another
Tropical Garden #103
one more..
All the orange glow you see was the fire, some said it got up to 100 ft and probably so because most of the pines are 40-50 maybe. A lot of people lost a LOT of money. Pines are a 'crop' down here and at around $100 an acre, a lot of money went up in flames.
GAgirl glad those fires are out. It finally rained here too. I guess the swim and ma ca Rain a helped. Lol.
dyzzypyxxy that is a nice garden walkway. It is nice to not have to mow/edge/fertilize/weed grass I bet.
Thanks, Rachel and Drew. No wonder I never saw a 'deliciosa' fruit. (being a fruit grower, I was kind of looking forward to a taste . . ) In any case, they sure are great, hardy, drought tolerant, nice looking Philos.
Candela, you're so right about the mowing etc. I do firmly believe that grass has no logical application in a garden in Florida.
Here's another shot looking the other way down that pathway - finally got a picture of my Aussie Tree Fern. It gets lost against the viburnum hedge on the other side of that fence. It's getting happier again, now that the oak tree is filling out from its last thinning. You can also see the ugly, leggy Costus plants against the fence, which is where I got my start with them.
I think that space where the Costus are is begging for a nice Philo . . . do I dare plant one in the middle of summer? I do love that Verrucosum that Rachel showed a couple of days ago. Who's the favorite supplier for Philos??
Rachel,
I doubt I'll bid on that cute little caladium for now...but it's on my wish list.
GaGirl.....I'm doing a Rain dance, a Mac-a-rain dance, a Turtle rain dance - heck I'd hang off a pole if it would get us all rain.
I hope those fires are settling down around you. I know how disconcerting that is.
Dzzy and Rita, I'm having Pond Envy - it's just not in the budget right now.
soooooooo
I'm thinking of putting my Black Magic and Mojito EE's in this low spot in the front yard...I like to take advantage of the natural lay of the ground...and since I can't afford to build a real pond right now...I was thinking I'd encourage another Bog-ish Garden. It's good rich soil - drains well, ..and gets' sun from about sunup till 2:00 or so. I think that would be enough sun for the those two...and they are hardy here.
I can expand the area right up to where the ground starts to naturally rise again.
Any thoughts ?
I say that is a perfect location(But I am not Dzzy or Rita)!
MJS, is that an Ensete Glaucum in the mid ground left?
This message was edited Jun 20, 2011 7:50 PM
Drew,
No..right now there are only Canna's a L. Iris, which I may move also, and on the very far left edge where the ground comes up there is a Noid Brug...kinda a peachy color...WHEN it decides to bloom. I will probably end up moving that.
I dont' have any bananas growing. I think about it, but haven't planted any yet.
Evening, I sure am glad those fires are out, Paula. I think we have been having floriday rains everyday, in the high 99's to 100's, then rain.. hmm..
love your pathway, dzzy, showed my hubby , he thinks my suppport I put on our tree philo is making it pout. He may be right.
My very first ever rain lillys are blooming now...
I. Plantesis is so very happy now that she is outside..
Mj's wait until you see the pelican flower vine?
a favorite native wild flower on the patio so the vines can climb them is in full bloom at night..
finally lime zinger, elena, and x are all showing leaves, but here is Bonnies sarian, I went to see her over the weekend..her place is like a tropical woodland, I can't believe she hauls that stuff in every year,, it is all her fault that I do too.. ( so I tell her)
Kay Jones, I have located fields of your orange butterfly weeds, and will go back to dig them up in a couple weeks, to send you some tubers..
okay, this stuff never gets hand watered, so I think I want it all in my back yard..
someone was talking about hydrangas a few threads ago.. here are Bonnies..oh, and the blue butter fly cleodendrum stick I gave her two years ago? well it is about 6 ft by 6 ft now.. all abloom.. I wish I could grow as big as she does and she is in a zone colder than me..I want the musical notes, tho..
one more and I will stop for now.. maybe.. here are a few of her begonias, and I do mean a few..
well, that is all for now, I have lots going on... keep the tropicals coming..
Debra, WOW! Call me today - I will be home all afternoon, cleaning house. I've been trying to trade for C. musical notes, too.
Good Morning !
I am happy to report that we were blessed a little over 1.2" of much needed rain here last night!!!!
That is wonderful Rita; now, everything will explode!
Send some of that rain down my way Rita. All we've managed to get is some clouds that look like rain might be on the horizon but none arrives. boo hoo hoo
We need it desperately.
Same here, nothing is growing like it should be growing for this time of year. No matter how deep I dig, I can't find any moisture in the soil.
This message was edited Jun 21, 2011 11:26 AM
Good Evening Everyone!
homer1958, thanks, you are correct on the Alocasia, it is Odora.
dyzzy, there is also a purple sandpaper vine growing in with the white, both blooming sporadically for the last couple of years.
Thanks for those very impressive pictures, I love the layout of your garden. Those Philos are special! I would love to have them everywhere in my yard. The oak branch is screaming for Bromeliads or hanging baskets, lol.
The Begonia was placed just right, it catches your eyes coming and going.
ginger
mjsponies, the swim mac-a-rain and the turtle rain dance worked for me, keep on dancing, girl. There are a few more of us that need rain.
