Thank you both.....it was so bad this afternoon, it was almost like it was snowing there was so much ash falling down and I am 5 miles from the closest...I'm sure its even worse closer to the fire.
Tropical Garden #103
You guys are do for some divine intervention; for fires and drought!
Rita these are for you...
Almost 5' in diameter right now the leaves are almost perfect!
Homer, that is awsome.
There's something wrong with that picture....the chair should say Corona
Yup...we sure could use the rain..
Crocodiles like fish (emulsion) it's almost doubled in size...
The haze in the picture............smoke.
mjsponies
I love the plant but the planter is very clever. I'm stealing that idea from ya.....
Jan
Well, it threatened again, but no rain here today. Better chance tomorrow. Looks like some headed your way tonight GAgirl! Prayers answered?
That's a gorgeous shiny friend you've got sittin next to your lounge chair, Drew. Does he drink much?
A visitor to my 'Burgundy' gaillardias
Paula, I'm praying the fires have not gotten any closer to you and your family. Give us an update when you can.
Rita, your water fall/garden looks so tranquil and dyzzy, nice peacock ginger but how in the world do you keep that Virginia creeper from spreading everywhere in your area.
Drew, your Maximum is getting more and more gorgeous all the time and mjs, I'm echoing the same on your planter as I have one just like it. Your fern has definitely doubled in size since you last posted a picture of it.
Philodendron verrucosum, long over due for a new support.
Rita, Can we go fishing in your pond?
Elaine, "She"drinks like a fish; Miller Lites! (MJS)
Rachel very beautiful Verrucosum... Definitely on my list!
Rita, I love your pond too...my neighbor has one...but the racoons keep getting into it and eating her fish.
I'd love to have one too.
Jan, I stole the idea for the collander planter from someone else...LOL...
Rachel
I love your Caladium...there is one on Ebay I'm wishing for...
http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-MINIATURE-AROID-CALADIUM-HUMBOLDTII-MARCEL-/180683179382?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2
We got some much needed rain last night...and it was a nice steady soaker...probably a good inch plus....I sat out on the porch with my Corona (LOL) and just enjoyed it.
dzzy I hope the rain comes your way today !!!!
this caladium is a low grower...and lots of freckles !
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Yes, prayers answered....got some much needed rain last night. Not sure about the fires yet, but surely it helped. Love all the pictures.
Rachel and Mj, love those peppermint candy Caladiums! Yes, the Virginia creeper is a nuisance, but it has a long way to go to win the 'most annoying weedy vine' award in my garden. I have air potato battles, a rampant trumpet vine invading from the neighbor, and would you believe the red Passiflora coccinea that was quietly rambling around the back 40 has popped up with a lovely red flower at the very top of a 50ft. live oak tree?
I'm going to indulge myself here and tell my water garden story:
Mj, the answer to keeping raccoons from 'fishing' in water gardens is just to make them deep, with steep sides. Mine is about 18" deep but another 6 or 7in. down to the water level from the walkway.The raccoons occasionally go for a swim in my little pond, but they haven't dined on any of my fish in 3 years. That being said, you also have to keep fast, smart fish. Big dumb koi are magnets for the herons and ospreys. When we moved in here, there were six gorgeous big orandas in my pond. They are the pretty goldfish with bubbly heads and long, feathery fins. They're very slow, awkward swimmers, and had been trained to come to the surface to be fed floating food. So when the white heron visited, they went like lambs to the slaughter. I went to replace them to discover that they were not only dumb and slow, but really expensive! I then bought 10 feeder fish from Petsmart at 29 cents each. Never feed them, ever. They eat bugs and algae and some of them are 6" now. Haven't lost a fish since! My pond has a 'floating' rock - flattish rock sitting on cinderblocks - over part of it, so good cover and shade for the fish. I also have water lilies, iris and a dwarf lotus plant in there, all of which keep the water clear and also provide cover.
I was worried when we moved in here as I had no experience with water gardens. Got a good book and learned a lot. But, now that the fish issue is resolved, I have to say my pond is very low maintenance, water efficient (yes, believe it or not!) and a great source of enjoyment. Once you get a pond into balance, they're surprisingly easy to maintain.
Elaine, that is a beautiful water feature!
Very nice Elaine! Any Bullfrogs?
When there is rain after a long dry spell (today, let's hope!) I get a veritable rock concert of frogs laying eggs in the pond. Southern toads and leopard frogs are the two most common ones I see. I had a pair of leopard frogs living in the pond most of last summer. They're really pretty and have a crazy deep croak. The Southern toads make a high whistling sound. Picture from last summer - Southern toad.
I also have nasty invasive Cuban tree frogs around the pond from time to time, but have learned how to trap and remove them. They eat everything, including the other frogs and the baby fish!
GAgirl are you still OK? We just watched dense smoke roll in, it was so heavy we thought it was rain coming across the marsh. Now the TV is rolling air quality advisories across the screen. We turned off our attic fan to keep it from drawing the smoke inside. My son in JAX says things are pretty bad again, especially near the beaches. We are supposed to have storms later which, hopefully, will blow it all away again.
I think I need to weed my pond, you can barely tell there is one under all the foliage. Those plants I can't mention, LOL, make great additions to the compost bin.
ps. forgot to say 'thanks' for the compliments, Kay and Drew. Ardesia, that's a lovely, healthy looking water lily. You're sure there's a pond under there??
