The Balcony Garden and a New Bromeliad!


It was really hot today, but its always nice on my shady balcony!  Today I swept and removed the old leaves from my buggy ti plant, relieving it of spider mites and mealybugs.  I washed it with a light solution of soapy water but I had to remove the old leaves since the axils were loaded with critters. I tucked it in with the other plants for now until it gets bushier.


The big plant to the right is my beloved fiddle leaf fig, or ficus lyrata. It tolerates just about anything but is really responding well to the heat, humidity, and my increased waterings to correspond with the season.  Wait, what's that bromeliad below it?


That's right, Neoregelia "Tequila" is a new addition to my garden and will be getting a sunny spot in the front yard so everyone can see it!  I found it at Home Depot of all places, and not only did I find a pup and a flower bud on this brom, but spotted a huge treefrog as well!  He stuck onto my shoulder as I continued to shop, and I let him go before I left.
Here's one more picture from my balcony, a blooming rhipsalis!  I'm not crazy about the overall sparse and spiny look of this one, but the chains of flowers will be pretty cool when it gets bigger.  I'll also be sure to eat the resulting berries and plant the seeds after it blooms!

9 comments:

  1. that bromiliad is so pretty...my hd had none that color...just the normal. was there this morning

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  2. Today was horribly hot, wasn't it? I found myself working outdoors at my son's acreage from 2:00 to 6:00. Ugh. A shady spot would've been so nice! Your new brom is a beauty! FYI - it gets its best color if it gets a few hours of sun every day. I need to get to a Home Depot. The closest one is forever away, but they have the best selection for a big box store.

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  3. Good find on that brom. It is beautiful. Glad the treefrog stuck to your shoulder and not mine. I'm not sure I would be able to return to the same HD ever again.

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  4. Congratulates on new brom, it is a pretty one! It is always exciting to find a plant you always wanted!

    I have the exact same one and it has set the pups for me. Mine got sveral hours morning sun, and seems have more contrast of the green and mottled red.

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  5. I was planning on giving this one full sun with my other neos... I'm assuming it can handle it too, right?

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  6. I just love the sun bromeliads! Yours is so pretty! There are some beautiful big bright orange ones (the leaves) where I pass by sometimes and I am always tempted to look for pups and quite possibly see if I could "steal" (with permission, of course) one! :)

    I need to clean and organize my front porch and screenroom now, after seeing how pretty you got your balcony!!! Lookin good!

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  7. Very nice. Your bromeliad is stunning.

    ps. I thought of you when I was at the indoor rainforest. Glad you saw the pics.

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  8. Cool Stuff. I love the dreamy quality to the first photo.

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  9. Great looking 'tequila!' I'll have to check out my HD for that beauty.

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