I have Three

 witnesses to a great down pour of that wet stuff that has eluded us here in central,

if I remember right I think it's called, rain?  No that can't be it, it's been so long, but

I have three newbies to the scene and listen to what they have to say *wink wink*

   Yeah I saw it, sure beats that stored crap you drench us with.

-Huh?

   It was refreshing... -So you would rather have that city water that I give you in cases like this 

current extended dry season?       That city water always gives me a root ache.

   

                          First time seeing that good stuff fall from the skies.

   -Hey did anyone tell you that you all look the same?  ...We get that all the time, what really grates 

me is when someone would say, hey aren't you a, place any other flower name here.

    While these orchids show off their colors and enjoyed this rather loudly unannounced except with 

some really good boomers and lightening flashes, if not more than I, as I went about my duties collecting 

this wet stuff for the privileged of a few to get the next best thing to fresh.

Well It's Been

 eight days since these seeds have been planted, eleven seeds to exact and only five made an 

appearance and what performance too. 

   Dramatic emergence requires a dramatic capture, as in if were even possible to take a 

cinematic, dramatic, make them weep with inspiration...you get the picture and if it doesn't

match what I'm about to show you, well then I did my task at hand.

 

 

   This one in the forefront is the conjurer, perhaps a soft spotlight would fill in for those

with less imagination. Not me, I even have the makings for a film score running through my

head as I post this. Oh and a movie on my big screen that I've been pausing to make it last longer 

that to has all the above, including two luminous actors in their youths, relatively speaking of course.

 

 

   This one really needs no words.....Ok...cut, that's a wrap. Be prepared to do this all over again

for tomorrows shoot and get a good rest, great job.

As In All

 living beings, plants included at their near end of life, such as this Ceres blossom.

   With a remote possibility that this spent blossom could still be continuing life in 

the form of developing new life in the form of life continuum in what we call seeds.

 

    Not only is this spent blossom been roasted, but looking a bit toasted compliments to our

Florida sun.  While the blossom still maintains a tight grip to the parent plant to it's seed  

developing chamber, if you will, assuming that is, that my attempt with an assist as artificial 

pollinator were successful and yet still to early to tell.

Slow But Sure

 this this um bromeliad, what seems to be taking it's time expressing it's final days with a 

flourish of wow. 

  Ok, Bro can we get one more shot with a profile?

    Great shot...take a break.

Ok, Your Turn

 rooted Dragon.   No pressure.

   

   Not only is this my first rooted Dragon, but easily accessible and also has a small squad of

hornets attending to this prized blossomed, as to what these hornets attending to or for what only

 a hornet will tell. 

   In passing to and from this garden spectacle I was nearly blindsided by this flowering spectacle.

    Nothing like some cool colored hues to cool the mind and soul.

Last Amaryllias' Standing

 this one, a representative of the ones growing in and around a circle in the backyard.

   

  Don't be fooled by the bud showing to the left that became victim and a meal or two by some

unknown lone or gang of large slug or slugs. Fortunately for the rest there haven't been many 

sightings,or aftermath sightings of slug carnage.

    The front runners for said designation belong to two, One being a double header like the one above

and the other with the more typical quad header with one of them already spent.

                                       Shine on oh beautiful one, shine on.

                  

    This one already looks like it' wearing a crown of some origin and Bravo to you both

and won't require a photo finish and will get an extra drink of citified water for your efforts with 

hopes this extra sip won't attract the slugs.  Such is life in this Florida garden.

In Less Than

 four days, we have some sprouting seedlings from a Birdsnest Anthurium.

   So far two seedlings are rearing their heads above the scant of soil that was on top of them.

This maybe like counting your proverbial chickens before they hatch, but then there you go.

  Next day I notice a musty smell so I took off the plastic wrap to let them get a blast of fresh air

and some more spritzing of diluted fertilizer and will keep a closer eye on these pups.

Just Before The Last Darkness

 a clear indication of the wonder that is about to unfold....

    Not unlike a Baleen Whale about to breach the ocean waves. We have our own expectations whether

a gardener or not, no matter the age. This sense of anticipation still colors what's to come.

