Rain, rain and more rain...yea!

I can only hope that the rest of the country is receiving some of these thunderstorms full of rain that we are getting everyday here in South Florida.  With the cloud coverage and the wet weather, I am praying the vegetable seedlings I planted this past weekend have an excellent chance to get past the initial growing phase without burning.  I would rather give baby plants away because of too many than have none sprout.  So with that said, the orchids seem to love their new homes in the trees.  Here are a few in bloom today.

This little no name beauty is blooming for the first time.
Sunshine!

More orchids in the guava tree

Blushing dendrobium just keeps on blooming
Ain't she dainty!?!

If the flower spikes grew any longer, we would end up hitting it with the car as we pull in the driveway, lol.
This one is attached to the Christmas palm tree in the front yard.

Another no name epidendrum orchid in the Desert
Cassia tree.  One major draw back to putting orchids
in the trees is the tags usually disappear.  No good way
to attach tags...anyone have ideas??? :))

You can see how fast the roots have grown
once the orchid is established, they really take off!  Then you know they are happy!

When I saw these little cuties, I thought of the twins, Castor & Pollux, lol,
if anyone knows their Greek mythology and/or their constellations :)
I can see them from my home office window in the Beautyberry shrub.

Well that's about it for today my friends.  Stay healthy and happy!

South Florida Vegetable Garden in August

Which door did I walk through, huh huh...well I'm sure you could guess, the back door to the vegetable garden. Still super duper hot here after Hurricane Irene left us.  I sowed the seeds directly into the ground this time so if the seeds burn out my saving grace is I still have half of my seeds left.  The season is long here so I can do another planting with out missing the season, though I will sow them in seed trays first then transplant.

Here is my heirloom vegetable garden.  The seeds
that are sown here: corn, tomatillo, & three different
tomatoes.

Another view, I also put the dragon fruit and papaya in the ground.  No more pots! LOL ;)

Here are the heirloom 'stars & moon' watermelons
Oops, need another bag of mulch.

The new outdoor furniture my Dad gave us.

You would never know it by looking at this picture but
I cut everything back and weeded out alot of overgrowth.
Huge pile for pick up tomorrow lol!

Stay dirty my friends....stay dirty! :))

To surf or work in the vegetable garden...hmmmm

The waves have been small but clean and fun to go surfing.  Yesterday was a blast but surprisingly super sauna hot!  Hmmmm walk out the front door to surf or walk out the back door to garden.  Will check back to let you know which door I went through. lol  ;))

Deerfield Beach 'No Trespass' surf spot

Joe & Harly paddling out

Getting prepared for fall vegetable planting :))

My dormant vegetable garden, will be working on
preparing the beds for the new seeds I ordered
yesterday from Seed Savers Exchange.

Ready to sow the soil :))
This year's heirloom tomatoes are 'Black from Tula', 'Hillbilly  Potato Leaf' and 'Isis Candy'. The rest are Purple OG Tomatillo's, 'Moon & Stars' Watermelon, Dwarf Grey Sugar Peas, Paris Market Carrots, Long Red Florence Onions and Stowell's Evergreen OG Corn.  OG = organic

So cheers to an abundant harvest for chez Sheri's garden, hopefully will be able to share to bounty this year!!

Random thoughts in August

This super awesome gem of an orchid lost its
identity at a nursery so they sold it to me for
$20 & it was is full bloom with these gorgeous
4" flowers.

Now it has a great home hanging in the Simson Stopper
tree.  You can see the new orchid additions
mounted to the tree in the background.

As you know I started relocating my orchids
from their pots to the landscape.  I am sure
they will be so much happier & so will I, lol.

 

The Simpson Stopper, Myrcianthes fragrans, is in full bloom and smells super sweet! This multi-tasking tree is perfect for all Florida gardens. It's a hedge, a screen, shade tree, food & nectar supplier and never asks for much in return.

WOW!! I can't believe my Dragon fruit is blooming
and fruiting like crazy this year, must be all the rain!
This is the inside of the flower, super wild, with lots of
long hair like strands which attract the pollinator's.

Dragon fruit, pitaya, which desperately needs
to be put in the ground.  ok, so put this on this weekends to do list, hurricane pending ;)

Ms. Irene

Hurricane, hurricane go away and don't come back another day!  Nothing personal Ms. Irene :)

Rain, rain and more rain...yea!!!

Boy could we get any more rain!?! (rhetorical question, lol) cause it's Florida and of course we could, lol.  My orchids are absolutely loving this, big bonus since I have been taking them out of their pots and relocation them to the trees in our yard.  Will do a rain dance for those of you around the country in need of rain, esp the farms!!

