Tag Archives: postaweek 2012

amaryllis (ranchero) 3/28/12
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December 27, 2012

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Surprise

Each Fall, I increase my Amaryllis collection with a new, specially researched bulb. Last year I purchased a Papilio hybrid and this year went even more exotic with Hippeastrum Cybister Evergreen.  Today I got the surprise of my life when i noticed a third flowerscape  in front of the strappy leaves at the container’s rim:  Yowzah ❗

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Hippeastrum Cybisters are a species of tropical bulb from South America whose flowers are thin and spidery-looking. Unlike their more common Amaryllis cousins, cybisters keep their leaves year-round. This particular cultivar is evergreen in another way, too—when the buds open they’ll (hopefully!) look like this picture, (pasted from the catalogue at parkseed.com🙂 )

Hippeastrum Cybister Evergreen

If you’re even the slightest bit interested in growing Amaryllis or Cybisters , I highly recommend reading Trends in Modern Hippeastrum Hybridizing.

Until next time…..

🙂 🙂 🙂

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December 21, 2012

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Delicate (2nd Submission)

Late Fall/early Winter is one of Indian River County’s best growing seasons. While doing my garden walkabout today, I noticed some very delicate blossoms on my Mystery Plant:

Mystery plant, Ranchero, 12/21/12

Although it’s shot up another foot and grown quite bushy (with lots of buds! 🙂 ), I’m still no closer to naming it.  The flowers hint at centaurea but the leaves are all wrong. 😎 If anything comes to mind, please let me know! (Clicking on the picture will enlarge it for a better look.)

This next delicate beauty is popping up all over the place: containers, flower beds, even the backyard grass…I’ve counted 17 so far;  strange, since last winter I saw only one and not ’til the holidays were long passed.

Soldier Orchid, Vero Beach, 12/21/12Soldier Orchid, Vero Beach, 12/21/12

Soldier’s Orchid (aka Zeuxine Strateumatica) originated in Southeast Asia.  In 1936, the species spread through Florida via seedbags of centipede grass imported from China. Because of their spontaneous, almost weed-like appearance in open fields (or yards like mine) scientists assume this delicate species is not dependent on insect pollinators. Most likely they self fertilize/create seeds internally by an apomictic reproduction process….and somehow 3 of those seeds jumped into this Caladium pot! 🙂

Zeuxine strateumatica growing in the Caladium pot, 12/21/12

Nature sure is surprising!

And with that, I leave you to the walking, smiley, present guys:

sxmas_present_100-100sxmas_present_100-100sxmas_present_100-100

….while you’re waiting for Santa, check out other interpretations of delicate in the Zemanta links below!

Merry Christmas!!!

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Nasturtium Dwarf Cherry Rose
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December 17, 2012

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Delicate

For this week’s photo challenge, WordPress asks that we share something delicate. Immediately, I thought of showing you one of my birthday gifts: Presents

 

Lancaster Glass Sunshine Pattern Platter

Since the millennium, I’ve amassed a nice collection of 100yr old glassware, with a special emphasis on pink.  Last week I was thrilled to receive this lovely, delicate  platter as a present from my mother; ( 🙂 yup! I’m a Sagittarius…what’s YOUR sign!?!)

This new-to-me Depression Glass plate was produced circa 1932 by Lancaster Glass Company in pink, soft-green, and topaz.  Originally it was sold under the Sunshine pattern, but was renamed “Lana” in 1974.  The bottom of every Sunshine piece is made from clear glass in a cane-like pattern.  The rest of the item can either be clear (like mine) or satinized like this one.

For further information on Depression Glass (and a peek at a GREAT collection) visit Kejaba’s Treasure Store.

Until next time……

🙂 🙂

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December 14, 2012

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Change of Seasons

In my neck of the woods, Aloe flowerspikes scream Change of Season almost as much as cars with northern license plates! 😉  While puttering in my rear garden this morning, I noticed an Aloe Ciliaris  sporting a healthy looking inflorescense:

Aloe Ciliaris Flower Spike, 12/14/12

Like most aloes, A. Ciliaris hails from Africa (mine came from Target, though! ha! 😉 ) When planted from seed, this vining climber grows FAST, but often takes 2-3 years to bear bright orange/red flowers. In their fully opened state, the flowers are approximately an inch long and tubular shaped, hanging in loose clusters from cone shaped racemes.

Until next time…..

🙂 🙂

ps. You can visit other Change of Season interpretions via the Zemanta links below:

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Neoregelia spp
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December 7, 2012

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflections

After yesterday’s downpour, my plants were adorned with lingering raindrops. I liked how this Passiflora belotti leaf caught the reflection of barely emerging sunlight:

Passiflora Belotti foliage

The overflowing “tank” of my Neoregelia Spectabilis  mirrored the Bauhinia tree above it: note the reflection of branches on the tank’s righthand side:

Neoregelia Spectabilis, 12/06/12

Reflection is not just physics and lightwaves; it describes behavioural elements, too ➡ hover your mouse over the picture to see what I mean! HA!

Passiflora belotti flower bud, 12/07/12

😉 😉

Until next time…..

