Where am I going with this, you ask? Well, I felt it necessary to provide some music for this GBBD post and I came up with something fantastic, culturally fulfilling and unusual for anyone interested. Click to listen to Blooming Flowers and the Full Moon by Zhou Xuan, a popular Chinese folk song from the 1920s and '30s. "Blooming flowers and a full moon represent beauty, peace, and love in traditional Chinese culture. In other words, it's a perfect scene, in a perfect moment, through Chinese eyes." (quoted by Coco Zhou, a current Chinese artist).
Zhou Xuan, Chinese singer and actress, 1918-1957
courtesy of wikipedia
So, now that you've injested your culture for the day, let's get on to my July blooms as I have much to show for this month's Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.
The pink Mandavilla vine is in full swing after the rains!
The Mandavilla and Vinca dress up my light post.
The Charmed Wine is so vibrant after the rains. It is always pleasing!
Although I didn't plan this interesting combination,
the philodendron, charmed wine and caladium mix
create an unexpected and unique display.
The Caladium popped up in the midst of the charmed wine this spring.
These caladium were purposly planted under the Presidential Hibiscus.
I like how the caladium peak out from under the large hibiscus,
brightening up the darker underside of the bush.
The Purple Showers enjoyed the rain too,
providing the butterflies with plenty of blooms!
Speaking of butterflies, the monarch caterpillars are happily
munching on the milkweed.
No blooms left to show you...they were eaten!!
Nothing is munching on my pretty little dwarf Powderpuff, though.
I love this bloom, and think it's funny how the
little "berry" looking bud (left in the photo)
becomes this poofy bloom!
The Ponderosa Lemon is blooming again. It blooms year-round.
One if it's gigantic lemons is almost ready to harvest.
The few fruit on the young mango tree will be ripe soon too!!
Around the corner, the purple cone flowers welcome visitors at the front entry.
The cones fascinate me!
Dwarf Ruellia reside near the cone flowers.
This one is interesting with both purple and pink blooms on the same plant.
This yellow Ixora is also a mystery,
displaying two colors on the same bloom cluster.
I don't have red ixora in my garden,
and there's none in the nearby neighborhood either. ?!?!
The Allamanda is always so cheerful, especially after a rain!
One of my Tillandsia is in full bloom. It resides in one of my Pygmy Date Palms.
Somehow, it ended up on the ground overnight.
There's been a lot of mysterious happenings in my landscape lately,
and this is one of them. Tillandsia don't fall out of trees easily.
This yellow hibiscus bloom is half open...pretty, isn't it?
Both of my colorful cacti are budding. This one is more yellow than the other.
This one is decidedly pink.
Although not blooming, my new Costus ginger is really thriving in it's northside location.
One of the crinum lilies is in bloom
It has a second bud ready to burst!
The little trumpet blooms of the lantana are covered in rain droplets.
As is a lovely Frangipani (plumeria) bloom!
This beautiful Gulf Fritillary, or Passion Butterfly, poses as she dries her wings.
I found here right next to her host plant, the passion vine!
This is what she used to look like!
The Orange Jasmine bush is FULL of beautiful white blooms
creating an intoxicating fragrance!
This is what they look like close up...dainty little bridal bouquets!
The Balloon Flowers are excellent nector plants for the butterflies.
Pretty purple stars!!
I happened upon another resident relaxing on a Ti leaf.
His markings are beautiful, aren't they?
What a sweet face!
I'm not sure if he's posing for me or telling me to skeedaddle!
The cheerful zinnia stays dry on the front porch, and welcomes everyone who stops by!
She'll be waiting for you the next time you come by.
Until then, Happy Garden Blogger's Bloom Day!
Be sure to stop by Carol's to see what else is going on.
29 comments:
What a happy post, the little music video adding to the ambiance. You have some delightful blooms and a cute little frog.
Enjoy your lovely surroundings. We've got some dark clouds and thunder, I sure hope we get some much needed rain.
FlowerLady
Beautiful! I need to go out and do another flower post on my blog, but it's so time consuming!
What bloomers this month Kimberly you have in your garden most of these are UK houseplants - but the real stars I think are all the little critters in your garden - great wildlife photos.
As for that tillandsia - a big bird? or a football from next door? the mystery deepens!
What a joyful post. I wonder if you have found a new Ixora - that would be fun. I love finding the little green frogs in the garden with their cute faces (right before they hop away).
I don't think we have any plants in common but I sure had fun looking at your garden blooms. I found you on the blog hop!
Rosey
I love GBBD, especially from a beautiful Florida garden like yours :-) I love seeing what pretty plants grow in your tropical climate...some we can grow in the desert and some we cannot - but either way I enjoy visiting your garden :-)
Kimberly: You have so many beautiful flowers in your garden this month! I love that Chinese song very much. Zhou Xuan is very pretty, and Chinese called her "Golden Throat" to refer to her wonderful voice.
Hello Kimberly,
Your garden is a paradise for the flowers. It's always nice to come see how they grow in your garden.
Wanna talk about 'deviod of culture'? Let's talk about Jacksonville, NC. There is none. Zip. Zilch. Drives me crazy, because Edmonton (where I'm from) was bursting at the seams with it.
Lovely flower photos!
Everything looks great! I haven't heard of the Ponderosa Lemon - it looks lovely, must go look that one up! Your Dwarf Ruellia looks pretty too.
FL, I'm so glad you enjoyed my July blooms, and especially the Chinese folk song. Ami says the Chinese call her "golden throat" as her voice is so beautiful!
Deborah, I like your posts...always very informational!
