My Favorites THIS Month!

Joining Susan with my favorites THIS month

is a bit challenging as my new landscape

is still "under construction". 

So much clearing still to be done...

mending the soil - uh, I mean sand...

providing air flow and light in moist, shady,

overgrown spaces...

so many challenges in this new garden paradise. 

Regardless, I have uncovered some lovely specimans to share!

As highlighted in my sidebar,

one of my phalaenopsis orchids

are in beautiful bloom right now

(and a vanda and another phal

are sending up bloom buds for next month's report!!).

I'm completely in love with this beautiful iris.

The wildlife is definitely among my favorites

at any given time. 

Having a pond on our property 

is a real treat as water birds are a constant.

One false move from this Anhinga 

will provide the proof

that my pure breed mutt, Sandy,

has some sort of bird dog in her mix.

Cassia - such cheerful yellow blooms! 

Love the handlbar mustache!!

Hibiscus Jane Cowel double peach...

I have a soft spot for peachy colors!! 

This photo was taken at night...love the contrast!

My daughter used to scold me for not having blues in my garden. 

Now she's happy...

Cool colored Plumbago always reminds me of Old Florida!

Native blue Salvia

I've also been showered with a few house warming gifts...citrus! 

I was so sad to leave my young

lemon and orange trees when I moved,

but now I can watch these youngsters grow.

Navel Orange

Ponderosa Lemon

As spring rounds the corner and temperatures rise on a consistant basis,

I'm hoping more blooms will emerge and surprise me

from beneath the overgrowth and brambles. 

I also hope I won't pull out some wonderful plant that is currently dormant. 

Until then, be sure to check out Simply Susan's

current garden favorites posted at the end of every month!

Flourishing Efflorescence for GBBD and FF

Happy Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and Fertilizer Friday / Flaunt Your Flowers!!  This is my first time participating in Fertiziler Friday, so I'm excited to join the group! 

I'm happy to report many Flourishing Efflorescence this month.  It's been really hot and humid, even more so than usual in sunny South Florida.  However, many of my landscape residents apparently love it!  You be the judge...

The Dwarf Powderpuff is a favorite for all things that buzz,

especially this busy bumble bee!

This is a roadside special I picked up but am unsure what it is. The foliage is iris-like, but the bloom doesn't look like an iris to me.

Any takers?

This is another bloom from the same plant.  It likes very wet soil so I keep it in a pot.

The Tillandsia (airplants) are really loving the rainforest environment!

This is my son's air plant. Last year, it only sent out one bloom stalk...this year two!

The purple Angelonia sing their angelic praises!

Pretty, native Cassia.

Another bright, cheerful native, the American Beauty Berry. 

The purple peaking out of the lush green foliage is very striking!

This peachy dwarf Canna decorates my front entry garden.

This little peachy bromelaid planted in a white bird of paradise stump also adourns the front entry garden.  It kindof blends with the mulch in this photo!

All of the Lantana enjoy the heat and wet conditions, just like this L. Bandana Orange Sunrise,

Lantana Trailing Purple,

Lantana Gold Mound,

and Lantana Trailing Pure White. 

The butterflies can't get enough of these little bouquets!

On the flip side, the Firecracker plant has produced its blooms very sparingly this season.  I don't mind...I really like the delicate foliage.

The grassy Liriope is happy and sharing some pretty lavendar spikes.

The rainforest conditions are heavenly for this moss covered tree trunk that is also hosting an air plant.

Moisture begets mushrooms!

Here's the culprit that keeps chewing my daylilies down to the ground.

I wonder if this Monarch butterfly is laying eggs on the milkweed?!

Had to share this pretty bromelaid covered in fallen purple bougainvillea blooms.

The atmosphere is the perfect companion for the heliconia - first bud!

I can't wait for it to open!

I'm so happy to report the new Chenille plants given to me by my friend Adina, aka the Manure Maven, are over their transplant shock, rooting well and sending out little baby chenille blooms!!

And this awesome little Portulaca variety volunteered itself this year.  My neighbors tell me it's a weed but I won't pull it...it's really a lovely ground cover!

There's more blooms and color in my garden, but you won't have time to check them all out if you plan on heading over to Carol's May Dreams Gardens and TootsieTime's Fertilizer Friday / Flaunt Your Flowers to see what else is blooming !

Where the Wild Things Are!

Where the Wild Things Are! 
What a fantastic children's story written by Maurice Sendak.

As a child, I was fascinated by this story of a little boy's adventure into the wild forest after being sent to his room for causing mischief.  The rebellious little boy, Max, sailed into the wilderness and to the land where the wild things are.  They were terrible fearsome beasts whom Max tamed by staring into their eyes without blinking.  They made him king of the wild things!  But Max became lonely and homesick so he sailed back home. Upon awakening from his dreamy adventure, he was greeted by a warm supper, proving that he's loved even when he's ill behaved.

What does this walk down memory lane and children's literature have to do with gardening?  Well, it reminds me of untamed wild flowers, of course, which I've spotted quite a bit of lately. 

So let the wild rumpus begin!!

 

This Indian Blanket Flower, or Gaillardia,
populates the fields around my house, as well as my personal garden.

White Star Sedge - this lines my roadside.

Bidens Spanish Needle

Cassia Fasciaculata (mimosa)

Here it is close up...beautiful, isn't it?

Here's a white version.

www.ecoyardfarming.com via flickr

This is Blue Flag Iris. 

(My photo turned out very blurry so I've borrowed this one courtesy of www.ecoyardfarming.com via flickr)

I LOVE this one!!!

Tickseed

I think this is wild azalea?  It lines my roadside and is really pretty!

NOPE...not wild azalea, but Tarflower Bejaria racemosa...thankyou Nell Jean!

Echinacea, or Purple Coneflower is native to Florida.
This one grows in my garden as well as my roadside.

Creeping Ox Eye

Fleabane

This is a close up of a Prickly Pear blossom with a bee inside.

Salvia Rubra - this is a macro shot of the tip of a red salvia.

Puncture Weed

I have absolutely no idea what this pretty posey might be...any takers?!

Thank you Myamuhnative and Lotusleaf for providing the identity to this Pink Porterweed!

How 'bout this pretty white unknown?

And while you're at it, does anyone know what this one is?

At least I know what this one is...

Blue eyed Grass

And this one too...

Rattlebox

The next two are Tassle Flowers

This WILD THING fits right in!!