Photos of the Garden at Night

Tonight I got set up with a tripod and the "good" camera, and got some shots of the garden lit only by moonlight and the glow of the lights indoors. The effect is kind of spooky and somehow serene to me, as if its a movie set with side lighting.  I also utilized the flash for the graphic silhouette of the echeveria, and I managed to get a shot of a moonflower before it got too dark.
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Appearances Can Be Deceiving

One of the coolest things about growing exotic tropicals is becoming acquainted with their unusual forms, which often have otherworldly appearances!  Those of you who have the plant pictured probably know what it is, but for the rest of you, try to identify it by looking at just the first photo. 

Macro Monday: Echeveria

This is an echeveria in my coral reef succulent container garden... that's a mouthful!  The leaflets remind my of fondant petals used in confections and cake decorating, and the texture is so soft.  See below for the full view.

Be sure to visit Lisa's Chaos for more Macro Monday!

A Drought Tolerant Sedum and Cordyline Container Planting

This combo was done using two of my favorite plants, Cordyline Australis "Red Star" and "Florida Friendly Gold" Sedum.  Both are incredibly drought tolerant, sun tolerant, shade tolerant, frost tolerant and even hard freeze tolerant, and they provide excellent color and form with their foliage alone!

Ti Plant "Red Sister"

"Red Sister" is the most commonly seen cordyline here in Jacksonville, and if its not because of their eventual recovery from the harshest zone 9 winters, it must be for their gorgeous colors that seem to intensify in the moderate temperatures of fall.  There are plenty of unusual varieties to choose from, but for combined beauty and toughness "red sister" can't be beat.

Morning Glories, Love or Hate...

Here's the problem.  I love morning glories, but I hate their viney tendencies.  Is it too shallow of me to be a fairweather friend and curse them while they cloak my tabebuia tree, but sing their praises when the tree is covered in delicate blooms?  You tell me.

Anyways, allow me to show the pleasant side of my morning glories.

Jungle Journal: A Lazarus Palm, Drought, and Stapelia Flowers

Lots to go over today!

-  Still in a drought
-  Birds nest fern is struggling
-  Bismarck palm returning from frost?
-  Did another flower arrangement
-  Hurricane bromeliad in bloom
-  Starfish Flower Almost Blooming!

Radicalis Palm Berries and Tweets!

I finally have a second crop of radicalis palm berries!  I collected seeds from the first ones, and they sprouted in summer. This time I'll plant each seed in an individual cell or container so I can share them more easily! 

For those of you who are uninitiated with this palm, its about time you look for one.  They're cold hardy and showed no damage in our record breaking winter, and the feathery leaves make it look much more tropical than it really is.

How to Design a Great Garden Blog

Learn from some of the better designed garden blogs, and borrow an idea or two!

These aren't merely pretty blogs, they also 
- Make the most of their blogging platform
- Have an easy to use interface (sidebars, etc.)
- Keep a consistent brand and identity
- Keep it simple so it loads quickly
- Okay, well, they're also pretty.

How I Made A Rain Garden

No, not rainforest garden, rain garden!  I've finally finished the plantings and laid the topsoil, mulch and marble chips, and all thats left to do in this spot is wait for the plants to fill in. 

I used a groundcover of liriope "big blue" (the big clumping kind) and liriope spicata (the short and spreading kind) to create a patchwork of different heights.  Cordyline australis "red star" and "dark star" rise out of the liriope at alternating heights, and dyckia "red planet" sits on the edge of the rocks.

Maypop Fruit!

My first big discovery in fruit was eating Passionfruit.
My second big discovery was eating cherimoya, but that's irrelevant to this post.
My third big culinary breakthrough in fruit happened today, when I had my first taste of our own native passionfruit, passiflora incarnata, otherwise known as maypop.  Why isn't this a more popular fruit?  Its every bit as tasty as the common purple passionfruit, and its cold hardy through zone 6!  Sounds like a winner to me!

What I Bought

I got some great deals at the Washington Oaks Gardens Second Saturday plant sale, and for a good price too! 

To the left is dracaena deremensis "limelight".  I also got a soap aloe, cryptanthus bromeliad, tillandsia and a cordyline "dark star".  The dracaena is one I already own, but love so much that I had to get another to put elsewhere in the house!  The chartreuse leaves stay brighten any corner, thriving on neglect, and I water mine just once a week.

Washington Oaks Gardens

Its time for another trip to Washington Oaks Gardens State Park!  I scored some great buys at the Second Saturday plant sale, got attacked by mosquitoes, took some pictures, and explored the rocky tidepools at the beach.

Actually, we only stayed for a couple of hours, but we've been here a hundred times so far and it was high tide, meaning no sea glass to be found.  There were, however, plenty lush plants in the garden.

Ficus Outside the Tropics

What is the northernmost ficus you've encountered, not counting creeping fig or edible fig?

I recently spotted a two story tall fiddle leaf fig in between two buildings in Orange Park Florida, zone 9a.  The more exposed branches were nipped by the 20F freezes, making it look similar to salt pruned trees growing along the beach.

There are even some large ficus growing at the Jacksonville Zoo and Ravine Gardens State Park!

Tropiflora: The Best Source for Bromeliads!

I know its not fair to single out one source and call it the "best", but when it comes to sheer quantity, variety and competitive pricing, Tropiflora can't be beat!  Check out their huge online catalog here at www.tropiflora.com.

I had the opportunity to visit myself and actually got lost in the expansive shadehouses, as if that were a bad thing!

There's also a great selection of other rare plants too, like succulents and even a tropical rainforest dwelling blueberry!

Courtyard Design Before and After

There's been a dead patch of grass in front of my courtyard that's been bugging me for some time, especially since its been too hot lately to accomplish anything of significance without dying of heat stroke.

So in lieu of actually doing anything out there, I'll show you a photoshop rendering of what I'm planning on accomplishing as soon as it gets cooler, by paving a bit and planting monkey grass as a minimalist groundcover. 

Zorak the Mantis

Today I found a friendly praying mantis in the garden... stalking baby lizards.  I will name him Zorak and he will be mine.
The first couple of photos were taken with a foggy lens, but I rather like the effect, as it makes the fence in the background look more ethereal and gives an ominous ambience.  As I approached Zorak to take some close ups, he promptly tried to reach out and beat the crap out of me, actually grabbing the lens at one point!  I appreciate this determination in a predatory insect. (Photo courtesy Hanna Barbera)

Coral Reef Succulent Container Update

"Last time on The Rainforest Garden..." I had started a succulent container with a coral reef theme, using drought tolerant succulents that have a look resembling that of marine life.  I started out with an Aloe "Crosby's Prolific", a Stapelia cutting (also known as Starfish Flower), my cactus seedlings and a Vriesea Fosteriana.
A lot has changed since then, and I'll be phasing out the more terrestrial looking plants in favor of those that fit the theme better.

Simple Tropical Flower Arrangement

Last night I found myself with the inexplicable urge to create a flower arrangement using flowers and leaves in my garden... so I got up from the dinner table while everyone was eating and took some scissors outside.

This exotic arrangement took maybe two minutes at the most, was very easy, and will be fairly long lasting too.

My Sheltie's Inner Thoughts: A Photo Shoot

I was out taking pictures in the garden when Panda, my gardening buddy decided to join me!  Mostly this sheltie is only out to trample and "water" my plants, (he just uprooted my sea bean plant... it seems to be okay for now) but today he was just content to be a good model and patiently pose for me.  He kept looking away and over his shoulder as if he was bashful, but I think he was just distracted.  I get like that too in the garden.