Rosey, I never knew many of my plants aside from indoor versions before I moved to Florida. That's half the fun...being able to grow them outdoors and watching them grow to full capacity. Regarding the tillandsia, you and I both know it's those daggone kids next door again! They're out to get me!! :)
TG, I wonder too. I mean, it can't be cross polination since there's no red in the neighborhood...unless it's hiding in someone's back yard. ?!?! Pretty cool, though. I love the little critters too...how 'bout that frogs facial expression?!
Rosey, I'm so glad you found me on the blog hop! I checked out your blog and LOVE it!!
Noelle, thank you so much for your kind words. My garden is definitely humble compared to the many of the others on Blotanical (like yours), but it's progressing...slowly but surely! :)
Ami, I'm so glad you enjoyed my blooms as well as Zhou Xuan. Interesting fact about her knick name...I can see why they call her "golden throat".
Ellada, thank you for the wonderful compliment! I enjoy your Greek garden as well!!
Kyna, it's a culture shock, isn't it? Glad you enjoyed my July bloomers!
Heather, the Ponderosa Lemon is more commonly grown as an ornamental due to its compact habit and HUGE fruit...makes for a very interesting focal point. However, in addition to that, the fruit is very good...really juicy and lemony. You can make a few pies with the juice of one lemon!! The dwarf Ruellia is pretty and sweet, but reseeds easily so I have to keep it in check.
'Host plant' = it WILL be eaten, as I discovered as my Scrophularia was devoured by Checkerspot butterfly larva. I've learned that when I plant any butterfly host plants, including milkweeds, I should probably plant extra. Some for the butterflies, and some for me :P
What a vast array of blooms! The frogs are cute and the butterflies are so vivid. Must be that Florida Sunshine.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! It is good to "meet" you.
Rosey
Hi, thanks for stopping by and for the encouraging comment. I'm not going to stop blogging. We're not sure when we'll be moving, as of now I still have my little garden. I appreciate your words of kindness. You have many beautiful blooms for the Summer, your Mandevilla, Vinca, Plumeria, and Hibiscus are lovely, wonderful garden you have. I love tropical plants and your frog photos are adorable!
Wow ~ tons of interesting blooms (many I don't know at all!) and I love the frog too. He is a great addition. Glad you have Monarch caterpillars. I haven't seen any here yet and I have been worried about them. You have an amazing tropical garden.
Who needs culture when you can grow mangoes? Let's be honest; given a choice of some fat lass singing in Italian or tropical fruit, I know where my heart lies!
Your cactus is stunning! It looks almost like something I'd expect to see growing under the ocean, rather than in any environment associated with cacti.
Clare, you're right. I made a conscious decision to purchase the milkweed for the monarchs..I knew they'd be eaten. I didn't expect the passion vine to be a meal, though. I had to come to terms with that, but the cats won the battle. And my passion vine is recovering nicely. Soon I'll have blooms AND butterflies!
Rosey, likewise!!
Priscilla, I'm glad to hear you won't stop blogging! I'm sure you'll miss your garden, though...it's beautiful! You've obviously worked hard.
Kathleen, thank you for the compliments. I love the tropicals...I was never able to grow them before moving to Florida, so now I'm basking in them (as well as the wildlife).
IG, you have a really great point, and I agree. Afterall, the decision was made to leave the culture for the sun, sand and surf. So I should just shut up and be happy with my mangoes!!! (I truly AM excited about my 4 mangoes...and next year it'll be more!)
QBC, thank you so much for stopping by my blog! I'm glad you enjoyed it, especially the cactus. It's amazing to me that they grow so well in Florida...I've always thought of them as strictly desert plants. The prickly pear cactus is actually a Florida native...isn't that weird? Speaking of the ocean, though, I've been itching to post about the underwater world and you've reminded me to do so!! Thanks!!!
aloha,
i love all your july blooms, thats a very interesting combination ixora, are those separate plants?
you can embedde the you tube on your site, if you want to infuse music, i sometimes like to do that on my hike posts;)
Beautyful gardenpictures! Our garden is here: http://magnar.aspaker.no We live in North-Norway north of the Arctic circle. Greetings from Toril Aspaker.
It's fun seeing all the "exotic" flowers you have growing and blooming now in your garden. That Lemon is huge!
What a beautiful blog with fantastic photographs. Keep posting I realy enjoy reading your posts.
a delightful collection of photos and music...i loved the cheeky frog looking straight at you...so many flowers unknown to us over here in england....thank you for sharing...
For some Chicago food culture visit Pusateri Pizza in Stuart - located right across the street from the court house. When we first moved here Chicago pizza was the first thing we missed. They don't have deep dish but all essential ingredients are imported from home (make sure you order the sausage pizza - yum!) They also have Vienna beef hotdogs with neon green relish.
This place is a little slice of Chicago right in our backyard.
Thanks for the shot of culture. I can always use some:) Don't you just love the way caladiums pop up in some unexpected spaces? They can make the most interesting plant cominations. I think they go with everything. That orange jasmine is a beautiful specimen. I bet it adds heavenly fragrance to your garden. My favorite pictures are those of your little frog. He really does look like he is posing for you.
I just love these photos. Thanks for sharing.
Interesting flowers! I like them all. Thanks for sharing this one but can you add more information about this. Just quite interested. keep posting!
-yumi-
Oh! Those flowers caught my attention very lovely I love it. Keep posting!
vitton
Lovely flowers! Wish I can also arrange beautiful flowers like that. I want to learn how to arrange flowers cause it so interesting. Anyway, I enjoyed reading this post. Thanks for sharing!
toni
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