When skies are blue and the earth is bursting with life, the world seems a happier place. 🙂 Spring is definitely where it’s at! 
A few days ago, the Brazilian Verbena above (aka V. bonnariensis) was merely sticks and foliage but the recent heatwave changed all that: little purple flower clusters surprised me today as did this waxy pink and yellow umbel on a Hoya hybrid purchased from Gardenfest 2014.
Hoya Rebecca is a cross between Hoya lacunosa ‘Langkawi Island‘ and Hoya obscura, both native to Thailand and highly compatible with Florida’s spring humidity. When grown outdoors, the leaves blush red and turn a deeper green than when set in a sunny window. Note: If you want your Hoya to bloom again, NEVER remove spent flowers! New blooms emerge from the same spot on the peduncle (base) as the old ones.
In case you didn’t notice my header image, let me show you the beautiful Portulaca grandiflora,Samba series, bicolor–phew what a mouthful of a name for a bedding plant! 😉
The Samba series has wiry, succulent leaves and a trailing habit, so works well in containers and hanging baskets. I like a WOW factor, so paired them with purple petunias along my front walk:
Although not terribly unique, the Teddy Bear sunflower variety is new to my garden. I’ve always planted Giants, and on a whim chose something different this time. Never again! Either these are naturally waaaaayyyyy too short or something abortive and wierd happened as they sprouted. 6″ tall? That’s just stupid! 😉 (pretty color though!)
The newest addition to the vine wall, Tecoma capensis, just entered a second bloom cycle. (The first was in November.) It isn’t completely open yet, but the vine wall is always worthy of a photo op, especially in Spring!
For more Spring beauty, check out this week’s challenge, and the related Zemanta links below!
Until next time…
🙂 🙂 🙂
Related articles
- Spring Gardening: Life’s Little Pleasures (myartisticbliss.com)
- Hoya In Bloom (arlene1956.wordpress.com)
- I Blinked & Spring is Gone… (sharoncummings.wordpress.com)
- Spring 2014: First Impressions (koekara.wordpress.com)
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Spring (travel-stained.com)
- Spring Macro (canoecommunications.wordpress.com)
- Weekly Photo Challenge … Spring (nelabligh.com)
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Spring (angelocrux.wordpress.com)
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Spring (dralimanonlife.com)
- Weekly Photo Challenge : Spring (Tree Peonies) (hurtledto60.com)
6 thoughts on “More Spring!”
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small house/BIG GARDEN 
I love your Spring flowers! Hoya – I don’t know the type – is one of my favorite houseplants,up here in the north country! Thanks, Karen!
I didn’t know much about Hoya until I saw a friend’s in full bloom a few years ago. The one I kept as a houseplant up north NEVER flowered so I considered it dull and sold it at yardsale!! After seeing my friend’s covered in little pink balls I changed my opinion and bought a Hoya publicalyx. It flowered last summer (for the first time) and right now is in the earliest bud stages. Look for a post on it in a few weeks!
I agree with you about the sunflowers – 6 inches is weird! We have those lovely verbena and the butterflies love them 🙂
oh they do! My yard is full of butterflies…between them and the passiflora there’s plenty of nectar to go around!
Well small or not a sunflower is a sunflower and I love them. Goodness your garden is amazing. Can you please come here and sort mine out ?????