Weekly Photo Challenge: Depth (Gardenfest part 1)

I kept this week’s photo challenge in mind while taking pictures at Gardenfest.

First up: looking down a row of incredible Medinilla magnifca…

Medinilla magnifica, Gardenfest 2015

…and a row of bananas:

Going Bananas, Gardenfest 2015

Next, a view through the Spanish Moss:

Looking through the Spanish Moss, Gardenfest 2015

…and a wander under impressive Live Oaks:

Under the oaks, Gardenfest 2015

Each year Gardenfest grows bigger and better, with increasingly unusual vendors and displays.  Definitely one of Vero Beach‘s premier in-season events!  Part 2 later in the week!

Until next time…

🙂 🙂 🙂

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Cranberry Hibiscus (Hibiscus acetosella)

While working at the Master Gardener office, I noticed a lone shrub scrabbling along the building’s foundation. To my Northern eye it looked like Japanese Maple, but then i saw the telltale flower of Cranberry Hibiscus, aka Hibiscus acetosella.

H. acetosella is a fast growing, hardy perennial in zones 8-11, reaching 3-5′ tall and 30″ wide the first year. The foliage is usually green to deep burgundy with 3-5 lobes and a jagged edge. It suckers and thickens quickly, and is best pruned around 3′ to encourage branching and a fuller appearance.  A wonderful winter bloomer, it contrasts nicely with light green or chartreuse tropical plants.

This one needs pruning!

Cranberry hibiscus is thought to be a natural hybrid of H.asper and H.surattensis, two varieties originally cultivated for food in the southern DR Congo-Angola-Zambia region of Africa.  All three have edible, tart shoots and leaves that chop easily for salads, but only H. acetosella retains its leaf color when stir fried or boiled as a spinach type side dish.

The flowers mature to shiny and showy burgundy pod-fruit-flower like complexities (actually, it’s the calyx that’s providing most of the show) used world-wide in warm-climate cuisine for tea and jam.

If allowed to grow too tall, the woody stems will bend and break, so pinch, pinch, pinch for a more compact, prettier shrub.

As a side note, Gardenfest Weekend is here!  Can’t wait to show you all the beautiful booths and plants!

Until next time…

🙂 🙂 🙂

Wordless Wednesday: Mother of Millions

One of my favorite winter bloomers is putting on a show this week:

Bryophyllum houghtonii, January 2015

As the common name “mother of millions” suggests, B. houghtonii propagates vegetatively (profusely!) via tiny plantlets that form along the leaf edges. Click this  previous post  to see a plantlet, and this one for information about the flower heads.

Until next time….

🙂 🙂 🙂

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Richardia grandiflora (aka Florida Snow)

Richardia grandiflora, also known as largeflower pusley, is native to South America and a common lawn/meadow invader during South Florida’s dry winter season.

Richardia grandiflora with Chamaecrista fasciculata (Yellow Partridge pea)

Largeflower pusley is a creeping herbacious (non‐woody) perennial that roots at the nodes and reproduces by seeds and stem fragments. It flowers profusely over the holidays, and from a distance it’s easy to see how “Florida Snow” became the preferred colloquialism for these white-to-violet flowers.

Florida Snow

The appearance of R. grandiflora is a relatively new phenomena, gaining a foothold in areas disturbed by the hurricanes of 2004-6.  Ten years later, many lawns and fields have thousands of flowers capable of dispersing tens of thousands of seeds. Containing or eradicating such prodigious reproduction is difficult, so most of us–especially those from the North!–regard it as a nice reminder of White Christmas!

Although a ground cover and not a shrub, Richardia is a member of the Rubiaceae family and related to the native Psychotria nervosa (wild coffee) whose flowers are similar.  Curious about the yellow plant in the photos?  You can read about it in a previous post.