Now while in the darkness I turn my head to seek out where this bloom would be and greeted with

a faint ghost like appearance that needs some illumination. 

  

    A diminutive profile in comparison to one of my many blossoms from it's cousin Dragon

cousin.  While too early for some fragrance while it's pollen gets ready and it's pistol is neither

ready to receive said pollen and whether it will be able to process it's own pollen as a self pollinator

will be days off.

   Several hours and photo shoots later, a fragrance that can be sampled by this gardener is not as spicy

as the the Dragon's but more smooth, if you will. I will make an attempt to be that pollinator  

impersonating said pollinator with an artist's paintbrush.

    

   The pollen won't be be as plentiful nor as swollen as the next batch, but hey, this pollinator is only

using it's own nonpollinating instincts. 

   This perhaps the the third if not the fourth attempt to create what nature does naturally. 

    Fragrance is diminishing or perhaps the our breezes are doing their best to spread the news.

    Some different perspectives, to give you an other insect's view, or even maybe a bat's, if they

only were out this late.

 

   

 Shortly after first lightness this Ceres looks like it's bit weary from it's evolutionary process

that we humans may take for granted or don't even give notice.  Having been prodded and flashed

at with daylight producing burst of light or just, well finished with just another day in the life of a

Ceres cacti.

   We know about the darkness's makeup of subtle lighting and now into the morning's harsh

reality that judges every flaw and the reality of it all and yet still an aged beauty at most.

   Lets close shop, sort of speak and now just wait to see what next may appear.

 

 

Are You Ceres

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                   

  

   As this first time bloomer orientate it's self to what, the moon? Trying to compete with our 

celestial orbiter will be a tough one to beat, but shine on baby.

No surprises here, as this dragon appears to be developing quite well inspite of our continuous

dry

season that

lingers on and on.

   Hey, your not Ceres, perhaps only seriously beautiful and showing us how it's done.

See The Flow

 

This finished reimaging of this zone of Evergreen Giant Liriopi, aka as a monoculture was something

I thought of a couple times, most recently. Yesterday while putting out some yard trash at the curb for

the next day's pickup I spied this clump of Liriopi above and saw the shape and knew that it needed

to be refined and rerepresented as my next garden conquest, if you will. Inspite of the near nineties

temperatures, this inspiration was enough to motivate me and dive right in.

  Not unlike some water born sea grass that flowed with the guiding crystal clear waters was the image

in my head and is what you see now.

   The results is the garden magic that is captured with our ever present cameras on our phones.

  More defined that flows with a calming deep green not always seen in our Florida sunified landscape.

 

 These specimens now get their focus spot lighted attention that gives them a whole new emphasis.

Oh, yeah the untouched patch just beyond this area will be my next project, only if it gives me the

go ahead in that inspiring headsup that this constant gardener is most sensitive to.

 

   Looking back and enjoying the refresh imaging of this unique garden space.  Feel the flow.

Time To Try My

 hand at sprouting some Birdsnest Anthurium seeds.

  
     Gathered some fruiting bodies from the parent plant, actually gather all that were

available just so they won't go rough.

 

 

  No these are not the next generation of super fruits that get touted every few years. Yes they

are from the tropics and to me quite exotic.

    Most but not all fruits bared two seeds. These seeds look to me like immature pine nuts

and it will have to be some other unsuspecting risk adverse human to tell us if not only if 

these are edible but also survived to us about it.

   Using my always available and favorite Talenti container and adding some sand at the

bottom along with a new soil mix and some spritzes of water with  plant food.

Cover the seeds with some soil and clear wrap and label and date this adventure and 

place in a known and a successful sprouting zone, with no guarantees. Where's the fun in that.

 To the left is my first tomato of the season, third generation fruit from a favorite plant that

as done well in our unforgiving Florida sun and it tastes great to.

  Under the dome of another Talenti container is a recovering mini miseltoe cactus that is

still quite fragile. 

  The peacock of a plant, spiral ginger had some scorched leaves and who wants so see that

in their garden so it got picked otherwise it would have remained outside where most plants

belong, in my opinion.