Hope some more of you got rain today - nothing here despite some great looking clouds earlier. They moved off towards the east. Tornado warnings for Orlando - Mj hope you are still on the ground??
Here's my brug nursery with the two huge ones I got from Debra - Cherub is nearly 3 feet tall and I think there are buds already! My little Maya is hanging in there, lower right.
Drew, thank you. I think verrucosum is one of the prettiest Philos. but you should see Ritas' verrucosum x melanochrysum! Her plant will make you drool.
mjs, I'm glad you got some rain and I viewed that cute little Caladium on ebay. If you bid on it, I sure hope you win. Have you seen the article from LariAnn G. concerning her hybridzing some Caladiums? The ones I viewed are real beauties and I think her work with these will be a big hit to Caladium collectors in the future.
dyzzy, I admire your water garden too and I'm sure you have a tremendous battle with those vines that you mentioned.
Paula, like ardesia mentioned, I sure hope the fires are still staying away from you and your home.
Hello all,
We got some good rain last night so I hope that did a good bit to put the fires out. The smoke is still really bad. At times its difficult to breathe. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.
While we were at church earlier this afternoon, a storm blew up with what had to have been 50-60 mph winds. Tree limbs and leaves were everywhere! I only have small holes, from small sticks, in a few of my plants (Phillies are ok). I am keeping them under the Dogwoods which help to keep the oak and pine limbs from hitting the plants.
Had a small pine cone (green) put a tear (half dollar size) in the biggest leaf of one of my Borneo Giants! I consider myself lucky there was not any more damage. All this for an EIGHTH inch of rain! Highs tomorrow near 100.
Like my brother use to say; "Hot and dry with blow"! Ok, That's my dissertation for the evening!
Good Night everyone!
beautiful ponds everyone!
just got back from my mother in laws in puerto rico. everything we planted last year is getting huge.
red cloak
not sure i think this is a noni fruit?
hummingbirds love this ixora
breadfruit, i wanted to bring some home not quite ready though.
i thought it was going to rain yesterday, there were black clouds thunder but no rain here. i went away for 6 days and almost lost my new jack fruit and grumichama that i just bought. i am going outside to do a rain dance.
Candela, Do the "swim", maybe that will produce rain...!
Or maybe the maca - rain - a ??
Hello Everyone, Happy Fathers Day !!!
I am happy to hear that almost everyone is getting a little rain and that the fires have subsided a little. It has not rained here and the wind is so strong, it is blowing my pots over.
dyzzy, I have been enjoying all of your pictures, the peacock ginger is awesome. I love your pond but the Philo. in the background of your Brug. picture stole my heart, it needs a closeup.
homer1958, thanks for the picture! That's is as good as it gets, it reflects all the TLC it has been recieving.
This is one of the oldest Anthurium in my garden.
mjsponies, thanks for reminding me of the fish emulsion. I have used it before with good results. It was hard to find in my area. I will also have to find me a Crocodile fern.
RachelLF, I have to agree with you and homer. I find the verriucosum to be one of the most beautiful Phios. I would love to see your's after you have secured it to a permanent stake.
My Philo. Hybrid, is just now putting out new foliage, I thought it was dying. I will show it later in the season.
Box planter with a Ti variegated banana, Philo. Pink Princess and a Bird nest Anthurium.
GAGirl1066, I hope that the rain last night has helped some. Stay safe!
andesia, I can still see some water in your pond. lol
candea, Bautiful tropical pictures. I especially liked your last picture, what a pleasant setting!
I will join you in that rain dance.
Philo. Ring of Fire
Joeswife, we are missing you!!
Sandpaper vine
Rita; killer plants as always...! Is that a V. Mac. or Odora? Looks like an Odora.
Rita, the sandpaper vine is just lovely - so delicate!
My philos are just big landscape clumps of Monstera, nothing special. The whole east side of the house is shaded by a huge oak, and there are 5 clumps like this along the pathway under there. They are very easy care for me - I just remove dead leaves occasionally and that's it! After seeing all the gorgeous ones everyone grows on this forum, I'm thinking of trying something more exotic. There is a space in the row . . .
The fence is 6ft. tall, for reference.
Here's the pathway with two more Monstera clumps.
Beautiful begonia in the lower right corner of that last photo. Your garden is lovely and it looks so shady and cool.
Rita, loved all your pictures especially your oldest Anthurium. Mine is still growing well and hopefully it will be as beautiful as yours someday.
Dyzzy, beautiful gardens and you should be able to grow quite a few more Philodendrons in your zone if you choose to do so. By the way, the plants that you have shown are not in the genus of Monstera. They are all Philodendron bipinnatifidum instead. Commonly known as a tree Philo.
Elaine,
I think you would enjoy this site if you do not already know of it! You will learn most anything you would want to know about aroids! Exoticrainforest.com
http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Philodendron%20bipinnatifidum%20pc.html
for your bipinnatifidums!
Thanks for adding the link Drew. Here is another link that will also show Dyzzy what she has.
http://cubits.org/tropicalplantphotodict/thread/view/5404/
Well ladies,
Here are some pictures...this was last week...most of the fires have been put out with the much needed rain we got.
