Spring has come in full speed

Spring has come in full speed, and I found myself hardly catching up.  The garden really looks wonderful in any angle, well, at least in my eyes :)

Nun's orchid (Phaius tankervilliae) bloomed in March.

Three Irises also started blooming in March.

Neomarica Caerulea 'Regina'

Dietas bicolor

Neomarica Gracilis

Five Amaryllis bulbs I bought last year, now two "Apple Blossom"s are blooming.  The other three are still taking their time, and have not even shown the sign of buds.

'Apple Blossom'

Caladiums started popping up everywhere around the garden.

This is the second year of this Peruvian Lily  (Eucrosia Bicolor) called my garden home.  After it finished blooming last year, it gradually lost all the leaves, and completely disappeared from the ground.  I almost thought maybe they are rotten in the ground, and I lost them for good.  A couple of weeks ago, several flower spikes popping up from the ground without any leaves around.  That was real sweet surprise for me.  Beautiful, huh?  The leaves appeared after the flowers were opened.

Last year I started some Marigolds from store bought seeds.  After they finished blooming, I collected those seed heads, and casually spread them in several containers, and then almost forgot them.  Surprisingly, the seedlings grow so fast and strong, better than those that I put much care for.  Since I had so many seedlings, I started putting them everywhere in my garden, and distributed them to the friends.

The new flowerbed I opened two months ago is also gradually filling in.  I added some annuals for the season color.  Vinca is becoming my favorite annuals.  They just thrive in the Florida sun without much care, and they reseed themselves easily.  They are almost like perennials in this South Florida Garden since they could bloom all year long.  I have several different colors, pink, white, lavender, and crimson.

Flax Lily, Daisy Bush, Marigolds, and double Portulaca (Portulaca 'Fairytale Cinderella')

Love how the leave of Aechmea blanchetiana 'Orangeade' reflected the morning sunshine in following two  pictures.

Other areas of the garden...

Spiderwort has grown from one small division into a big clump. (Thank you, Meems!)

Spiderwort (Tradescantia)

Dipladenia pink got a heavy trim the end of last year, now it is coming back stronger and more beautiful.

Happy Spring!

Left For A While, Garden Gone Wild

Having come back from my three week vacation in China for three days, while still adjusting the 12 hour time difference, I have started working, both on my daytime job and garden...

When I arrived home from the airport around mid-night, the first thing I did was examining my garden!  :)  Of course, I really could not see things clearly in the dark, but overall I knew the garden looked fine in my absence.  After a good night sleep, I headed back to the garden again the next morning.  All I can say is my garden just gone wild!

All ornamental sweet potato vines grew so much that extended to the ground beyond the container or the bed border, even I trimmed them to almost the base before I left! 

I have love and hate relationship with these sweet potato vines since they do add very nice color and textures into the garden, and very good to fill the blank space too, but meanwhile they sometimes could get out of control. However, they are very easy to trim, so I think I still love them more than hate :)

The dwarf Allamanda just had several buds before I left, now they are in full blooming.  Obviously I planted the lantana bush next to the allamanda too close (no surprise to this gardener) that lantana is not growing very well.

This devil's trumpet (Datura) was just two feet tall before I left, now it doubled the height, and already had about five blooms. Too bad those blooms are already fading, but I see several more buds there, so I guess I will not miss the beauty when they are in their glory peak.  I started the devil's trumpet early this spring from the seed, and once it sprouts, it just took off so fast like weeds!  (Speak of weeds, do I need to mention how many weeds I found in my flowerbeds?)

Here is the zinnia that my younger son gave to me, which I showed to you before I left.  Now it is really thriving.  I love the color, and especially because it is coming from my boy!

This is another type of zinnia that came from self-sown seedling of the last year plant.  This type has larger size of the flower but not as prolific as the small type.

The marigolds also spreaded so wide that almost took over my Agaves/Bulbines flower bed.   The below picture is just one marigold, which will give you an idea how big this plant could grow, and I planted five of them in that small flower bed!  I need to do lots of trimming to recover the agaves and bulbines hidden under them.

Rudbeckia 'Tiger Eye Gold' is still growing nicely, although some dead-heading is needed...

Several more flower clusters showed up on my Agapanthus africanus...

I do have several casualties though...

Two pineapple plants that I started from store-bought pineapples last year died from crown rotting.  I think the water coming from my daily sprinkle system in addition to the rain was just too much for them.  Well, it is okay for me since I always can buy more pineapples and plant the heads again.  For some reason, pineapple is always so easy to rot, these are the forth and fifth pineapples died on rotting even long after they were established.

My only daylily also died (sobbing...).  Actually it was not looking good even before I left.  The leaves turned brown, but now the leaves are completely gone.  I am not sure if it is normal summer dormancy, or it is real dead?  Anybody can tell me?

I have been doing lots of trimming and weeding in my garden these three days, and now the garden looks back into the order, with some empty space left.   I also have been to the garden center twice, and bought six new plants already! ( I will show you later.)  Since I could not buy any plants in China (it is illegal to bring plants oversea), I just could not wait any longer to visit the garden center! Then of course, I won't come home empty-handed :)

I am glad that now I am back to my garden.  It just felt so good when walking around my own garden even I have visited so many beautiful places in China.  Nothing can be compared to my own garden.    I know that you all understand this statement, don't you?

Big "Thank you" to my friends who hand-watered my plants that sprinkle system can not reach or the sprinkle turns out not sufficient!

Thanks for all the comments that you made to my three auto-scheduled posts during my vacation!

I have taken lots of pictures in China, and will make several posts when I get my life back to the normal.


Have a great weekend!