I agree that is a good plan and a perfect spot for your bog pond, you can't go wrong.
GAgirl1066, those are some scarey pictures. It's good news about all the fires that have been extinguished and that you can breathe again!
Joeswife, Glad to hear that you had a nice visit with Bonnie. I enjoyed all those pictures and would like to see more of her tropical wonderland.
bougainvilla in a Bromeliad basket
RachelLF, thanks, this is one of the new Philodendrons from Miller's nursery. I have not had a chance to go back for a visit.
Philo. McWilliamsii, in my homemade box, there are other stuff planted in there to spill over and cover the ugliness, but they are taking their sweet time getting the job done.
phughes, I hope that you are having fun on your time off from work.
There is a good chance that you might get some of the wet stuff tonight.
Join us in the rain dance. lol. Awesome to see you!!
ardesia, I hope that you had a great Day.
Happy Birthday!!
ginger
Rain dancing is working . . . Looks like the storm that gave Rita some rain is coming towards all the rest of us. Phew! It's awfully hot today!
Happy summer, everybody!
Is that the white swamp hibiscus in that last picture, Rita? They are lovely graceful plants - pretty foliage and those pleated flowers! Elegant.
My Dr.Moy hedychium has its first bloom. Smells so wonderful.
I think I got a screamin bargoon on this Alo at the grocery store.
Label says 'Alocasia Polly' It's in a little bitsy pot, about 4" or so.
Whaddya think, folks? Can I plant it out or will the heat and humidity kill it?
I've got my dancing shoes on!!!!!!
Paula, those pictures are darn scarey! It's good to know that most of those fires are no longer a danger and I sure hope they stay that way.
mjs, that looks like a great spot for the Colocasias that you mentioned and Debra, nice photos from your friends place.
Dyzzy, your Tree fern is beautiful. I can highly recommend the ebay sellers, Mda1515 and nsetropicals. They both have had P. verrucosum up at auction lately but if you do not want to go through ebay, you can always email nsetropicals about a straight out purchase. Your Alocasia will enjoy the heat and humidity but it requires extremely good drainage and less watering vs. some. If the plant receives alot of moisture for an extended period time or stays too moist, it will rot.
Philodendron gloriosum.
Happy Birthday Ardesia. Hope it was a wonderful day for you. Hi phuges, it is so good to see you!
Rachel, that trilobum is really cool, I almost got one.. but, I can't seem to keep Anthuriums happy.
Rita, love the box, plant and all, you need some of my daisey garland creeper as fillers.
dzzy, my "polys" are in mostly shade and sheltered.
Happy B'day Alice!
THANK YOU! I did have a great day and even found a weird caladium at Lowe's that came home with me. I never buy plants at Lowe's (I have a thing about supporting independents) so you know this had to be different. It does not show up well in the photo but it has this strange gunmetal cast to the leaves when the light is right. New leaves are greenish then they go through all sorts of color stages. Trackinsand got one too and she is tryng to ID it on the ID and the aroid forums. Comes from Costas Farms in FL but there is nothing on their website about it.
I saw this on the aroid forum and for anyone who might be interested, I have traded wiwth X and she sends very healthy plants.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1187447/
Happy B-day ardesia ! My B-day wish to you...is that you get the rain also that the weather folks are saying we will get this weekend....rain chances increasing significantly ! starting tomorrow...
Now...I'm going out side to do some dancin...
ardesia, maybe this site could help.
http://www.neofarmthailand.com/index.php?lay=show&ac=article&Id=126319&Ntype=6
I go to that site often, aren't those the most beautiful caladiums???? I have ordered some Thai's from these folks before but unlike some I got from Florida, they seemed to be more tender. It could have just been our bad winter though. Debi is hoping Lari Ann pipes in on the Aroid forum with an ID.
Hope you do get some rain MJ and maybe that will put out those darn fires down there. Hope we get some rain too but the forecast doesn't show much. We have another air quality alert from the smoke again this morning. Apparently the fires are not yet out in the Okeefenokee near where GA girl lives either, I hope she is OK. Funny how the smoke comes so far but we are better off than poor Jacksonville today, they are getting hit with smoke from fires in two directions.
A syngonium cutting I snitched in Fl a while ago.
Ardesia, happy birthday, and let's hope we all get the rain! We have some clouds this morning - yay!
I'm with you on the sentiment to support local independent nurseries. Also if I order, I like to order from close by if I can - less trucks on the road using gas and polluting etc. That being said, of the big stores, Lowe's does have more interesting plants than anywhere else in my experience. Their buyer seems to like unusual varieties.
Thanks everyone for the info on Philos. I am looking at P. gloriosum from Florida Hill Nursery to fill in that gap in my shady border. Anyone had plants from them? They are up near you, Mj, I think. But fairly new. They seem to have very good prices and if I order up to 4 plants (such a problem . . ! ) they give a flat rate shipping charge. I hate paying outrageous shipping!
My only reservation, since my plants will generally stay outdoors year 'round, maybe a smooth-leaf variety would be less prone to fungal disease than the velvety leafed varieties? I do love the look of those velvety leaves, though. Thoughts??
