go ankle deep in the ocean, LOL. We are labeled the shark bite capital of the world, seems like every year we are hearing about more and more surfers being bitten by a shark. I will stick to the swimming pool, LOL. We have a boat and I enjoy seeing the dolphins and manatees but I will stay on the boat!
RRM: It's been really cold here too. Yesterday morning the birdbaths were frozen solid! I had to chop the ice away and then get lukewarm water to clear it entirely. It was a bit warmer last night (34º) but it's supposed to be freezing or below again tonight with a 55% probability of sleet and snow flurries tomorrow morning!! That is very unusual for this area. With the next cold front heading our way we are still going to have nights in the mid 20's! I uncovered some plants in the yard this morning because we were supposed to have a rain shower today, it would help a bit because everything is so dry from the drastic cold but then with temp's dropping again it's going to be interesting. Some of the airports have had problems with delays and cancellations because of this weather. Airports down here have no de-icing equipment and they showed one airport that moved planes out onto the tarmac to sit and warm up in the sun, LOL. I think this Florida winter will go down in history!
Oh prita ... I love that Philo! What does the number mean, does it not have a name?
I saw the link that had the Iguana's falling out of the trees. i used to have an iguana and I still think they are beautiful reptiles. I put a electric de-icer in a couple of our birdbaths. Had to water the poor birds, they were looking for water too. Onw birdbath was frozen so I laid the deicer on the ice and it warmed itself down into the fountain. Now the whole fountain is animal ready to get a drink.
Lin, the plants are going to have a hard winter this year and especially in Florida. Some of them are so Large and beautiful.
Hi Lin, that was a Black Brant, Branta bernicula, a rare Winter visitor in Hawai'i.
Here is a Nene, Branta sandvicensis. The State Bird of Hawai'i.
baby, it's C-O-O-O-L-D down here! Look at our container water fountain. I'm sweating bullets, scared it might crack. We kept water running all last night.
This message was edited Jan 8, 2010 12:34 PM
ice sheeting came off right away
in the 10 or so years we've grown p. selloum, it's never looked this weather beaten. I know it will survive and since it needed thinning, I'm actually not too upset about this.
mosquito fish Nemo and Nina and definitely gonners. This container water garden is frozen solid. I will be amazed if it doesn't crack on me.
My furry babies spent the night in a heated garage. This morning they couldn't wait to get out of there! I put a sweater on Puddy, he was shivering so badly.
15 minutes later he was stripping
My Radar does that. They lay on their back and wiggle out of their clothes.
You know those Chihuahuas are Tropical plants in theirselves. He is a cute littel Brat Furbaby.
Plantladylin, What I know on the Philo. 69686 I read from "The Exotic Rainforest". I bought the philo. on e-bay from someone in Hawaii.
It is likely a natural philo. hybrid from Brazil.
This is the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Southern Colorado.
vossner, I am keeping my fingers crossed for you, I hope that your fountain does not crack either, it is very nice!!
I left a few plants out this year,as a experiment, I already know that they are goners. Stay warm, 2 more nights of arctic temps. to go.
sand
vossner: Wow, y'all have really had some cold weather, look at all that ice! Jeepers, I hope we don't see anything like that with this next blast of arctic air due in the next week! The Philodendron bipinnatifidum (Selloum) grows down here too, we have a lot of it on one side of the house and one lone one on the other side. It's been in the ground for more than 35 years and has been knocked completely back to mush over the years but has always re-sprouted when the weather warms up. I'm hoping this extended cold will not kill them completely. I hope that beautiful fountain/birdbath survives the ice, it would be a shame to have that crack but hopefully if it does crack from the freeze, it can be repaired with some sort of glue?
Those puppies are so cute in their winter sweaters!
prita: Gorgeous shots of those dunes and bright blue sky! Is that you climbing that dune?! It sure looks like a pretty area.
plantladylin, that is my 18 year old DGS. It is a very beautiful area and extremely quiet.
Good morning!
Wow! lot to catch up.
Lin,
Lucky so far here, there was freeze in some of the inland areas. Most of hoyas are in the house, weatherman is predicting freeze Sat(32) & Sunday(30). Some of the tender plants will be covered again later but can not cover all.
Prita, no dinner parties for awhile.
Great photos everyone.
Good luck to all of you with your plants. Brrrr!
It's SLEETING in Daytona Beach! I went out to get the newspaper about 7:00 a.m. and the minute I walked out the front door I could hear it ... icy sleet sure sounds different from the sound of rainfall. It's a very chilly 33º and dreary looking and it's supposed to be in the upper 20's tonight. Stay warm everyone! I think many of us are envious of Metrosideros and Tropicbreeze , and the weather where they live! I'm going to have another cup of coffee and since our temp's are only going to be in the LOW 40's today and since we now have some firewood, I think I will build a nice fire in the fireplace and just snuggle up with the paper for a bit and then lurk around DG later!
See ya later ...
Forgot to add a picture of the ice crystals on my Gardenia bush
My Camellia, taken yesterday.
I went out a few minutes ago to fill the bird feeders and found ice on these Philodendron's.
Unbelievable!
Florida-Alaska ... our local news just said the temperature in Orlando, Florida is the same exact temperature as Juneau, Alaska!
I don't think you can see it very well, but there is ice in a little
metal birdbath there.
I sure can see your ice too.
Have a Cousin in Mo. say the same thing about a cousin in Anchorage.-- Amazing isn't it???
This message was edited Jan 9, 2010 9:47 AM
It's 19 here in Atlanta - frozen driveway and ice all over the roads. I had to drive to Collins Hill this morning for a swim meet and the roads were not too bad. Had to be careful of black ice.
It finally up to 23 degrees. Ice is worse up there than it is down here where I live.
Been showing Atlanta on the news...is not a pretty thing...ice
My philos fried....21F this morning...now up to 29F
It's only 32º here .. but that's still waaaay too cold for Florida!! I just turned the news on and they say it's the coldest weather on record for our area! Some folks have been submitting photo's to the local news stations ... not snowmen, but sleet men ... cute little things made from the ice!
There's still ice on the plants and on the ground and snow flurries still possible for another hour or so ... Brrrr! I'm staying warm and comfy in front of my fireplace!
Do you think your Philo's will recover? I'm not even sure the ones that have been in the ground here for more than 35 years will survive this extended cold we are having!