Until next time…

🙂 🙂 🙂

Wordless Wednesday: 12/03/2014, Aloe arborescens

Today was a spectacular beach day and we arrived to a spectacular sight:

Aloe arborescens blooming at Jaycee Beach

A. aborescens (aka Torch Aloe) is one of the most widely cultivated aloes in the world.  As a prized fall-to-winter bloomer, it is found growing from mountains on high to sea level below.  The coral-red flowers hang tightly on unbranched inflorescences that rise 2 feet above the foliage in early winter

Torch Aloe is hardy to approximately 22F and requires no irrigation. Salt and drought tolerance make it a perfect succulent shrub for seaside locations

For more on Wordless Wednesday, click the WW blog/linkup at the Jenny Evolution and the Zemanta related links below.

Until next time…

🙂 🙂 🙂

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Late November Flowers

I love winter growing season in Florida–some of the prettiest flowers emerge this time of year.

My backyard Orchid Tree (aka Bauhinia Purpurea) is covered with showy and fragrant blossoms. Even after 5 years, they STILL amaze me.

Passiflora Lady Margaret has been a vine wall workhorse, blooming for the first time last winter and continuing through July. After a few months pause, it began budding again and seems off to a very strong start!

November in the Sunshine State is all about the orange crop!  My backyard Honeybell tree has improved so much in the past few years. The fruit isn’t quite ripe yet, but getting very close. In a few weeks we’ll be juicing! 🙂

Another local favorite is the ubiquitous Red Canna (a Presidential series cultivar.) Although sporadic year-round bloomers, they look best after rainy season when the temperature moderates.

The flowers of Mexican Donkey Ears (Kalanchoe gastonis bonnieri) won’t fully open ’til Christmas but the spikes and buds are already quite attractive.  Eventually, the buds will darken and become calyces holding reddish-pink petals with flared tips and yellow interiors.  The “mother plant” declines at the end of the bloom cycle, but the many plantlets growing along her lower leaves develop rapidly to bloom within 2 to 3 years.  K. gastonis bonnieri hails from Madagascar.

This next one is a bit of a mystery: during August I noticed it poking above and through my fence. Now it looms 10′ tall and is surrounded by a wooden “cage” that I never saw anyone build!  Cute white flowers, yeah? Chime in if you recognize it!

And to end on a personal note:  I usually shop on Black Friday but today did something decidedly un-American: I deposited money in the bank instead!  In March, I’m headed back to Europe for several months…or until the cash runs out.  Adventure in my old age…who’d have thunk it?! 🙂 🙂

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Until next time…

🙂 🙂 🙂

Aechmea penduliflora x politii ‘Red Leaf’

The coldest November since 1975 finds Vero Beach overcast, damp and chilly (48°F??!!??) Time to hunker down in “England” clothes and share my latest aquisition!

Last week I attended a Bromeliad Auction and overspent got an Aechmea cultivar known as “Wally’s Wand.” 😉

Aechmea penduliflora x politii ‘Red Leaf’

Wally’s Wand is a colorful hybrid created by the late Wally Berg of Sarasota, Florida. Crossing the Ecuadorian Ae. penduliflora (parent plant) with Venezuela’s Ae. politii ‘Red Leaf” (pollen provider), Berg created a South American hybrid with interesting, unusual foliage:

At maturity the green to pinkish leaves measure 10″ long, and a loosely clustered flower scape emerges.

Like 99% of bromeliads, the mature Aechmea slowly declines after blooming, with new “pups” appearing along the base. I was fortunate to get three for the price of one!

Judging from the already chilly weather (and terrible long range winter forecast..even here!) I’m glad I didn’t plant this in ground right away!

Until next time….

🙂 🙂 🙂

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Floral Friday: A Potinara by any other name…

After skipping last year’s bloom cycle, the Potinara orchid I purchased in 2013 decided to wake up.  This is how it looked on October 27:

Potinara is a man-made genus (aka nothogenus) combining orchids from the Brassavola, Cattleya, Laelia, and Sophronitis genera. Taxonomists have begun reclassifying the 4 component orchids so Potinara Elaine Taylor is now an unpronounceable Rhyncattleanthe. You can read more about the science and name changes here but regardless, this is one striking flower!

