This flower wedgie has three eye witnesses.
The first most obvious one is obviously the perched brown anole lizard. Hopefully a bug or two
will have been enticed by this bloom and wandered in for closer inspection while the lizard gets the
prized meal, only after the bug gets a sip or a nibble before it to gets nibbled on.
Next eye witness, is it I or the camera's eye?
These fine lads are sporting two to three branches a piece since being planted from seed.
The makeshift squirrel guard helps keep the large seed from being foraged if that was
even a possibility, also a great deterrent from the squirrels from planting their own stash here
that can have a devastating effect for us constant gardeners.
Bottom of the pot wedges for air cooling effect,,,,,I hope, now that we are getting into
our Florida heat season. I must of been an engineer in another life...hehe.
Whenever I see one of these green anole lizards, perched on the end of this potted Clivia. Not
only are they a rare sighting in this yard but are now unofficially known as and now as our
Lizard of the Greens.
There sighting gives a me a thrill to see that they are still around and frolicking among us
constant gardeners.
Went out to check on my umm tree, not saying what it is. I don't want the squirrels to find out.
To my dismay, but not shocked to find said fruit gone. I still had hopes of finding it on the ground
close by. Had a squirrel find it, it may not know what to do with other than to sample it, perhaps.
Not knowing that we humans love these roasted and with a dash of salt.
Exhibit ' A ' and no banana for scale.
Inspired by my monumental find, I thought that I would set out and go on a mid Summer
fruit and nut expedition.
Starting at the center and spiraling counter clockwise of said collection, we have the conspicuous
red and black caped seed known as Abrus precatorius or Rosary Pea. The next colorful pale purple
fruit is from the Callicarpa americana or American Beautyberry. The pea sized pearly white fruit is
from the Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa or Red Rhipsalis Mistletoe Cactus. The one still attached to a branch
is a sacrificial acorn that is from a hybrid Live oak tree, genus Quercus.
Top and center is the fruit from our Podocarpus macrophyllus or Buddhist Pine. The mammoth of
bunch, is a cone from the Bald Cypress tree, aka Taxodium distichum. Not to be mistaken as a Pond
Bald Cypress,which like to the standard Bald Cypress tree does not need a pond to grow in.
Up this point, the mysterious smooth shelled fruit belongs to the genus, pretty sure that it is the
Macadamia integrifolia, smooth shelled....drum roll....psst, it's been revealed in the binomial linius
nomenclature and it's origins are from Australia and not from Hawaii as the Mauna Loa nut company
might want you to believe...and now for the reveal...
I have no doubt that this year's rainfall is above average. So far this far into the year and all my rain
barrels are topped out and manually filled to by yours truly. Did I mentioned That I have nine,
fifty-five gallon, food grade drum drum drum drum druuuuuuuuuuuuums.
potted succulents were just a wee little size, just over a week ago. Didn't want to waste the
opportunity to relocate them in order for them to thrive just like any other living thing.
All the while preserving the Originals to inhabit this choice potted spot and recovering in a
spot with less intense light, so that some cuttings that strategically placed can repair.
Interlopper free...yeah.
This the sunniest spot in the backyard and I hope you thrive and entertain us with your beauty,
but not without some of that over abundant rain water that this season has brought us. While
digging in this spot, it was dry as a bone.
Hauling over buckets of that wet stuff will be my
pleasure, indeed.
These Eggplant are a poppin.
These night time pics can sometimes capture some night creature snackin away on my
prizes veggies. There already has been the ubiquitous leaf miners that have done their
damage.
Yesterday as I pondered what do with this slowly diminishing, languishing, red leaf azalea plant.
While today's rain that gave a break in heat gave me a pause and the idea to make a rescue,
which brings us to this point.
Nothing much more traumatizing to a plant than to essentially be ripped from it's foundation and
then to be transplanted it to another foundation, we call a potted foundation. On top of that, this
specimen is not in the best of health either, but hey.
It's not like the plant can just walk to another spot, at least not yet. Perhaps in another million
or two years they will have evolved to this ability, but for now it will have to rely on this human to
do it's thing.
