August Favorites

So much has happened in my little garden this month that's it's not easy picking my favorites.  But, Susan at Simply Susan says I have to choose in order to participate in her Monthly Favorites meme, so I did my best.  Most all of my blooms are among my faves...I suppose that's why they have a place in my landscape. But this time I listed them by color category.  I found there's a large number of reds and only one white...hmmmm.  White is obviously  not a favorite of mine in the garden, but perhaps I need to incorporate a little more.  At any rate, August has been hot so it's only natural that the color of the month is red!

Red Hot Hibiscus

El Capitolio - double blooom with white striping

Red bloom with yellow striping

Traditional Presidential

For the Bees and Butterflies

Tropical Milkweed is a favorite of the Monarch Butterfly,

and an important larvae host plant.

Red Porterweed (also comes in Blue)

Little fluffy Chenille plant is finally ready to leave the nursery!

Dwarf Powderpuff Bush

Bromelaids

This one is showing some beautiful color!

This one just recently turned red - only the tips were red previously.

See how green it was?

I especially love the variegation in these.

I don't know the various names. 

I'm hoping Steve from The Rainforest Gardener can give me a hand.

Tropical Reds

Caladium Cluster -

proudly stands alone while all my other Caladiums inter-mingle with other plants.

Heliconia Lady Di - first bloom!! Love it!!

Crown of Thorns

Red hot?  Let's cool off...

Purple berries of the American Beauty Berry are stunning!

Light Lavender shades of Liriope

Volunteer blooms of the Portulaca groundcover

The purple Pentas are a butterfly magnet! (as are the red ones!)

The pretty bluish purple bloom of the aquatic Pickerel Weed... another butterfly button!

Just a few Shy Pinks...

The Dwarf Pink Ruellia is pretty with it's fuschia "tongue".

Cheerful Tillandsia

Yellow is probably my favorite garden color!

Yellow Allamanda

Yellow Ixora looks like a bridal bouquet!

Happy little Zinnias grow throughout my garden!

I love this Yellow/Red Hibiscus so much, I have two bushes!

One Lonely White Bloom!

The Duck Potato looks more like a dancing angel, to me!

Another aquatic plant, the Duck Potato (surprise) is a popular

food source for DUCKS and other aquatic creatures.

I keep this plant and the Pickerel Weed in muck filled pots...they thrive!

There's FRUIT, too!

My MANGO tree produced its first harvest this month!

Thanks to my friend Deborah at The Consumate Gardener for helping

 me ID this yummy variety!

Non-fibrous and juicy!  YUMMY!!

The Brown Turkey Figs look like they'll be ripe soon too!

And for Good Measure...

I couldn't resist this little guy napping in the crown of a young ponytail palm!

My Favorites THIS Month!

I'm not happy.  I can't hide it. I'm supposed to be showing all my June favorites, along with everyone else at Simply Susan's monthly meme, but I can't because some of them just didn't show up.  Actually NONE of my daylilies have bloomed. I was excited that I'd be able to share my Butterscotch daylily, as it was budding last week. When I checked it last night, it simply wasn't there. Vanished...without a trace.  Maybe the rabbit is the culprit?! I don't know.  This is what it looked like LAST YEAR. 

I expected to showcase the cool blue Lily of the Nile, but no.  IF it were in bloom, I'd show it here.

Enough pouting.  Let me show you my favorites that ARE in bloom!

The dwarf Powder Puff gets the 1st place award.  I love the soft little tufts!

And my new curbside prize bromelaid is sending up a trophy. 

She's thanking me for saving her from the dump. 

The new butterfly milkweed

The petite little Purple Queen is dainty and beautiful in a grouping.

And the yellow Bulbine displayed pretty yellow stalks for the first time.

My favorite crinums opened up this week too!

Blazing hot yellow Allamanda

And the multi-colored crotons are finally looking strong after a

slow recuperation from the winter cold.

A few additional faves that deserve the spotlight...

Thanks for joining me for my June favorites.  Until next time...!

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!