Blooming Flowers (and the Full Moon)

After leaving my culturally rich Chicago homebase, I've occassionally felt a sense of cultural atrophy which is not good for the soul or spirit!  Although South Florida does have cultural offerings, they don't seem to be as prominent as they were in Chicago.  Or perhaps we're too busy living the outdoor Florida lifestyle to take time out for the other cultural aspects of life.  Therefore, I work hard at including culture in my daily life. 

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.

Reflecting on 2009 and 2010 Goals

2009 was a productive gardening year.  Sometime last spring, I challenged myself to transform my little corner of tropical paradise even further.  I wanted more tropical plants, more spaces to sit back and relax, and less lawn / maintanence.  This is an ongoing goal for my suburban corner lot. 

A couple of new spaces:

• The new front patio space, which still isn't finished.  I created the garden beds and planted numerous varieties of plants that will eventually create a semi-private screen for the flat-stone patio space (still missing the flatstone and dwarf mondo grass).

• The Grapevine Getaway, as I call it, was recently created in an empty space in the rear corner between the shed and privacy fence.  We've tried several different ideas in this space but none have worked since this area gets very hot and still.  So, we decided it would be the ideal space for the new Muscadine Grapes that I'd purchased.  My husband's aunt in Greece has a fantastic patio covered by lush grape vines and clusters of delicious grapes that hang down for anyone to pick while relaxing with a glass of wine and a piece of cheese or a nice cup of Greek coffee!  This was my inspiration for my small corner.  The vines could grow up a trellis along the back side of the ugly stained shed then travel across a support we will build from the shed roof to the privacy fence, creating a lovely cover for the small patio underneath. 

New additions:

Some of the new plant varieties include a small firebush I purchased from the school garage sale for $2 (woo hoo!!), dwarf Powderpuff, elephant ear to screen the pool equipment, a few day lilies - Yangze, Butterscotch, Strawberry Candy (I hope they flower in 2010!), ferns alongside the shed, Muscadine grapes, Shamrock Charmed Wine, Yellow Alamanda, Mexican Petunia, Caladium, Ponytail Palm, Papyrus grass, Heliconias, Hibiscus (El Capitolia, Ft. Meyers, and a red w/ yellow stripes - name unknown), Pothos, Petra Croton, several cuttings of various Plumeria / Frangipani, Pink Mandavilla, and Vincas.

2010 Goals:

In 2010, I'd like to continue with my garden projects that are still incomplete as I'm waiting for the plants to mature. 

• Front Patio Space - I'll clear the grass, lay some sort of flat stone, and dwarf mondo grass (so I won't need to mow this area) to complete the area
• Grape Vine Patio - Once the grapevines mature a bit, we'll build a larger trellis to cover more of the shed and an overhead support from the shed roof to the privacy fence for the overhang cover.
• Add river rock throughout the various beds...started with the back yard beds and will make our way to the front and replace the mulch.
• Plant more bromelaids - perhaps even create a bromelaid garden.

• Add strawberries and papaya to our collection of fruit baring plants and trees!

I'm sure there's more to come, as I seldom plan my gardening projects.  I'm looking forward to a productive, beautiful, and fun-filled New Year!