Bloom Day and Summer

Ahhhhh...the month of June! What a wonderful month and the official beginning of summer (June 21)!  Thankfully the days are long, providing time to cram additional activities into one 24-hour period. In South Florida, June brings hot, humid days that spark ferocious thunder storms and stirs up hurricanes.

Ladies, never let a hurricane cramp your sense of style!

Hurricane shoes come in all colors and sizes!

June is a time for the beach, boating, swimming pools and monstrous plant growth (especially weeds that seemingly become trees overnight). 

I spent the weekend weeding and cutting back overgrowth, allowing preferred plants some much needed air and space.  However, I took time to grab a few shots for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.  Caladiums have been all the rage in my yard.  I planted them in shady, dark spots under bushes where they've jumped to life and are quickly outgrowing their bushy ceiling.

These rest under a Star Jasmine bush.

These two enjoy the cool breeze under the Presidential Hibiscus bush.

This Caladium leaf would make a lovely bud vase, don't you think?

The Orange Jasmine sprang into action, providing intoxicating perfume and an abundance of snowy white blooms for the hellaciously hot days.

The sunny yellow Allamanda shows no signs of the harsh winter.

I've featured my canna lilies so many times, but this tropicanna gold never gets boring.

My young mango is providing a small harvest this year...its first!

The honeysuckle made a showing for it's last bloom day.  I extracted the vine this weekend in favor of less invasive plants.  I had mixed feelings about it, but it's a done deal.

The butterfly milkweed is doing it's job. 

The Pentas and Moss Rose help attract butterflies too.

We've enjoyed many varieties of butterflies, including the Monarch and Swallowtail.  I'm not usually fast enough to capture a good shot though.

It's also time for the hoards of dragon flies that dance about the yard every evening.

And the lizards are joyfully running around the yard.

This little guy likes hanging out in the coconut in the shade of the palms and arboricola.

He's taking a closer look at me too.

And this green anole feels safe as he blends in with the White Bird of Paradise stalks.

My little cactus is full of powder pink buds.  Isn't it sweet?

Oxalis Charmed Wine is also in full bloom

Other June bloomers include:

Gaillardia

Purple Cone Flower (echinacea)

Fire Bush

Bolivian Sunset

Red Salvia

Purple Angelonia

Ixora Yellow

Vinca purple, pink, fuschia and white

Hibiscus red and yellow varieties

Lantana gold, red and orange

Purple Dianthus

Firecracker Plant

If you'd like to see what's growing in other June gardens or would like to participate, be sure to stop by May Dreams Gardens for Carol's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

Happy Gardening!

My First Blog

This is my first official blog. I am a native midwesterner who relocated to the sunny Treasure Coast of Southeast Florida almost 5 years ago. I've always enjoyed gardening and have been somewhat successful, not because of any expertise or official training mind you. It's just that being raised in the midwest and being accustomed to the native plants and climate made it easy for me to succeed at a hobby I enjoyed. After relocating to a dramatically different climate, I'm finding it extremely fulfilling and fun to learn to garden all over again.

As there is a never-ending list of tropical plants and trees, and as I have only a small piece of paradise to exhibit my garden spaces, I must pick my favorites and plant wisely to maximize the limited space and sun/shade exposure. I must also be aware of growth habit due to our pool...nothing messy is ever to be planted in the backyard near the pool unless I wish to assume pool duty. I also have two dogs and two children who have little to no regard to sensitive or fragile plants. Everything in my yard must be able to support itself one way or another.

With that said, I went about creating spaces, choosing specimens, and filling in the overly stark yard we'd purchased. It's been a learning experience filled with both successes and failures...one that is not even close to ending.

My first purchase was a beautiful red hibiscus that is still thriving in the northeast corner of my fenced lot. It was uprooted a couple of years ago by tropical storm winds, but settled back nicely in it's corner of paradise. I've since added to this lone shrub, but am far from finished with my ever-changing space! The list of plants, trees and shrubs include:

• Palms - cabbage, bottle, ponytail, pygmy date, coconut, majesty, and areca
• Hibiscus - Presidential, Fort Meyers, El Capitola, and a red-with-yellow-streaks hibiscus (I obviously don't know the name but really like the bloom!)
• Fruits - Ponderosa Lemon, Meyer Lemon, Navel Orange, Muscadine Grape, Brown Turkey Fig, Mango, Sunshine Blue blueberry, and Bananas

• Excellent Foliage / Bushes / Shrubs - Eugenia bushes / topiaries, Hawaiian Ti, arbovitae, firebush, dwarf powderpuff, dragon plant, elephant ear, ixora, arboricola, Orange Jasmine, and lantana (both mounding and creeping)
• Tropical flowers / perennials / ground cover - White Bird of Paradise, Orange Bird of Paradise, Mexican Petunia, Pink Cone Flower, Gaillardia, Kalanchoe, agave americana, Canna Lily (including dwarf), Crinum lily (Queen Emma), moss rose, pentas, oyster plants, ground orchid, heliconia, plumeria / frangipani, Vinca, orchid, firecracker plant, ferns, etc.
• Misc. - Purple Fountain Grass, Papyrus Grass, Succulents and cacti, mother of 1000s, corn plant, air plants, and Shamrock Charmed Wine

• Vines / Climbers - Carolina Jasmine, Star Jasmine, Bougainvillea, Honeysuckle, Pothos and Mandavilla

I THINK this list is all-inclusive, for the moment anyway...until I purchase or obtain my next specimen(s). At any rate, this blog will serve as my official garden journal as I continue on my path of tropical gardening! I'm looking forward to watching my blog, and my garden, grow!!