2010 Fall blooms from other plants!

Cape Coral Honeysuckle vine. (A hummer favorite!)

Red KO rose bloom!

Red Salvia.

Red Shrimp Plant.

Mutant virus forming on all the blooms of the Firespike bush. (Another hummer favorite!) Freaky looking growth on the blooms! Looks like a reptile! LOL!

More mutant growth.

So odd looking! Hummer still goes for the blooms! Not many blooms though ...

Ernest Markham Clematis blooming for the 3rd time this year! Love this vine!!!

Rainbow KO rose bloom! This is my favorite KO rose blooms!♥

Cashmere Bouquet bloom cluster.

Elizabeth Angus Bougainvillea.

Pink Coral Vine.

Pink Mexican Petunia.

Aurantia Passiflora blooms.

Petunia.

Sunny KO Rose bloom.

Yellow 4 O'Clock blooms.

Lantana.

Scarlet Milkweed bloom cluster.

Jasmine.

Blue Plumbago bloom cluster.

Golden Dewdrop blooms.

And last photo from today ... Lisianthus "Echo Blue". This bloomed all summer and now into the Fall. Absolutely gorgeous plant!

Gorgeous blooms Becky

Becky, I am so loving all your pictures. (I'm getting some of Becky's seeds to start my MG obsession, Yay!).

Just wanted to say your Firespike bush looks like it's fasciating. Not fascinating, now (although it is that too, LOL).


This message was edited Oct 19, 2010 9:54 AM

Becky,

Your plants are beautiful - I especially love your Aurantia Passiflora. Really something special...

Elsa

Thanks everyone! I am amazed at how much is actually blooming now. Still very warm during the day, but cooling considerably at night. My hummers are loving all the blooms, too! Along with the butterflies! LOL! Nice time of year!

Polly - Dmail and let me know when you get what I sent you! I hope everything does well for you! :-)

Oops, sorry Becky. I emailed you already.

Of course what you sent was fantastic. I expected no less from you, LOL.

Beautiful tour Becky! Zone envy coming through!

Thank you Polly and Ronnie!

Those flowers go to seed? lol...

Becky, what is the coldest temp you get at night there in your area in the winters? I know sometimes you get some freezes, but normally, what is your winter like?

Very nice flowers you have going, it probably looks like a paradise to the hummers too.

A - It does get down to freezing here at night in the coldest time of winter, but it is usually only for a few hours. Last year though, we had days and days of freezing weather which was unusual. Lost a lot of tropical plants last year. Most everything dies back in winter except my Cape Honeysuckle and some other plants that stay evergreen. We still get a lot of sunlight during the winter months which warms things up most days! I had ripe cherry tomatoes all winter last year. I just had to move them into the garage at night when there were freeze warnings. LOL!

Funny story ... My Cape Honeysuckle (small tree/large bush) is blooming beautifully right now. But I noticed not nearly as many blooms as previous years. They appeared to be falling off the tree almost as fast as they were blooming. Come to find out that my Cardinals also like the sweet nectar from them and were pulling off the blooms, manipulating them in their beaks, and licking the nectar off the bottom of the blooms! And then dropping the blooms on the ground. I had never seen cardinals do that before. They are usually seed/insect eaters. Not nectar lovers! So now my hummers have to compete with the cardinals and bees for the nectar of those blooms. LOL LOL LOL I think it is the most popular small tree/large bush in my yard right now!

Oh I love the cardinal, I have never seen one in person... maybe they will accidently pollinate some of the flowers.

I got two small start 1 galloon orange type honeysuckle put in a couple of months ago and they are doing great, I am hoping an arbor gets covered with it and am pulling out all that darned cordatotriloba that has been taking over. I will get more trumpet vines going and I have a pink wisteria that I grew from seeds three years ago, that I am hoping starts to bloom next year or the next... It is doing great, I got the seeds on the seed trading forum and I've got to tell the lady I got them from, that I got two seedling nice and healthy. I'm hoping they do well.

The doves and other birds are taking over the veggie beds and making their winter homes in there, so I can't do fall clean up until (April ..lol), they come first.

Of course! Plus leaving the dying plants there may protect any perennials from the cold this winter. I learned the hard way last year to NOT prune anything in Fall. I did last year and I think that is why I lost so many tropical plants! Especially my Passiflora vines. Not one survived last year. If I hadn't pruned them last Fall, I bet they would still be alive and well. (sigh)

Yeah, you are so right, the brush serves as mulch and keeps them from getting the full blow of the outdoor elements.

Well, I'm off to take photos and leave the house now that DH wants to go to eat out early... and get to the big box stores and lumber store.... they have a couple of plants at these places.. Talk to you later gater!!

A.

A - I look forward to seeing your indoor bloom photos! :-)

First time I've seen a Painted Bunting in over 9 years. I absolutely love these birds. And you've got a pair. The male is the colored one and the female is the green one. And the cardinals are beautiful. I see them here often. The Buntings might be starting their migration to the south for wintering. I remember I had a pair back in Cuba. I also had the Indigo Buntings and boy do they sing beautifully.

This message was edited Oct 28, 2010 6:57 PM

Hi Roly0217! This year, I actually have 2 pairs of painted buntings hanging around. I've had the one pair for several years now that migrate here every Fall and Winter. I was surprised to see 2 males and 2 females this year at the feeder and in the Cape Honeysuckle tree with the Cardinals. Maybe an offspring (of the original pair) and it's mate? I've never seen an Indigo bunting in real life. Lucky you! Do you get hummingbirds there? I have 2 female rubythroat hummingbirds that seem to be here year round.

Awesome !!! So they stay there for the winter ??? It's great and yes I do have hummingbirds. None in my property as I'm just starting a butterfly and hummingbird garden but there are plenty at Fairchild Botanical Garden about 15 minutes from me. I counted 6 last Sunday. Now as to which ones were they I'm lost. I got a Cape Honeysuckle shrub a couple of weeks ago in the hopes of attracting some hummingbirds.

My hummingbirds appear to be here year round and have each claimed a different part of my garden as their territory. LOL! And they chase off any other hummers that try to feed from the blooming plants or the two feeders I have up year round. And they chase each other away from their claimed areas of my yard. LOL! They are a hoot! Firespike is another favorite nectar plant along with Red Shrimp Plant. I grow a lot of nectar plants in my yard for the hummers and the butterflies. Plant it and they will come! (My motto!)