Sunday Morning Stroll

Just a few shots from my backyard this morning.

And this just happened :-)

 I used to keep my succulents on this but they were getting way too much water from the orchid run off. So now I have my pretty pots all together!

 Purple everywhere!

 Succulents are now back outside and lined up against the screen porch for protection

 I had them here once before and they did fairly good as long as I don't forget about them

 Each side of walkway. I have a grapevine on the trellises but the caterpillars found it.

 The spider plant started in a pot years ago then the pot cracked and it rooted into the ground. This year I separated it and have it hanging. Has created three aerials since the change!

 My end-of-season sale purchase Vincas. Nice pop of color.

The bromeliad border just finished blooming. I added coleus for color.

Feeling Overwhelmed

The title is a true description. So much to do lately. Mostly boring paperwork stuff for several organizations. But, I did do something interesting yesterday.

I was entrusted with taking donations at work and picking out a potted plant for a coworker who lost her mother last week. I just couldn't find what I envisioned (and to buy from a florist was well above our budget) so I ended up buying the parts and making a potted arrangement. For those of you who know about orchid culture, don't worry. They are actually in separate pots tucked in among the others.

Since we live in central Florida she can grow this on her porch pretty much year around. I love cut flowers but sometimes a living plant is a nice reminder of the person you lost.

Green Thumb Sunday

I haven't been in my garden much lately so there were a few surprizes for me when I went out there today :)

My Crinim Lily pup is doing very well. When I moved the mother plant a while ago and this little fella fell off of the main stalk. I planted it under the shade of the lime tree. The first year it wasn't too sure it wanted to survive but now it is growing enough to where I need to consider a long-term spot om the garden (it gets BIG).

Remember this post? This is the same bromeliad and it is blooming! I took another shot of the bloom from a different direction and an update of it's pup. I guess I should have figured out that it was going to bloom because of the emergence of a pup.

Remember my ghost orchid? The one that has no leaves and blooms directly on the roots?

Don't get too excited, it's not blooming but boy has it grown this year! It was a (legal) seedling when I bought it a couple years ago and it should be 3 - 5 years old before it blooms if I recall. I stress legal because it is a protected plant. It does have some strange thing hanging from the center that made me wonder if it was a tiny bloom I missed.....probably just a failed root. I would be very disappointed to learn I missed it's first bloom :(

My staghorn fern had only two leaflets when I bought it. It was growing quite thick but now, with the summer rains and a new spot in the yard, it is so happy it is growing a long leaf.

One of the broms from the Green Thumb Festival, I believe.

Pool garden - out of control AGAIN. Not safe to walk around the pool.

ANd the grand finale.......I was trimming vines last weekend and was ambushed by bees. I forgot all about the trimmers that I abandoned as I ran from the bees. They were still hanging on the vine. LOL

Green Thumb Sunday

Hibiscus in my favorite shade of pink

My one and only tomato in my Topsy Turvy

Spider plant is doing awsome - making lots of little plants

Border is filling in with bromeliads & heliconias

Bromeliad with baby brome

One of the new broms from Green Thumb Festival and this one has been having trouble getting rooted and I've knocked it out of the ground a couple times :(

This is popping up in my brom garden and I can only assume it is a brome

Staghorn ferm suffering a little from the heat

Anthirium blooms look good but the plant is showing a little stress due to heat

Shrimp plant could care less about the heat

Dendrobium bloom in the key lime tree

And another

Remember the pool garden border I cut back a few weeks ago - it's back

Never got these vincas planted but they seem happy anyway!

Green Thumb Festival - Chapter 2

Click on images to enlarge and see the detail of these amaizing plants!

Yes Julie, I did buy an orchid. LOL Isn't it beautiful? There were many orchid sellers there. I believe they were only out numbered by the cactus & succulent vendors. The festival was BIG this year :)

My eco-friendly shopping bag filled with bromeliads purchased from the Florida Westcoast Bromeliad Society. Great prices, especially on the bareroots.

This is where they escaped from the shopping bag, LOL. All laid out and ready to photo.

Aint's she purty?

So colorful?

Purple & bromeliad? What's not to like?

My bare rooters - cross your fingers.

Neoregelia 'Sheba'

Neoregelia 'Osser'

Neoregelia 'Candy Apple'

Neoregelia Galaxy

Added to my new border - newbies are toward the front

Another shot of the new border