   Now just wait as a would a child with unlimited curiosity and amazement to see if these 

seeds will do what most seeds do and bring forth a new life.

This This This

 

flaming necked dragon who's other life is a Birdsnest Anthurium. 

                           @@@@  I've never seen a spellcheck worse than Bloggers  @@@@

    This constant gardener will make an attempt to see if I can get some of the fruit and extract

some seed to sprout some more dragons, I mean anthuriums or as my first observation, wood peter.

My Once Tall

 Ceres cactus bloom is slowly making it's blooming welter weight class.

      Today's progress, getting some length to make clearance from the mothership,

apologize for the mix metaphor, couldn't help myself.

 

Another First

 for this gardener. The first cutting of a dragon fruit took several seasons to bare a flower. When

this second generation next generation cutting bares one in it's second season. This could also

be possible due to the fact this one is growing from a potted medium instead of free balling

it attached to a tree.

    

    First time this flower bud is presenting itself. I wonder if it's in competition with it's cousin 

, my once was tall Ceres cactus that it to is pushing out it's first bloom.

 

 
    Two days later and in this stage there is always the possibility of it being aborted due to a

mechanism that has evolved over a millennia of time.

    This dragon is sharing it's roots with a Brown Turkey fig tree that I planted in my grandmother's

garden years ago only to find out they prefer a lime mix and so a potted environment allows me

to provide a more controlled base medium. This location for this fig gives me a better chance of

getting to sample some of it's fruit before the other urban creatures get their share

Genuine Hawaiian

 pineapple plants people. Just scored these plants from my long time neighbor, to the back

of my yard.  These plants came all the way from Hawaii via his his granddaughter.

 

 

             Giving these beauties the full welcoming 'tall urn treatment', more on this later.  

There will be plenty misting with my favorite orchid fertilizer with lots of trace micronutrients 

too.  My apologies ahead of time if there isn't enough full sun and it will be a wait and see, but I'm 

these will do their best with what's given.

    With a pineapple in development already, this fruiting body it the part that most gardeners

wait with anticipation and a lot times never happen.

    My neighbor relayed to me that the something gets it's first bite or two or four out of these 

pineapples before we humans do, another reason for the urn.  Hopefully this urn will discourage 

the free sampling. Florida is not without it's well known and seen pests and I will no doubt add 

another one possibly sooner than later.

    In the interim, I'm opting out by not adding soil to this urn and I know what it will be because

there's a pile of it, just collected sometime back and waiting for it's purpose. I will only comment 

if it goes well.  It's something other than soil and it will help to stabilize these plants in this urn 

and help keep them from getting tossed around by our phantom Spring gusts. You know the ole

in like a lion and out like a lamb first grade Spring analogy became a well spent learning 

lesson that still resonates with me.

 

 

 

This Rare

 appearance of this green goddess, once again brings me some good garden luck.

Next post is the good garden luck, post sighting of this greenie.

My Once Tall

 cactus is not wasting anytime putting on some new sprout.

     As it is now and in cactus years, about five years old and a few more earlier stages of

growth spurts.

 

 This once tall cactus that had to be trimmed down again do to a unforeseen obstacle in the ground 

and there was no work around, other than just take a bit more of the base of the existing cutting and 

just put that in the ground and you won't have to dig to deep either and low and

behold...

 Short stuff here is showing off with less mass and resources and pushing two little munchkins. 

The one on the right appears to be first born, again in cactus years I will give the one on the right

two and it's sibling on the left about eight months, a youngin.

 

   Now for the surprise, drum roll, sound the trumpets. Not only a first time bloom for this cactus 

since it was under three feet and perhaps due to the trauma and it's anticipation of the end is near. 

     Let's try plan 'B' and push out a bloom.

   This is from the day of discovery about a three days ago and here is one from today.

   

I will have to investigate to see if there might some other blooms. It easy to just stay distracted

on it's novelty, not realizing there could be others. Just got back taking a peek to see if lightning

strikes twice, not this time.