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! :)