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November 30, 2012

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Thankful

I’m surprised WordPress saved this topic ’til AFTER Thanksgiving day 😯 but no matter; the approach of year’s end always brings about reflection. What good things happened? What bad? What do I appreciate most…or least?  At the heart of these ruminations runs gratitude..I’m thankful I can awaken each day and experience whatever life has in store for me.  NA/AA refers to it as accepting (and dealing with) “life on life’s terms,” and I’m thankful I’m able to do it. 🙂

In early November I “made” this online poster combining one of my favorite American Indian quotations with a picture of my super cosmos . If you’ve already seen it on Facebook, I hope you don’t mind I’ve recycled it for this week’s challenge. 🙂

gratitude

Until next time….

🙂 🙂 🙂

For other interpretations of thankful, click on the links below.

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Rectangular Shaped Stairs at Jaycee Beach..Geometry surrounds us!
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November 7, 2012

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Geometry

This week’s challenge asks for photos that highlight “the shapes and rhythms that make up the geometry of our world.”  At first I thought it would be difficult, but on a trip to the beach last Sunday, I noticed geometry all around me: 🙂

Geometry abounds at Jaycee Beach

Cement cubes, triangular shadehouses, and hedges sculpted to look like arcs…..all examples of applied mathematics at work.

But geometry is not the province of man alone.

Nature reveals her own complex pattern of spirals and swirls. The Fibonacci Sequence (a common geometric curve structure) is seen in seashells and cresting waves:

Geometry in Seashells

And what of hyperbolic geometry in which the surface of an object curves away from itself along any given point?  Coincidentally, marine organisms with “ruffles”  grow in ways that perfectly illustrate the mathematical form of hyperbolic geometry, like this piece of coral washed ashore on Jaycee Beach:

Flower frog for a mernaid

For more information on Hyperbolic Geometry, check out this YouTube lecture:

To see how other bloggers interpreted this week’s challenge, click the Zemanta links below:

Until next time…..

🙂 🙂

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Artocarpus heterophyllus aka Jackfruit tree
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November 1, 2012

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Foreign

The plants in my Ranchero garden are an eclectic mix of native, non-native and downright foreign, like this Opuntia Microdasys Albispina (whose story I’ve previously shared.)

Opuntia Microdasys came from Naxos, Greece!

It was a big surprise when this cactus arrived in 2010 via international mail; a single, rootless pad severed from a plant on a Naxos, Greece balcony!  Since crossing the Atlantic, it’s grown quite a bit, spawning a new family tradition AND American offspring ➡ when Maggie recently left Vero for her college apartment, I sent a single, rootless pad along for the ride!  🙂

The next foreign plant has never appeared on the blog before…strange really, considering the backstory!

Jackfruit Tree Sapling, Oct 31, 2012 Vero Beach. FL

The sapling amidst the mexican donkey ears is a Jackfruit tree, grown from foreign seeds I received in a bizarre, roundabout way from my stepdad.

The story goes like this:

In August 2010, he went to metro Boston for his grandchild’s 1st birthday. During the visit, he met a next-door neighbor, a Filipino lady who purchased a jackfruit at the local Asian market.. Upon hearing he was returning to Florida she said, “take these seeds and grow them.”  (wierd story?!!)  He pocketted the seeds….actually, he packed them in his carry-on: there were 8 seeds in total, and they were HUGE!

Naturally, when he got back to Vero Beach, he gave them to me:  “Take these seeds and grow them.” 😉  ha!!!  It was more like, “maybe you can do something with these?”

And so, most were dug into the Ranchero and a few into pots: 6 germinated and did well until the historic, 3 week cold snap of December, 2010.  In a month when lizards and oranges fell dead from frostbitten trees, I never expected my tiny new seedlings would survive, yet one did!   A truly remarkable event since Jackfruit trees are rare (foreign, really) anywhere north of Miami!

For more facts and legends about these interesting trees, click here

Until next time…..

🙂 🙂

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October 25, 2012

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette (2nd Submission)

Have you heard?!? Hurricane Sandy is slamming Cuba and hovering near the coast of South Florida! 😯  We’ve been under a tropical storm warning since last night when high winds created these striking silhouettes.

(Photos taken at 2min intervals beginning at 6:51pm; none were altered in any way)

Queen Palm Silhouette 1 Oct 24, 2012

Queen Palm Silhouette 2 Oct 24, 2012

Queen Palm Silhouette 3 Oct 24, 2012

Queen Palm Silhouette 4 Oct 24, 2012

I’ve NEVER done a second entry for a photo challenge, but these were too perfect to set aside! 🙂

Until next time……

🙂 🙂

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Vero Beach Neighborhood Trees at Sunset 9/23/2012
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October 23, 2012

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette

For this week’s challenge, I’m sharing tree silhouettes.

This Queen Palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana) is located behind the gate to my rear yard.  When I took this picture at 7:01pm, I thought a wierd lens-smudge caused the white spot in the sky. Nay-nay!!  ‘Twas merely the waxing crescent moon! 😉

Backyard Queen Palm Silhouhette, October 20, 2012

Fourteen hours later the sun returned, creating a daylight silhouette among the heart-shaped leaves of my Bauhinia tree:

There are over 200 species of Bauhinia and I have yet to determine where mine fits.  (I’ve had several landscapers (I fire them frequently! ha!) each tell me something different. :shock:)  Based on flower characteristics and the October-December bloom time, I’m leaning toward Bauhinia Purpurea.

Although not exactly a silhouette picture, I thought you’d like to see the first Bauhinia bloom of the 2012 season (taken Oct.22nd:)

Bauhinia Flower Bud Cluster, October 22, 2012

Until next time,  take a peek at other silhouette interpretations via the Zemanta links below!

🙂 🙂

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