No Elaine, I've never been there. We have dl hybridizers close by us up here so they would be much easier to get to than going all the way down to Tampa which BTW, is waaaaaayyyyyyy too crowded for me to even want to get anywhere near.

I agree about Tampa, Ann, if we didn't have to fly out of TIA occasionally, we'd never go there either. Was thinking of the garden at Lk.Panasoffkee which is just west of 75 near Leesburg. But . . must admit I was thinking of Lakeland instead of Lake City, where you are. You really are "up north", there! So many cities with "Lake" in the name in FL. We have Lakewood Ranch down here, which has neither lake, nor woods, nor a ranch any more . . go figure!

Lin, you always have fabulous flowers and the coolest plants. That Lifesaver looks delicious! And bizarre.

NoID bromeliad in bloom, pretty shot of a Caladium 'Gingerland' leaf, fragrant Begonia Odorata alba, a very tall Costus against my big oak with the big staghorn in its 'hand'.

I like that caladium & begonia Elaine.

I know, Fl. has names that seem designed to confuse. Funny to see things 20-30 miles inland with names that make you think it's sitting right smack on the edge of the ocean. I guess that's how they dupe the yanks into buying.
Lake City actually has lots of lakes & ponds (natural), springs, streams & of course the Suwanee river. Yep, we're really north here --- just 35 miles from the Ga. state line.

Gorgeous blooms and varieties in your Fl Gardens. I'm trying to start a theme in my garden and will most likely be left with roses and plumerias, Epidendrum and crinums because I have full sun everywhere.

Here are my plumerias blooming in my Garden:

Divine (fragrant and miniature / compact), a prolific bloomer


Mini White (mild fragrance and miniature / compact), a prolific bloomer. This is a sister of Divine



Thumbelina (mild fragrance and miniature / compact), a prolific bloomer.




Dwarf Pink Singapore a true dwarf and fragrant:



Star WhitePlumeria





Just beautiful: Pink rose (no fragrance)

Elaine: Very pretty! Love the Begonia with it's dainty blooms; what's the fragrance like? I used to have a Bromeliad that looked just like the one in your photo and I have the 'Gingerland' Caladium, one of my favorites ... and I now have an identity of a plant that was taking over behind our shed at our rental property, courtesy of a neighbor - Costus! I never knew what it was, she told me it was a Ginger of some sort but I never did get an exact ID.

Gigi: Wow, Gorgeous blooming Plumeria! I had no idea there was a compact or miniature version. Does that mean the plant itself is small or is that in reference to the bloom? Lovely pink rose too!

Lin, that begonia has a very soft, light fragrance, but lots of it - only in the mornings though. Sometimes I'll come outside and the perfume will be wafting 40ft. down the pathway from where the plant is hanging. It's a vigorous grower and a prolific bloomer, too. I first saw it in Grand Cayman. They had planted it behind a low hedge, and in its sprawling nature, it had draped itself over the hedge so beautifully!

Lovely plummies, Gigi. The star-shaped ones are very elegant. I have one more plumeria just started to bloom, but I'm very disappointed in it, no fragrance!
Plumeria Pudica, nice glossy foliage with an interesting shape that doesn't get the rusty fungus, nice crisp white flowers. Another white begonia, same type.

Couple more Caladiums, Scarlet O'Hara is quite muted in color right now but I might move her to more light to see how that changes. Carolyn Wharton was a grab bag start from Costco. She gets a lot more pink and less green in more light.

Elaine, love the begonia. I must put it on my "wanted" list.

Lin, compact or miniature/dwarf version for plumerias means the plant itself is small you can keep it in a pot and they have short growth tips. So you can keep them in pots or ground for a few years at about 3 to 5 feet tall, which make it easy for you to enjoy the blooms. The branches may produces blooms even if they are only 2 to 3 inches long as opposed to the 1 to 3 feet long before they start blooming. All of the ones I posted are miniature/dwrf. Best Example is my Divine, when I purchased it last year from our Local Lowes, it had only 4 branches/4 tips 1 foot tall. This morning I counted 20 branches/tips with 7 inflos (or clusters of blooms) on a slightly over 2 feet tall plumeria....and it is not done blooming yet, I expect it to continue blooming through fall.

My Dwarf Pink Singapore's branches are so skinny that I had to put 3 plants in a 3 gallon pots to make them look full This variety is the slowest growing of all my plumerias. The one blooming right now though is a 3 tip dwarf not even a feet tall and in less than a galloon pot.

Here's my Divine Plumeria with the close up of 7 inflos:







Close up photo of the darkest bloom in the entire batch:

Thank you Elaine,,the star white is supposed to be semi-miniature too but I think I'm feeding it too much that it bloomed on 16 inches tall fat branch instead but the blooms are bigger too than when I purchased them last year. The fragrance is citrusy I think and it is my only star-shaped plumeria :).

Yes the Pudica has no fragrance, but the leaves and blooms are large and very showy. The Pink Pudica supposedly has a mild fragrance.

Jean, do you know MJ up there in Deland, who has horses and gives riding lessons? I've traded plant starts with her a couple of times and she has a start going of that white begonia. I'll bet she'd let you have a cutting.

Gigi, I am amazed that all those lovely flowers of yours are on dwarf plumerias! I may have to rush back to Lowe's and see if they have any 'Divine' left. Then, where oh where will I plant it??
\

Elaine it is soo easy to keep this in a small pot. I keep mine in pots but it needs 6 to 8 hours of full sun to bloom just like your big plummies.

That is such a beautiful "angel's trumpet" you have Elaine. Mine is similar color but not blooming yet.

dyzzypyxxy said:Jean, do you know MJ up there in Deland, who has horses and gives riding lessons? I've traded plant starts with her a couple of times and she has a start going of that white begonia. I'll bet she'd let you have a cutting.

I don't know her, but I know who you're talking about. Thanks for the tip. I'm not in DeLand right now, but when we get back there in the winter, I will look her up We bop back and forth during the summer, but we travel so much during that time it's hard to care for cuttings and such.

Elaine: That Brug is gorgeous!

Gigi: Wow, Plumeria 'Divine' is indeed ... Divine!!!

Yes Lin... Divine is super Divine.

It's raining in Florida, and all the Florida gardeners are cooped up indoors, getting all droopy and depressed!

I dashed out in a lull of the rain, caught one picture of a rose, then would you believe the battery in my camera died??

For any of you looking to either add some daylilys to your collection or get into daylilys for the first time; this is a GREAT deal! Michele has a stellar reputation for sending large, healthy, beautiful fans.
Read about it here:
The thread "DAYLILY seedling sale" in Classifieds and Group Buys forum

At least it stayed long enough to capture this beautiful rose bloom!

Elaine: What a beautiful Rose that is!

Ann: Thanks for that link ... I check out the Group Buys/Co-op/Classified forum all the time but must have missed this one! I'd never tried Daylilies until this year but the only ones I have are three packs of bulbs I bought from Wal-Mart ... I just might have to order a couple!

Hoya cumingiana (flowers have the fragrance of Cinnamon!) My one and only Echinacea 'Hot Summer' and Crocosmia/Montbretia:


This bed holds Lantana, Crocosmia, Pentas, Agapanthus ....

Love that Hoya!