Showing posts with label Aloe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aloe. Show all posts

Saturday, April 24, 2010

My Favorites...THIS Month! April 2010

YAY!  I remembered!  Actually I marked my calendar - 


"My Favorites - This Month"

happens every month on the 25th.  I love this theme since faves DO tend to change with the season!  April has been a joy this year as the hard hit plants from this winter's "Big Chill" are really starting to show promise, and spring is in full gear!  This month, I'd like to take you on a tour of some of my garden spaces as I point out my favorites this month.

This is the front entry garden.  The burgandy Ti Plants are still showing the stress of the Big Chill, but lots of new buds are showing up.  There's also some cannas and cacti hiding behind the Giant White Bird of Paradise.  The Gaillardia (Indain Blanket flower) in the front has bloomed all winter...it's been a bright spot!  The agave is still a mystery.


I need help from Noelle of AZPlantlady...I have no idea what is going on with my agave as posted in my What's Next Madonna? post.



The Echinacea bloom right next to the Gaillardia and a Ti in the front entry space.


This is the North, shady side of the house where the pool and house systems are located.  This garden was started last summer to help camoflage the equipment.



This is the south, sunny side of the house.  Some of my favorites are located along this side.



Queen Emma Crinum Lily, milk and wine blooms. These are my absolute faves!!


One of my favorite groupings includes dwarf canna, pentas, mexican heather (it's hiding to the right of the pentas), purple fountain grass and the El Capitolio hibiscus to the left.


The honeysuckle grows on both sides of the fence, creating a fantastic segue into the backyard space...



Next to the honeysuckle in the southeast corner is the gorgeous bouganvillea and navel orange tree.



Yes, those are baby oranges!  Woo Hoo!!


My newly planted bromelaid and plumeria cutting are at the bottom right of this photo.



I have plumeria / frangipani cuttings all over my yard.  This one hasn't even rooted yet, but it's blooming anyway. Freaky, but I like it!! 


The newly planted poolside garden is filling in well...a little too well for my liking. I'll probably relocate some of these as the garden matures...too much going on in one space.  This space is flanked by the recuperating Queen Emma Crinums.  Lots of cannas in here too!


However, my goal of ridding this narrow patch of grass is almost complete.



The bananas are recuperating quite nicely in the rear of my yard, behind the pool.  Soon, my cherished privacy screen will be in full foliage, recreating my tropical escape!!

This shot was taken in the early morning with the dew still on the leaves. I also planted some impatiens under the banans, thinking the shade will give them life during the hot Florida summer.  You can also see a newly saved-from-the-garbage bird of paradise along the fence row. Someone was throwing this guy away!  I couldn't have that, now could I?  The bird will provide privacy during the winter when the chill takes the bananas to the ground.


Other stuff going on in the backyard...

The aloe buds haven't opened yet, but aren't they pretty?!


This is one of the perils of owning dogs that seek out the rabbits and other misc. rodents that may be hiding under the ugly shed...  my ferns have been trampled.


Here's another newly planted bromelaid.



The Presidential Hibiscus was just lifting it's pretty face when I snapped this photo this morning.



And this spider lily crinum is in full bloom



The passion flower vine is quickly becoming one of my absolute favorites.



And the cannas on all sides of the house are in full bloom!





I hope you enjoyed today's tour.  There's additional, smaller spaces throughout my garden, but they're not photo worthy yet.  Soon, I hope!!

Happy Spring!!! 

PS - Lola apologizes for missing out on this tour, but she was still sleeping, and if you know Lola...let's just say that it's not nice to wake a sleeping baby!!! 

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Hey Bud!

While walking through my garden, inspecting the plants but seeing too many weeds (weeds grow into trees overnight here in SE Florida, especially after rain), I was encouraged by the energy of my garden! So many of the plants of every variety are making a stand against the cold that they experienced and are fighting back with  new growth. It's so inspiring!!

The colors and youth of this small white bird of paradise sprout is invigorating!


The deciduous brown turkey fig is returning with the spring warmth.


This is the first bloom my aloe has offered since I planted it 3 years ago!!


The frangipani is comin' on strong!  Can't wait for it to bloom!!


Many lost their crotons...not me. They were knocked down but they're pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and making a great comeback!!

This is my Petra Croton. The pretty Mamey are sprouting too!!


My sweet little cactus won't be held down either. He remembers the days he was left for the garbage and I rescued his poor thirsty little soul!!


Not a great photo, but my cherished bananas are only two months away from peaking over the 6' fence to provide me with my precious privacy from the neighbors!  I'm hoping the newly planted impatiense will make a pretty ground cover under the canopy of the bananas all summer! They usually can't stand the summer Florida sun.


Yep...the Queen Emmas are proving why they deserve their title!!!  One struggling mama is actually in fragrant bloom too!!


A cute little Areca Palm baby peeks out to see if the coast is clear.  Come on baby!!!


This little berry looking cluster will explode into a wonderful little powder puff!! This is new to my garden last summer.  I'm in awe of this cool shrub!!


Nope...you can't keep the Pentas down!!



Many of the Ti plants looked as if they would bite the dust.  But these rosey babes are popping up on dried out stalks everywhere in my landscape!!!


Precious, colorful Moss Rose bud...they are so hardy in my garden!


This lavendar Ruellia bud will turn bright purple!


Gorgeous Ixora...if only this little bouquet were larger...it would be worthy of a bride!!


So the first of April is ushering in my tropical Florida garden!!!  I'm rolling out the red carpet!

Happy Spring, and Happy Easter everyone!!

If you're craving more energetic blooms (or buds) be sure to check out Katarina's  Blooming Friday (her last - BOO!!!) and Maia's Macro Saturday.