Absolutely one of the best, easy care plants in my garden! Only thing I must remember to do is divide them pretty often. They are lusty growers.

The blooms are all too fleeting, but they do dependably bloom in the spring as well as fall, and the foliage is very nice.

You're right, David, similar size and shape to a Sanseveria leaf.

I have these variegated broms too and love them.

Beautiful pics, Elaine.

I took more plumeria than I could carry from a demo house last December. Let them "cure"for a day and put them in the ground. One so far has bloomed and the others look really good--all lived.In fact three have been moved AGAIN and look even better. Our soil here on the island is not really soil--more like a ground up road. I use horse manure, black cow and lots of potting soil.
I up to three volunteer stag horn ferns--they are popping up in the oddest places!
So are the rats.. Nuff said!

I pulled most of the weeds out front this AM. Where do they come from???

My Cereus (sp) has 2 buds!!!!! I'm so excited!!!!

With Fall just heading our way, I finally got my first blooms on my White Turks Cap. When I paid too much for a small cutting from a internet nursery, I was skeptical if it would even be white.

it was! I've been growing it through the Summer and cutting it back to make it bush so I made cuttings in several pots using 1 ea. red, pink, and the new white. All the pots took, and were marked as tri color, and my biggest fear later was, what if one of those cuttings in the same pot doesn't make it? I wouldn't know which was left. I should have marked each cutting.

My idea was and still is, that if these pots are planted as one bush, how fun it will be to have a big thick one with crossed branches creating a Turks Cap mosaic. The new multi-pots aren't blooming together yet, but I sat three single color pots tgether to check the future color combo. I love it!

Oh Q-Jean,

Congratulations on your first Cereus blooms forming! Mine are coming into bloom too. It will be fun sharing pic's!

I've never seen a white TC Hibiscus. Put that on my list also!!! My red 1 grew like crazy this year & I've been sharing babies with anyone who wants 1.

The tri-color Turk's Caps will be really pretty, David.

I'd be inclined to leave them in separate pots, though, in case one is much more vigorous than the others. Just push the 3 pots together to 'mix' them?

Great idea Elaine!

And the white ones do tend to open a dash more then the others too Jean. They are nice. I'm planning to use the multi color pots in the ground as a screen plant along one side of the back.

Good Morning everybody!

Heres a pretty picture of two colors of Hibiscus syriacus I took this morning. Have a great weekend!

With Fall just being around the corner it came to my mind that I should share some pictures of some areas going on around here now.

I spent a lot of time making the front attractive to me in this first 5 years, but the back has stayed more farmlike. I have been working the ground in areas and have renewed the planters soil mostly and and have starts for Fall/Winter started. I had fears of sharing the way things look now with all my mess,.......yet realize you would not be able to see future developments if I wasn't honest about the whereabouts here now! I call the backyard my "Outback".
:smily:

This little greenhouse will soon have the 10 tomato plants I always add to it on the front side, that will actually get through any surprise freezes of Winter. The front shade cloth comes off in a month or so.

The shallow raised planters now harbouring pots will be refurbished with fesh compost and a variety of lettuces and Swiss Chards which always do well in them from Fall to late Spring.

We've been farm-raising Blue Tilapia in that Intex above ground pool for four years now and the fish are well and delicious. I use the pool cleanings and water changes on the plants.

The Tilapia pool.

Mom gave the rabbit 25 years ago. She passed away a couple of years ago.



Mushroom compost getting ready to be used


I've got a few good bones going back here. Its up to me to further the progress...


The Girls live in the far back corner at night. They have the run of the yard during the day and have their favorite spots. They seem to know where not to tear up. Chickens are actually very smart birds...


From ragged now to picture perfect fabulous now, it would be great if other Florida gardeners would be willing to share their own pictures of whats going on in your gardens in longshot (not closeups of individual flowers or plants so much) as we move into Fall and through the winter and then int0 Spring 2014!

David, even your "farm like" area is breathtaking! So neat and well maintained! I could only wish that I had such a spot!

If I weren't so busy weeding and mulching I might actually sit on this bench!

Caught one of my guys napping on the job

I really admire the beauty and creativity in everyone's fall garden, happy September!

David and Dawn, lovely pictures. My yard is such a mess you can't hardly discern where walkways end and flower beds begin.

Maybe by January it will be presentable for some situation shots. Even my gravel driveways are almost solid weeds right now.

I took some pics the other day but the sun was too bright & the colors are washed out. I "promise" I'll get some, perhaps go out right now.
I think I have a pink Turks Cap in back. HUGE plant that was a mere stick this spring. He will definately be cut back after the blooms are gone. Of course all the buds on the tip-top ove the 7' spikes!!!!

David, I like how you did your shade cloth. I think I need to do something like that over my GH instead of moving it to shady spot in the summer. Another Fall project!!!!

Lower temps called for by mid-week & so looking forward to longer hours in the yard.

My tomato and carrot seedlings are still having to live in the a/c. Wish those nights would start to cool off soon!

Most of those are for the school garden where I volunteer, but the gourmet Japanese tomatoes, 'Momotaro' are for me. Yum!

I took the camera out ths AM. Having been having problems getting photos to upload w/out losing my entire post so hopefully will have luck.
My succlent garden


Pinks Turk Cap, and of course, no blooms today.



Contorted Mulberry & 4 O'Clocks


This garden had to be torn out 3 mo ago to replace the water line to my sprinkler. Think it looks better now than it did before,


Section of the bed in front of my house. David, recognize the DP? She sure has grown.


This is the area I call the "wilderness". Runs the width of the property behind both back structures & the fence. 120' in length & ~10' wide. So when I say the ground cover would have space to "roam" this is the space I refer to.

I'm happy you like my outback Tara! Thank you for seeing something in it. I feel very at home in it.

Thanks for sharing the pretty pic's Dawn. Your beautiful peaceful area reminds me so much of some secret garden areas in the back in development. Love the bench!

Its a good thing your doing teaching children to grow Elaine. Keep up the good work!

I was so happy to see your pictures Jean! You have done a lot in the short time you've lived there, and the Poincianna is amazing! How big its gotten! The shade cloth thing is easy to build and works well on the Southern side of my little greenhouse indeed. Your front beds remind me of mine 5 years ago before they got so full. Beware!

Heres a little tour from out front here today, September 15, 2013. Off we roll into Fall! for the cooler air!




























Keep Growing!

David - I want to put a chair in your yard, grab a good book, a cold drink ,and sit back & enjoy it all.

Then I want to get my shovel and start digging out stuff!!!!!