Gosh Clare, I'm glad someone asked. Here's a pic of my girls. Bette, the dark little wiry one is the 'boss". Greta, all 135 pounds of her is as sweet a dog as anyone could wish for. They absolutely adore one another and never fight. Greta is kind of like the 'mother'.
Actually, I do have a mexican/sonoran variety of Caesalpinia pulcherrima (you know, the blue/green leaf one) on the cul-de-sac--right next to a Calliandra californica and a bit away from a Calliandra haematocephala. In the back yard on the hillside, I have a nice Caesalpinia gilliesii and a Calliandra surinamensis.
I've got some small passifloras in pots which I will plant out next spring. Among them are: P. Elizabeth, P. coccinea, P. Pink Panther. I also have in pots a Thunbergia laurifolia, a T. grandiflora 'variegata', and a T. coccinea. I've got the Mucuna species that Logee's sells in a pot also. I have something extra special, but I'm not sure it will survive. I received a Bauhinia kockiana from someone in Singapore, but it was in such bad condition, that I think it is questionable to its ability to survive. It was dessicated and had almost no roots in the three weeks of its transit.
In the winter, I keep things outside on the covered balcony, in pots. If they survive the winter, they get planted out the next spring. We'll see what happens.
By the way, my Petrea which I planted out this last spring is doing great!
Here's a pic of Bette and Greta.
-Ron-
