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!

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 !