Rhyncattleanthe Elaine Taylor, October 31, 2014

Elaine Taylor typically blooms two 3.5-4″ flowers per inflorescence, set off be a bright white column. The labellum, petals, and sepals are covered in a crystalline “dust” that lends sparkle and refraction depending on sunlight.  In a few more days–when this flower is fully open–gold veins will be visible along the throat and mid-lip.

Rlc. Elaine Taylor was hybridized by the Krull-Smith Co. of Apopka, FL. Its family tree includes such famous parents as Rlc. Oconee, Ctt. Hazel Boyd and C. Beaufort, all much awarded and highly valued for the excellent crosses made from them.

For other Floral Friday photos click this link.

Until next time…

Happy Halloween!

 

Royal Pavilion Gardens: Brighton and Hove (Part 2)

King George IV‘s former Brighton palace defies description, although Taj Mahal West seems pretty apt. 😉 Completed in 1823, this blend of minarets and onion domes is an arresting sight against the bright blue sky.

The Pavilion and Gardens were designed by architect John Nash and William Townsend Aiton, founder of the Royal Horticultural Society. Both viewed buildings and landscapes as part of a picturesque whole, combining trees, shrubs and plants along carriageways leading to the Palace.

Their goal was to create the accidental effects of the “countryside” in a series of changing patterns as people approached the building.

In the early 2000s, the gardens were revamped to exacting standard and historic accuracy. Everything growing today is typical of the Regency Period.  Strolling the grounds is like stepping back in time!

This next image is one of my favorites from our entire trip. 🙂 What a beautiful Buddleia!

Unexpected textures and shapes were everywhere. Look at these Hydrangeas!

My knowledge of Mediterranean zone plants is fairly lacking! Might this be Killarney Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo?) The leaves don’t look quite right, but what a pretty shrub!

I’ve Googled (hard!) and also asked a few gardening friends about this next “unknown.”  No luck!  Any ideas?

Who am I?

I do however know Fuchsia! I grew quite a few in Massachusetts and was thrilled to see this vibrant specimen!

The Asters were everywhere, but I liked these best:

As we were leaving, I noticed something else I couldn’t quite identify. Eupatorium? Some kind of Verbena? Oy..I have a lot to learn!  🙂  (Nice iron scrolled fencing, though!)

For further info and scheduled events, check out the Royal Pavilion official site.

Until next time!

🙂 🙂 🙂

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Mid October Flowers

The 85-90° heat has broken!

As I type this, it’s sunny, clear and 71°F, a perfect morning to move around the garden. 🙂  The Super Cosmos (as I call them) are having their fullest/tallest bloom cycle ever, several reaching 10ft!

After conserving energy in the long Florida summer, the vine wall is waking up nicely.  Tecoma capensis (aka Cape Honeysuckle) is a particularly welcome sight.

And here it is again, peeking through Passiflora foliage and a string of Ipomoea quamoclit (aka Red Cypress Vine.)

Now this next plant is one I really hate!! Lantana camara is too common and rough-leafed for my taste, but it came with the house and photographs well:

I have strong feelings in the opposite direction for Primrosewillow: love every variety including Ludwegia peruviana, a Category 1 invasive. In my yard it appears only singly/randomly, so I’m not too worried about it…yet. This morning it looked particularly cheery.

I’m thrilled to see a flower forming on the Cattleya hybrid (aka Potinara Elaine TayIor) purchased in February 2013.  Like most orchids, it was in bud when I brought it home, but lain dormant ever since!

Cast your eye to the left in the image above. What looks like the trunk of a young tree, is actually a Cosmos stem! (Now you know why I’ve dubbed them “Super!!”) I think there may be wierd, GMO/Monsanto sh*t going on here! 😉

Until next time…

🙂 🙂 🙂