What's In Your Garden, Part 5

We came from http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/931752/

Part 4 was getting huge and I figured Laurel was about to scream at me to start a new thread. I therefore took the initiative to do it on my own. Arn't you proud? Besides, Part 4 was full of freeze damage pics and I want to clear the slate of that. As I looked around the garden today, I could see lots to be thankful for. I'm only worried about two plants so it is time to press on.

Here is a modern shrub rose called Carefree Beauty as it looked today, Jan 31, 2009.

Jim

This is a regular old Knockout rose but it is grafted onto fortuniana root stock. That makes a big difference in the nematod infested sands of Florida.

Jim

The newest addition to the garden is this Cat palm (Chamaedorea cataractarum). It is an understory palm that doesn't grow very tall and loves partial shade. I had just the place for it but I'll have to worry about cold weather for a while. It also makes a nice house plant. I planted it last Thursday.

Jim

There are plenty of hibiscus still blooming. This one is on the south side of the house so it was protected.

Jim

My desert cassia tree is enjoying the cool, sunny days. Sorry about the frozen papaya leaves in the background.

Jim

This is dwarf Walter's viburnum, a great Florida native landscape plant.

Jim

White lantana is nice this time of year.

Jim

The orchid tree is blooming. It seems a bit early but here it is.

Jim

The azaleas are out as well. This is the standard version.

Jim

And the dwarf version.

Jim

I may have a cat palm in mom's room. I looked at the label and it just said 'assorted palms' LOL It sure looks like your pic. The color on the hibiscus is pretty, well, all of the blooms are great.

The black Surinam cherry tree is in full bloom and has even set some fruit. Yummy!

Speaking of yummy, I just took a break to wolf down a Wekiwa tangelolo. Geeze was that good! The citrus eating frenzy is at it's peak.

Jim

This is the last of the pics I took today. This is a miniature rose called Karina that I got in the plant exchange at Fred's house.

Jim

Wow! Great to see blooms as always, Jim! Love that lush miniature rose and the peach hibiscus!

I just relooked at the picture of the minature rose and noticed how brown the St. Augustine grass has gotten since the freeze. It will recover as the temperature warms but this whole area really looks brown now.

I also forgot to mention that we are knee deep in fresh tomatoes. Not bad for mid-winter.

Jim

Jan, best to put some kitty litter in there just in case. :>)

Jim

LOL :)

Send some of those tomatoes down here, Jim. We never seem to get the good ones. Where they go is a mystery.


Your rose from Fred's is surely a prize.


Hap

Thanks for the new thread Jim. I'd never scream at you. Heavy dose of guilt maybe. Also thanks for continuing on with the beautiful photos. The orchid trees are always beautiful.

Seems like I'm going to be in Miami from Valentine's Day until? My dad is quite ill. I've been trying to break it gently to the orchids about being sloshed and left sitting in water on an irregular schedule by well intended family and friends.

There's been little time to check in, but I do (and will) when I can. Maybe I can get some nice photos of the old homestead and visit a few growers.
Laurel

So sorry to hear about your father's illness, Laurel. Many prayers being sent your way.

Laurel, please tell me his first name and I will add him to our prayer list.

It is windy and cold here. It's going down to the mid-30s tonight and worse tomorrow night. I just came in from covering stuff and will do more tomorrow. Right now I have to get ready to give a rare fruit presentation at one of the local libraries. Show time is 7 PM. I'm too fragile to go out in this cold. :>(

Jim

Thanks for good wishes and prayers. His name is Edward and he goes by Ed. Just to keep things in perspective, his baby brother (89 yrs. old) stayed with him Monday. Dad made him his special grilled cheese, English muffin, egg and tomato breakfast. Then did all the dishes. Dad said he planned on going jogging after breakfast but Uncle Arty was lazy so he cleaned the pool. I told him, "No cannonballs!" He's ninety.
Laurel

God bless him.

Jim

Laurel, my thoughts are with you and Ed.

My prayers coming too.
Hap

My trip to Selby gardens in Sarasota this morning was delightful but a bit chilly. I posted some orchid pictures on the other thread. Also in the warm green house was this double leaf anthurium. I've never seen one like this before. This haunting photo is a result of my lens fogging up after being out in the cold. I was going to delete the pic but began to like the effect.

Jim

Here is a chance to read up on the clock vine.

Jim

The vine was huge and hung down everywhere.

Jim

A close look at the flower.

Jim

I said before that I am worried about my young spindle palm due to this nasty freeze we are having. Here are a couple that are doing fine.

Jim

Check out this hoya growing up the palm tree.

Jim

This bromeliad in a hanging basket was in full bloom.

Jim

I saved the best for last. This bromeliad bloom was fantastic. The garden is located right on the gulf and suffered some freeze burn but not much. We've got one more night to get through and the warm up begins.

Jim

JIm,
the folks who build their private gardens knew where to put them right on the water. Of course they wanted their houses there too as streets were hard to come by. :-) We have a membership at the Shelby and I go there everytime we're in the area but I never saw that huge vine or better, the flowers. I probably saw the vine as it must be in one of the greenhouses.

They claim 29 for tonight in my zip but by Sunday it'll be 56 at night. The longest forecast I can find continues on the high 50s low 60s at night. Let's hope it over now. Tomorrow I start disassembling the frost protection again. Folding up the material is one big pain.

Fred

PS white phals are tough to get a good picture of. They are simply too white.

I have a couple that are, "In from the Cold"!

NOIDs

This is one of the few that have a tag left .


Blc. Momilani Rainbow Palm Beach

This is my little Stink Weed.....His real name is Archibald. (Archie)

He got cold too.

An angel wing something-or other.

Another NOID

Cute pup Hap. It has been a long week with all of this cold to deal with. I've been out in the garden today unwrapping all of the plants. The cold has gone as fast as it arrived. I started working in a sweatshirt and jacket but shed the jacket after a short time. All of the towels are in the washing machine and the blankets are spread out on the grass to dry.

It is way too early to assess the damage as some of the plants won't show any signs of stress for a few days. The worst of the lot is the spindle palm, which was wrapped but without lights, and the curly-q copper plant which was on its own. My foxtail palm is showing no damage at all and that is surprising. It's way to big to wrap but I did have a towel around the grow head. The staghorn fern was covered with a light bulb under it and it is not even singed. I can tell you for sure that last year's debacle was much worse for me. I don't seem to have any damage on crotons or begonias that were under the live oak tree. They were knocked to the ground last year. I thew a towel over the cymbidiums at the last minute and they look fine. I have become a beliver in the use of Christmas lights hanging in the tropicals. Nothing that had lights on it was hurt, including the mango and lychee trees. Even the dwarf poinciana and yellow elder are fine. I'll leave the orchids inside for another night and will return them to their proper environment tomorrow.

Jim