Stay safe when out in this weather, check back with ya soon! :)

What's blooming in the yard today

Thank you God for rain, Florida sure does need it!  Almost everyday we are getting huge amounts of rain from the thunder storms here in Pompano Beach. Sure hope the dry parts of the country are getting rain like this too!  With the rain comes wonderful things.  The orchids are much happier and starting to bloom. The trees are blooming and berrying (lol), on top of growing new shoots.  The birds love eating the berries and are feeding their babies who in turn will eat these too (hopefully will scatter them in the neighborhood too, hee hee, we need some Fla natives in the hood).  Butterflies & bees everywhere!  Ok, more pictures less talkey :)

Light purple dendrobium blooms with a
large white cattleya flowers behind it.

My neighbor gave me this white cattleya orchid,
which was a rescue from a foreclosed home.   So sad
someone not only lost their home but their orchid collection too.

I have no idea where I got this super awesome
dendrobium orchid but I absolutely love it!
It reminds me of a blushing lady.

I attached the blushing lady dendrobium to
the Christmas palm in the front yard.

Overwhelmed is what I thought when I saw
my Firebush this morning. OMG, how huge!
I couldn't get even a quarter of it in the frame.
Bees are all over it, loving themselves in the flowers.

What in the world is this, you ask?  LOL
This is a Jamaican caper, a large native shrub
excellent with drought conditions & small yards.
The birds love eating the yummy insides of the seed pods.

You can see the brown seed pods hanging
in the background.  They look like small versions
of the Tamarind.  They pop open revealing a
bright red sticky inside with seeds.  The birds &
squirrels just gobble these up, not really
pleasant for humans though.

Jamaican Caper's are great additions to
everyone garden.  I purchased mine from my
most favorite place, Plant Creations in Homestead.
I wish they were closer cause I would be there all
the time, lol.

My Myrtle-of-the-River, Calyptranthes zuzygium,
is the closest to you with lime green new leaves.
Another great small tree to have in Florida
landscapes.  It had a slow start the first few years
but is definitely making up for it now!

"Which one is not like the other one, come
on and tell me which one..." anyone, anyone...Seseame Street jingle?  Anyway, this is a
Burana Beauty orchid, if you notice the bottom flower is still upside down. All orchid flowers grow upside down until they are ready to open, as they open they turn themselves 180 degrees right side up. Cool huh? This one just decided not to, lol.

Even my variegated amaryllis are blooming ;)

Started putting the orchids in the guava tree :))

Crinum lily blooming like crazy!  They clusters
of white flowers remind me of fireworks. These
plants are really easy to grow, but need lots of
room to spread out since they grow quickly.
Perfect plant for a beginner gardener!

Last night I saw a luna moth fluttering around the flowers.  The moths love the sweet gardenia like
smell the flowers have all day and night!

Right smack dap in the center of this picture is my
Bay Rum tree, Pimenta racemosa.  A very slow columnar (vertical)
growing small tree with heavily scented oils in the leaves, hence Bay leaf.
This tree is a must have for any yard, very low maintenance and beautiful structure!
I bought this tree in 2004 from Plant Creations along with my two Lignum Vitae's, Guaiacum sanctum,
both slow growers, and believe it or not they both have grown almost the same height.

The two Lignum Vitae's are in the middle of the picture.  The largest tree to the left behind the vitae's
is the Black Ironwood, Krugiodendron ferreum, again from my fav place Plant Creations. The Black Ironwood is one of my most favorite trees and recommend it to everyone. As you can tell it really likes it here, lol.  I believe it is my tallest tree in the landscape.  I most definitely have to get some better photos of the front yard after I get out there to clean up, lol.   There is a wild lime shrub, Zanthoxylum fagara, to the right behind the vitae's and the word wild definitely does this plant justice.  One of the hardest plant to keep under control, it grew alot larger than I expected.  The Swallowtail butterflies absolutely love it and it is a great shrub to have in a native landscape just watch the thorns. The wild lime is a native small tree/large shrub & is part of the citrus family.


Well hope I haven't bored you to yawn's but just a slice of my little garden heaven.  Things are always changing around here just like nature intends so keep checking back in for more updates.  I'm sure I will be blogging more than gardening right now cause it's so darn HOT!  Stay cool and keep hydrated! :)

Cree Indian Prophecy - a word to the wise big gov't & business

"Only after the last tree has been cut down.
Only after the last river has been poisoned.
Only after the last fish has been caught.
Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten."