Blue Fox Tail Orchid and Other Summer Blooms

Just want to share some blooms that caught my eyes in my garden these days.

This Blue Fox Tail Dendrobium Orchid was a house-warming gift we received last year.  It is blooming again now. I love its deep purple color, not sure why the name is "blue" fox tail. Seems to me that blue and purple are often interchangeable in the plants world... Well, whatever name it is called, I just love it!

Blue Fox Tail Dendrobium Orchid

I found out that the best way to grow orchids is "leave them alone".  When I "over" cared about them before, they died.    Now I just put them outdoor in a bright shaded area, and water them maybe once a week based on if they got the rainfall or not, and fertilize them occasionally.  They seem love that way, there have been three orchids rebloomed for me this year since I learned this "tip" :)

While the ground orchids planted in the front garden are not doing very well, the ones located in backyard a more shaded area are shooting more flower spikes now.  I think I need to move those in the front to a more shaded area as well.

Ground Orchids (Spathoglottis)

These marigolds are the ones I started from seeds this year.  They just thrive in the Florida Sun!  I really love the golden/yellow/orange/red tones in it.  The color just looked so rich!

Marigolds

This concrete piglet statue was left in the mud by the previous owner when we moved in.  I dug it out and cleaned it.  I am not sure if it was originally made as a planter since the opening is very shallow and no drainage hole. I planted some purslane in it, and it now looks cute with a blooming body, doesn't it? 

Purslane

This buttercup plant was self seeded from last year's plants.  It had so many seedlings that I have to pull lots out.  They open the flowers in the morning and close in the evening.  Then the cycle repeats one more time next day before it dies, then other flowers start opening again.

Mounding Buttercup

A couple of weeks ago, Floridagirl at Peace In The Valley posted a picture of this Rudbeckia 'Tiger Eye Gold' on her blog. I immediately fell love into it, and thought it would brighten my west flower bed border very nicely. The next thing I knew, three of them found the home in my garden :)

Rudbeckia 'Tiger Eye Gold' 

I found the flowers of the Pentas in the micro picture look so delicately beautiful with all those details in each small flower, which we usually don't notice with human eyes.

Pentas

This rain lily was my recent purchase.  Only one was found.  I really love the water colored pink on this flower.  Wish it can multiply itself fast, so I can have more of this beauty!

Rain Lily (Zephyranthes candida)

Happy Summer Gardening!

Spring, please stay a little longer!

Seems just not long ago, I was longing for the Spring's coming to wake up my garden.  Now it finally came, but why I almost felt it is summer already?  (The highest reported today is 87 F here in South Florida!)

Only when sun went down, we still have some cool breeze in the air to enjoy.   Okay, I guess we still can call it "Spring" :)

Let me show you some of my spring foliage/blooms in my garden.

I planted this African Iris last year after I moved to my house, and now it finally opened its first bloom.

African Iris (Fortnight lily, Dietes iridioides)

Orange Marmalade Crossandra is in full bloom again after experiencing the severe frost bite in the winter.

Orange Marmalade Crossandra and Diamond Frost

I did not expect this "Brazilian Red Hots" could recover after frozen to the ground back in January.  What could be a better way to have something this colorful back to the life to celebrate the spring?

Brazilian Red Hots (Alternanthera dentata)

This Bird's Nest Fern is the new addition to my garden.  After seeing so many beautiful pictures in different bloggers' posts, I just had to have it...  It is still a very young plant now.  Waiting for it growing to a nice impressive garden staple for me...

Bird's Nest Fern

Marigolds are one of my favorite spring/summer annuals.  I bought the yellow one from nursery, and the bi-color one is what I started from the seed (Dwarf Bolero, Ferry-Morse).  The picture on the seed package shows the bi-color double layered, not sure why I got the single layer bloom only.  The color did not disappoint me though.

I love this purple fountain grass,  and the way how all those soft arching purple plums gracefully waiving in the breeze. It is cold-hardy, and heat/drought tolerant, which makes it a perfect ornamental grass for Florida.

Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetumsetaceum 'Rubrum')

Newly planted Ground Orchids are gradually adapting to its environment, and setting the second round of the blooms.

Ground Orchids (Spathoglottis)

Even the Tillandsias is stretching its flower bud out to feel the spring...

Tillandsias

Snapdragon is considered as winter annuals here in Florida.  This is the second set of blooms, more beautiful than ever.  These all started from two little plants in 3 inch pots.  Wondering if it can hold long enough to give me the third round of flowers before it melts away in Florida's heat?

Snapdragon (Antirrhinum)

Gazanias continue growing bigger and stronger, and it not only adds bright color for my winter garden, but also seems loving the warm weather as well.

Gazanias

Lantana yellow trailing finally started blooming following Lantana lavender trailing and Lantana camara.

Lantana Yellow Trailing

This colorful bush is one of those I inherited from the previous owner.  It lost all the leaves after the freeze, and now they also bounce back nicely.  Anybody knows the name?  I see the same kind of plants planted in some public landscaping as well, just have not found the name yet.

Even the sedum blooms out of my surprise! In the cold weather, this plant has reddish/brown color of leaves and grows low and hugs the soil tightly, trying to hold as much warmth as possible close to the body.  Now they change back to that chartreuse-gold color again, and they are all stretching talller and opening the little yellow flowers for the first time! I am so amzed by how plants change their appearance to different weather.

Sedum hybrid Florida Friendly Gold

Oh, how I am loving this spring!  Spring, please stay a little longer with us before that long hot humid summer comes!

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Update:

FloridaGirl at Peace in the Valley has identified the unknow plant with colorful foliage above is: Acalypha wilkesiana, or copperleaf or Joseph's coat.  Thanks, FloridaGirl!

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