Rest and recovery along with some ....you got it.....time.
Rescue crater for reference.
This was severed from the parent plant and note the linear structure and you will get the idea why
this surgery was given the green light by me and if this plant could talk.
Perhaps this plant was thinking, I don't know what got into me, that strait shock of stems
just came out of no where.
Probably you just had some ancestral mutation that needed to manifest it's beauty, well, beauty
to some. I'm not a plant geneticist, but I might have played one on TV...
I take that severed limb, now that it has healed and scabbed and put it in a pot and watch it express
it's brilliance.
Surgery Two...what can I say, it was a busy day.
involunteer to donating some of it's limbs for propagation.
One them landed here in my orchid supporting tree. Although this cutting is a not an orchid,
I think it will be welcomed, if not by others, at least by me.
take hold of it's new surroundings with a little help with a frightfully bright and not a very
good camouflaged tie.
While some other cuttings went to a plant enthusiast with hopes of spreading the wealth of
plant material and the joys of gardening.
Surgery Three... Cosmetic surgery was required for this Euphorbic grotesque type cactus.
A week in and already jumbo sized leafs on the eggplant, which are unique to this variety.
Tomato plants not so much, however they caught a bad case of leaf minors , but not so much
for the eggplant, but hey, it's Summer and bugs do what bugs do they bug ya...ha!
This eggplant is a happy Summer camper that it's getting ready to flower and set some,
I hope delicious eggplant for this human to eat.
Tomato seeds from a last surviving tomato from my long standing, as in nearly four years,
Summer Sandwich tomato plant.
The Eggplant is, now listen to this, a type of Ichiban, without saying what variety it may
be. Sounds suspect, but hey, it's hard to come buy, an Ichiban eggplant. Needless to say, I
couldn't pass these up. The leaves look a bit different than the variety I had years ago.
Once again, time will tell.
Newly planted and you tell how much they have grown in less than two weeks.
It never hurts to keep a swatch of shade cloth for our beastly hot Florida summer sunshine days,
for the newbies. Tomato seedlings have had almost a week jump on the eggplant seedlings and
a couple of days with partial clouds to help welcoming these plantlets helped immensely.
Front and center and looking rather ragged and a bit dehydrated and is today's newly
enrolled at this vibrant community of first and second year attendees.
Looked over at my indoor props spot and it was time for this one to graduate.
Faster than you can say...break a branch.
It's outdoors with ...
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So who would be better to serve such an anointed task and with me as water
carrier and a with a gardener's eye.
What's in a name like monstera. This term is used quite a bit when giving a plant
it's newly assigned botanical name. Most times it's a reference to certain obvious
characteristic features, fitting for this family of plants, in this case, a bromeliad.
This bromeliad is given this descriptor for many obvious reasons.
Here are some photos of it's late stage if life of throwing up a fluorescence. Some would
say, huh? You mean flower? Yes, but in this family of plants they are known as fluorescence.
So here you are, a bromeliad with it's characteristic monstrous base, fluorescence height,
but but but, not the actual fluorescence it's self.
Exhibit A - Monstrous Base
Note the length of the fluorescence at about half it's soon to be it's note worthy
monstrous length. Looking down, with it's base, but a blur...hehe.
Exhibit B - Monstrous Fluorescence
Taller than me and I'm six foot tall, well used to be, time and gravity had it's way.
And then there is this...
Hey, being a sculptor, ya ya, a shameless plug, having one, let a lone two really viewable
aspects is a win win. So there you have it.
A Monstera beauty.
This yard going on thirty-three year plus, can still reveal it's wants and needs.
Take today for example, trimming up the fast growing greenery and low and behold
a contouring event takes place, photo two.
Early this year, photo one finds it's self in a contouring event and at the mercy of this
constant gardener's...hmm with a what can I do here with this shady and challenged spot.
Pondering these two fairly new grass vacancies now as I post them,
they could still use a little a bit of detailing.
So, what if there's a bit more trimming, that's one many these that goes along with
being a home owner and a gardener, let alone, that constant gardener.
