Today's Moment of Zen...

   Today's Moment of Zen is brought to you by my backyard....hee hee...

Our place to have a Moment of Zen...and a glass of wine...
a new paver patio & new grill makes a gardening girl oh so happy!  :))

HAPPY GARDENING Y'ALL!!!

Best wishes,

Sheri

xoxo

White Indigo Berry Bush

     This is the first time our white indigo berry bush actually had, what I like to call "a full-bloom regalia", which was back in May.  Yes, yes...I know...how contradictory...white indigo (blue), huh, que es esto???  Well, when the berry matures the outside is snow white while the inside is dark as night.  The Native American Indians used to use this indigenous berry as an ink.  Not many folks have white indigo berry bushes in their landscapes and to top it off I have never seen them bloom like this...completely covered in the most super intense sweet smelling tiny white flowers.  Incredible how you could smell the bush from 20ft away!  It also hummed with bees all over it.

     The white indigo berry bush, randia aculeata, is a native to the Caribbean Islands, Florida, Mexico, South and Central America.  It's a slow growing, drought & hurricane tolerant evergreen that is a great privacy plant for residential landscaping.  It grows anywhere between 6 to 12 ft high.  The birds love to eat the berries as well as nest in the thicket of the bush.  Butterflies, moths & bees love the nectar from the blossoms and according to Green Deane, it's one of only a few white berries that are edible though not very tasty.  It's also used as a Christmas tree throughout Mexico and the Virgin Islands.

     Here are a few pictures of our bush in bloom, I'm guessing it's about 10ft high right now.

Our white indigo berry bush in bloom

It was very difficult to get a good photograph of it since it was so bright out with the white flowers.

I captured a honeybee in this photo :)

This photo shows you how big it's grown covered in white flowers dropping like snow.

This is what our white indigo berry bush looks like now in mid July.

Where there once were white sweet smelling tiny flowers, now there are gnarly looking brown leftovers.

Our white indigo berry bush today...now that I'm looking at it, it's probably taller than my previous estimate of 10 ft high, the wood fence is 6 ft high...where's my tape measure...lol!

HAPPY GARDENING, STAY HYDRATED and 

MANY BEST WISHES,

Sheri

xoxo

Fabulous Friday

Well, first of all it's Friday so today is fabulous already...

Secondly I spent the day with my handsome man Cyrus...

Cyrus helping me take pictures of the bromeliads in the afternoon sunlight :)

Third it was such a beautiful day today I couldn't help but be in stellar spirits all day so I went outside to take some photographs when the sun was an angle....

My 'Hot Rio Night' heliconia just starting to throw out an absolutely stunning colored bloom

Fourth but not the last, I get to hang out with my honey this weekend to work on some of our creative house projects we started a few weeks ago, lol.

No kidding when I say, "this is exactly how it looked" when I took the picture.  The sun was shining through the beauty berry bush right into the middle of the gloriosa lily flower.  Amazing!

HAPPY FABULOUS FRIDAY TO YOU AND YOURS!!!

Happy Gardening and best wishes,

Sheri

xoxo

Ruddy Daggerwing

   With all my butterfly knowledge and my butterfly "first's", last week Monday was my first Ruddy Daggerwing butterfly.  I know, I know...big whoop...weeeell it kinda is, so there, lol.  We were unloading the truck and my boyfriend says "look at that!"...and when he spots something I know it's usually a good one so I spun on my heels to see "it" and low and behold there the Ruddy Daggerwing was...

Side view of a Ruddy Daggerwing

Back side of the Ruddy Daggerwing's wings...who knew it's so spectacular until it opens up!

HAPPY GARDENING and BEST WISHES,

Sheri

xoxo

Bloomin' Bromeliad!

One of our bromeliad's showing off it's incredible bloom!!! 

Spectacular colors of dragon's eye green, citrine yellow, fuschia pink, violet & pansy purple!

Happy Gardending!

Best wishes,

Sheri

xoxo

- Insect of the week -

     Extra, extra...read all about it...never before seen bug at Burg house!  Some of my friends call me quirky but who else could get excited about a new insect literally right at my front door. Uh-hem....that would be meeee, hee hee!  My boyfriend & I returned home from watching the NBA playoffs at his brother's house and as we were walking up to the front door, he shouted, "watch out!"   Right there on the front porch was a.....I dunno...beetle of some kind with huge front pincers.  "WOW, oh my gosh...I have never seen one of those anywhere, especially right here in South Florida!"  I shouted right back..."hold on, watch it, make sure it doesn't go anywhere, I'm going to get the camera".   He, my boyfriend not the bug, gave me a quizzical look as I turned on my heel and sped off.   Dashing back with camera in hand, this is what I captured.

This unusual beetle was about 4 inches long
not including his antennae.  It was not happy that I
was snap/flash happy & was making a squeaking noise.

Believe when I say I am an insect lover & privately
boast that I know many species for a girl.  But this one
definitely has stumped me...anyone know what it is?
Could this be a new exotic species? 

Happy gardening & watch out for insects!

Best Wishes,

Sheri

xoxo

Quintessential Summer

What's your idea of a quintessential summer?

Some of mine are...

the smell of cucumbers being cut up in the kitchen for salad

the sound of lawn mowers & the smell of freshly cut grass in the hot breeze

packing an impromptu picnic & heading to the beach

pool parties with friends & family

laying in a backyard hammock to let my thoughts go

summer camp

a freshly cracked open watermelon

the warm salty air on your face when out on the boat

some good old fashion BBQ

rolling thunder storms with wicked lightening in the afternoons

catching up on a good read

road trips to new exciting places

the smell of coconut scented suntan oil while the sand crunched between my toes

Whatever your plans are this summer I truly hope you enjoy every moment!  Life is too short not to enjoy it!

Best wishes,

Sheri

xoxo