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May 18, 2014

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Life at Big Garden, Postaweek

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Air Plants Around Town: Work of Art

As I traveled around town this week, I noticed many healthy, huge and gorgeous air plants. Here in Zone 10a, May = Summer, and the combo of high temps/humidity and longer days turns epiphytic (and terrestrial) bromeliads into works of art.  Various tillandsias along the mangrove trail in Lagoon Greenway are an excellent example.

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Throughout my backyard, Fingernail broms (aka Neoregelia spectabilis) are flowering with artistic symmetry.  Short, inconspicuous, flower heads within this rosette were barely visible on 5/4….

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….But after a few heavy rains and a stretch of high 80°s, they’ve opened quite nicely!

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There are literally thousands of different bromeliads, and identifying them is especially difficult when plants are young or haven’t yet bloomed.  This next group falls in the “great unknown” category, but I loved their paint splashed, “Nature’s art work” look.

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Yesterday at the Beachside Farmer’s Market, a floral vendor combined bromeliads with seashells and driftwood for some interesting objets d’art (unfortunately the plants weren’t labeled, and the kid manning the booth was clueless, but the leaves indicate tillandsia to me)

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Also unlabeled, this resplendent bromeliad selling for 35.00. Funny how they never forget the price tag though! 😉

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Please identify me?

If anyone has a positive i.d. please let me know!  I’d love to lear more about this beautiful work of art!

Being epiphytic and smallish, Tillandsia ionantha lends itself to hanging on rows of fishing line. I think of it as art for the modern day hippie or an updated version of a ’70s beaded curtain. 😉

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Although not titled as such, I’m tagging this post for the Weekly Photo Challenge. If you’ve never participated, why not start this week?  Art is so subjective, any picture you take will qualify!

Until next time….

🙂 🙂 🙂

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10 thoughts on “Air Plants Around Town: Work of Art”

    • the USDA has divided the country into plant hardiness zones. Here in So.Florida the zones are 10a to 11 (11 being further south) They changed the zones in 2012 because for the previous 15yrs, people were growing certain things further north than ever before. Here’s a link to the actual info: USDA Zone Hardiness Map 2012

  2. i had found a bunch of different broms along the road a few years ago, but the only one that made it was the pink tipped variety as the one in your 2nd and 3rd photos down! i love it though! So pretty! Tillandsias are adorable!

  3. I love bromelaids….our yard is full of them! The only catch here in Florida are mosquitos like to lay eggs in them, but we use a natural product that you sprinkle into them that prevents them from laying eggs in them. 🙂

  5. I think Bromeliads are one of my favorite flowers too. Since I have learned which ones do well in my zone 9A Florida garden, I have not lost any due to killing freezes. And they multiply as well.
    Thanks for the great photos.

  6. Its great to see them growing wild (or are they naturalised?) along the Mangrove Trail. I’m enjoying them here, too – in Sri Lanka they were illegal because of the habitat they provided breeding mosquitoes.

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