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I've grown mine 5 years and it skipped blooming last year, but had 5" flowers this spring, so no complaints.

This is an Optimara hybrid # 713

This is an Optimara hybrid #790

Loquat trees are in full fruiting here in Louisiana. We love eating these, regardless of the trouble doing so. Being low calorie and full of nutrition, they are a great snack. Now being golden in color, they are more sweet than tart. I'm a fan of them as evergreens and the intoxicating fragrance of their flowers in late fall.

I ordered 3 plants of the PINK flowered ones in Dec. 2019 from typicaltoed on Etsy. They arrived 12-7-19 from Fla. as 8" nice healthy plants. I will repot each in gallon pots on my patio & hope for flowers Summer 2020. My red variety plants have done beautifully planted out in the yard here in zone 9 south Louisiana. They die back a little in freezes that are few here but send out new growth in March. They are beautiful & so tropical looking I just had to have the PINK ones, too.

My mother had a circle of these around a live oak in our yard for years. She called them Snowdrops. Last Feb. 2019, while tending to her in sickness, I saw them blooming for the 1st time in years. I now live over an hour away so don't usually visit in Feb. because it's a cold and wet time of year. Long story short, another Louisiana gardener I trade with every couple of years sent me 4 bulbs she called Summer Snowflakes in Feb. 2018. I put them in a pot so I could monitor when they bloom. Because they were moved, it's taken two years, but like my Mother's they are blooming in Feb. and I now know they are Snowflakes, not Snowdrops. They will always remind me of my Mother who passed away in March and of the place where I grew up.

You never know how you will obtain a plant you've desired! Recently Alana sent a daylily, which I planted in a gal. pot for now. Within a week some other kind of plant sprouted around the edges in a little soil that was around the daylily roots when it arrived. It is now 8" tall and looks like a mint but had a strange smell when I rubbed leaves. Before separating it and tossing it out, I took a picture and sent it to Alana to see if she could ID it. Wow, was I surprised: It is a 'Blue Butterflies' plant. I've tried from seeds I got from her in a swap, but they didn't sprout. Today I will carefully separate this perennial that should do well here in zone 9. I'd rather have a plant over seeds any day.

This produces the largest flower and foliage of all my daylilies here in zone 9. Here the foliage is hardy year around, and for several months sends out proliferations easily. It has never shown rust or bug problems in the years I've grown it. The flowers are literally the size of my outstretched hand and a rich, bright, cheddar-cheese color of gold. I intend to grow it as a row border plant in the future when I have enough of it.

I have 2 plants of this smaller variety of aloe. Both arrived about 4 years ago as 2" pups in a trade. One has stayed under 5" in a stemmed glass and the other has grown to 7" in a terracotta 8" pot in filtered sun on my SE exposure porch. I cover them with a washcloth when temps drop to 34 degrees and a frost is possible. If temps dip to 32, I bring them into my garage for a few days then back out on my porch where they are protected from north wind. Neither has sent out pups yet, but I hope they multiply.

I realized when I posted a current photo of my plant in bloom just now, that it was in bloom this same time last year. It is one of 2 smaller aloe varieties I grow. The other is 'Pink Blush'. I've had both about 4 years & they are under 6" across. They grow in pots where I have to water them once a week. About twice a year I add a weak solution of Miracle-gro. They have never sent out pups but I keep watching for some of these easy to grow little beauties.

These are the lightest brightest leaves on an African violet I have. They are a chartreuse green and really contrast well with the pretty pastel shades of the glistening purple flowers. I like that it is a smaller standard, staying within a 6" circle. I always have starter plants for trade or sale. My largest is in bloom at this time, 8-1-19.

I like this double flower but its anthers configure in the petal layers as random brown speck blemishes that are not attractive. I've seen the same thing in my double flowering 'Spotted Fever'. I'm sure it has something to do with the process of doubling petals. But not all doubles do this or at least they aren't obvious brown marks.