…….Cree Indian Prophecy

A little Atlanta botanical orchid inspiration

So upon my return from Atlanta, I of course had a bolt of inspiration.  Using the Atlanta Botanical Garden conservatories as my muse, I have decided to....wait for it....move my hundreds of orchids from their pots into my landscape. Whew, yes I said it!  Never again will I buy another clay pot or mix medium or my #1 least favorite thing to do, never to repot another orchid again!  Ok, so the task sounds a bit daunting BUT (yes everyone I know has a big BUT) but, the reward of an exquisite landscape would be so awesome! Plus I could show my clients how they too can have low maintenance but gorgeous orchids in their landscapes.

So here are some of my potted orchids in my make shift orchid house.
I have quite a few of the larger baskets hanging in the trees plus I started moving
some of the easier smaller orchids onto the tree limbs already.  I just hope I have enough trees, lol.
Will post some pictures once they go into the trees.  Right now in the rainy season is a perfect time to transplant, since the dry hot windy weather can burn their roots & stress the plant.

Super gorgeous & sweet smelling orchid
from Philippines that I bought from
Mac's Orchids in Fort Lauderdale.
This rare orchid is Vanda Lamellata, 
 variation remediosae.

This is how large this orchid is, with multiple orchid
plants all in one basket.  The roots almost touch the ground
& it blooms 2-3 times a year with good rains. This is one of my top five favorites, thank you Mac!

Rhychovanda Colmarie 'Banjong'
This "to die for" orchid has been blooming
for almost 20 days now & still smells just
as delicious as the first day on the job
This one I purchased from Banjong Orchids
in Homestead, a wonderful place :)

Cute bambootie cattleya orchid just opened yesterday.
Unfortunately the tag has disinigrated over time so
another no name orchid, perfect orchid to move
to the trees!

Will keep everyone "posted" as to my inspirational adventure of transform an ordinary garden into an extraordinary landscape!  P.S. my boyfriend thinks I bit off more than I can chew, well will see about that! ;)http://www.facebook.com/macsorchids

Atlanta Botanical Gardens in August

"Hot'lanta" is most definitely the appropriate name for Atlanta today, as the average temperature has been in the mid 90's, humid and absolutely no cross breeze to cool down.  Even the shade is sweltering!  We stayed for just over an hour then headed back to the house for some down time inside with the kids.  Here are a few things happening at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens in August.

This gem of an alocasia is definitely on
my wish list. These were the highlights of
several free standing planters in the
canopy walk area.

One of my favorites every time I visit is this
"living wall" inside the conservatory.
They change the plants every month with
a new design.

Every where you look is just loaded with all
kinds of endangered & protected plants &
orchids from around the world.  These are orchids
growing on one of the tree trunks.

Anthiriums, orchids, moss, ferns, bromeliads,
& all kinds of temperate tropical plants.

Orchids with orange flowers growing on the
ground with moss all over the rocks.

Gorgeous starburst bloom growing from
the center of a bromeliad.

Unbelievable! The white cat whisker looking
things are actual flowers from this Habenaria
medusae orchid. So striking!

         

My niece loves the tropical rain forest turtle pond.

Orchids attached in the guava trees.

Tropical rain forest section of the conservatory.
So much to look at, every square millimeter is covered.

You can see how they start each orchid bunch
to tree limbs. The roots are wrapped in a ball
of sphagnum moss which is then tied
securely to the limb with either wire,
zip ties or nylon string.

Orchids, orchids everywhere!
Here they actually made their own type of
orchid totem poles.  In the center they crossed
two poles to make it look like falling trees.

Here is the opposite side of what I call the
"falling tree totems" LOL.  Being an orchid
and plant lover, I could spend hours in
this part of the botanical gardens.

Around each corner you turn is always something
wonderful to look at.  Especially when the lighting
shifts from cloudy to sunny.  What a nature
photographer paradise! 

This cutie patootie is actually a begonia.
I know it would be a daunting job but
it would be great if the more unusual
species of plants were tagged with names.

My niece just loves coming here.  Hopefully
she & her brother will have the love and
respect for nature as we do. What a great
way to pass knowledge onto the younger generations.

Sarracenia pitcher plants hidden in a
crevice between the mossy rocks.  These
are carnivorous plants that extract the juices
of small insects that get stuck in their pitchers.
Talk about nature's survivalists!

And so we come to an end of this visit of the
Atlanta Botanical Gardens.  Spring, fall & winter is such
a great time to visit this amazing place.  August was just
too hot to stay more that a few hours, but well worth it.
They even have orchids growing on the pergola! WOW!

Yes, yes, I know, I know, this is a gardening in South Florida blog, but believe it or not many plants in Florida can also be grown in Georgia.  Your local nurseries will have lots of cold hardy plants that have the feel of the tropics with out leaving the GA.!  

So go on and get dirty before winter gets here! :))