The Hot, the Loud, and the Proud! April

Last month I didn't have too much to offer in the way of garden color, but now things are really heating up!


I would have to say that my bottlebrushes embody total hotness!  My run of the mill lemon bottlebrushes did really well this winter, and not only did the plant out in the sun (pictured above) bloom, but so did my tree in the swampy and shady back corner of the yard!
I have another variety of bottlebrush with larger and stiffer leaves that got hit very hard by the cold for some reason, but its still going to bloom soon.  It has fuzzy, pink tinged new growth and its flowers are more mauve colored.  Does anyone know what the bottlebrush in the photo to the left is?



My firecracker plant is also very hot, and barely took a hit this winter!  I've seen many photos of this in the resorts of Bali, so I think I've found a good and dependable plant for my Balinese courtyard garden out front!  In the background are some weeping yaupon holly trees, which really work nicely with the weeping form of the firecracker shrub.

My Neoregelia "Red Band" specimens are definitely loud, especially now that the chartreuse banding has started to appear!

For some reason "proud" brings to mind big and bold leaves, taking center stage!  You can see that my Alocasia "California" has really taken off in the warmth of spring, and soon the whole island bed will be filled by its big and glossy leaves.  As soon as the rainy season starts, I'll find about 30 to 50 tree frogs taking shelter in the water filled leaf axils.


My other "proud" leaves belong to my ice cream banana. I really like the powdery pink leaf stalks and lime green leaves, but hopefully by next year I'll be gushing about the custard flavored ice blue bananas!


Visit Noel's A Plant Fanatic in Hawaii blog for other posts that are Hot, Loud and also Proud!
http://aplantfanatic.blogspot.com/2010/04/hot-loud-and-proud-2.html

14 comments:

  1. aloha steve,

    i love callistemon also, they are such nice performers, i'm not familiar with the smaller one you have in your photo, thats quite unique and the pink/lavendar version is also anther favorite.

    its good to see your ice creams is doing well and putting out some really nice large leaves...do you ever get them to flower?

    thanks for joining today :)

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  2. noel: My ice cream banana is a new one, but I put it in a non-swampy area, went crazy with the manure, fertilizer and vitamins/minerals so hopefully it will do well!

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  3. beautiful plants! i must get one of the ice cream bananas! love your red brom!

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  4. Great choices for this meme! The firecracker looks real hot to me, so is the botterbrush! The booterbrush in the sun in that first picture looks so intensely red, very very hot!

    Oh, I would want to see some day you show a picture with 30 to 50 tree frogs taking shelter on Alocasia!

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  5. So many of my faves in this post! IMO, you can't go wrong with a bottlebrush! Let us know if you find out the name of your mystery plant. Maybe it is 'Reeve's Pink' or 'Mauve Mist.' Sounds quite nice! Love the 'Red Band' Neo as well.

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  6. Great choices ... your Callistemon citrinus looks fabulous. I would agree with Floridagirl's choice on that Callistemon with the mauve flowers and the new pink growth ... sounds like Callistemon citrinus 'Mauve Mist'.

    Love that Neoregelia too with its gorgeous banding. Can't wait to see what you think when you taste those bananas.

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  7. All your choices to show off are fantastic. I just put in a bottle brush a few months ago and it has been blooming away. I didn't know they came in any color but red. When your mauve flowered one is blooming let us see. Good luck with the IC banana. This was the first winter for mine and while it was killed nearly to the ground the mother p-stem is putting out new leaves so I'm hoping for bananas too.

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  8. So many pretty red flowers in your garden. I've heard that ice cream banana is yummy. Let us know when it produces bananas.

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  9. I like the firecrakers a lot. The flowers so red and eye-catching yet the plant is so soft looking. Bottle brush is indeed a good shrub for show of blooms. Have a great weekend!

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  10. Very nice - love the foliage. pink leaf stalks and lime green leaves - just beautiful.

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  11. A lovely selection of interesting plants. I am intrigued with your Banana, so pretty, I am looking forward to see the fruit. Is the fire cracker plant a Ruellia?

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  12. I love the unique shape of the bottlebrush flowers. I also love your Russelia flowers as well. Both grow very well here as well :-)

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  13. Hey, Steve! I completely agree with all your choices! The bottlebrush is a favorite, although I don't have one. The firecracker plant is definitely a favorite of mine...I have some too. Gorgeous, aren't they?! Your bananas look spectacular...very pretty color. I hope to hear of a yummy harvest this fall/winter!

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  14. Greetings, excellent post...
    This living legend is now available in:
    antigonumcajan.eveningpost.blogspot.

    endemismo is now history, thanks to blogger not
    allowing me to access any of the three blogs, because of some hacker...

    However the show goes on with the same abrasiveness and focus.

    Say Hi to Stepahnie...

    Good luck in your projects.....

    ReplyDelete

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