I've had this plant about 7 years and I love it. No bugs or diseases bother it. It blooms March thru Nov. in full sun here in zone 9. I do cover its large pot or bring it into my garage when temps dip to 35 degrees or less. I also take a few cuttings when temps are to drop from all my justicia varieties and root them in water over winter just not to lose them in extreme freezes. It can be started easily from seeds and cuttings. I have it available year round to be bought or traded if anyone wants a plant or 2.

I grew some in the ground and it spread with a vengeance. I put it in a large pot and thought I'd solved the issue. The next spring it came up all around the pot, so all I can think is those pretty flowers set seeds that dropped beyond the pot edge. I gave the pot and all the plantlets I could dig to someone that had an acre lot and wanted something that spread, attracted bees & butterflies, and was pretty. That's a good description of it, but I ended up using Roundup to get rid of it in my small yard.

This looks so different from the mirlitons / chayotes / vegetable pears we grow in south Louisiana. No stickers & a pale green lumpy outside are the variety native here. Many grow this vining plant that climbs trees, fences & sheds easily but needs rich soil as they are heavy feeders. They are cooked like potatoes or winter squash & even pickled as slices for adding to salads.

I have several & a dozen or so other succulents & they grow best in slightly sandy soil or regular potting soil with sand or even pea size gravel added. The key I've found is use shallow wide containers with a small bottom hole. Their roots are shallow & don't need more than 4" of depth. I've overwhelmed a few thru the years in regular 6" half gallon size pots & they just don't grow well. I've also learn to grow them under cover where they never get flooded by rain & soaked. Mine are on a metal baker's rack under a porch that gets morning sun & bright light all day. I water them with rain water collected in my rain barrel only feet away once a week. Every other month I put a smidgen of Miracle-gro fertilizer to 1/2 gal. of water & give them each 1/8 cup as one of their waterings. For several years they've thrived in this routine along with our humidity & fog of zone 9 south Louisiana.

This has been the easiest plant I've ever grown. It started 12 years ago as a small 6" cutting and grew in water for a couple of years. It's always been indoors and only gotten window light. About the 3rd year I potted it and it thrived is all I can say. I add indoor plant food 1-1-1 to my water about once a month and rotate it for symmetry. It prefers to dry out just a little between waterings. About once a year I clean the leaves with a soft rag with a tiny bit of mayonnaise. I've done that on several green plants for years after hearing that the ingredients nourish them as well as shine them up. It continues to put out new leaves, getting longer and longer, so it lives on a 3' plant stand, where it drapes so gracefully.

I started 'Lady Stanley' from cuttings traded a couple of years ago. I have two 18" plants now that are the pretty double pink like these shown here under 'Double Pink'. If someone has these, they could be that variety. It's worth a little study if you want a named variety, which I'm a stickler for.

My mother had about 5 plants she got as cuttings from a relative back in about 1965. After rooting and caring for them a couple of years, she planted the small plants between young pines she and my dad had planted a few years before. She passed away in March, and on a visit to the homestead before selling it I saw some pink flowers in the undergrowth of the now huge pines. I recognized a plant had survived all these years, even the last 10 of different yard men cutting grass haphazardly there after my dad's passing. I took about 7 cuttings. Four have rooted for me, so I'm thrilled to carry on this variety that trailed on the ground as 4' x 6' plants over 50 years as I grew up. I was young and never paid attention to their bloom time or cycle, but this survivor plant was in its spring glory in mid-April. When it blooms again, whether this year or next spring, I will post pictures in my mom's memory.

I made a new bed just for tall bearded Irises the Summer of 2016. I had to add sand to improve the drainage & ph but was ready to add plants by 2017. Ann M. in OK grows some beauties & she shared 6 varieties including 'Vibrations' with me in July 2017. They didn't bloom 2018 but put on some more fans so seem happy. I'll be watching for buds & blooms in 2019.