Great job, Skylark. This is a very pleasing combination...I love it!

well, it's not mine, except for the pic. i can't post a title for the pic, only if i open a comment i'll be able to explain where i got it.
but most of my super sleek pics are from shows/bot gardens arranged by designers and super growers. but it's an example of what can be done.
when i'll have more space, i'll try to get the plants in the pics to grow myself. i have big plans for the future ;).
it was a special super exhibit at the bronx bot garden in 2012 - orchids. designed and arranged by patrick blanc (the green wall guy).
here's a link to official pics:
http://www.nybg.org/media/pres...
if you search on nybg site - you'll see many diff posts about it with even more pics.
like here you can see the same combo in a diff place and not so 'clean' - with other colors. i think the simpler version is much more striking
http://blogs.nybg.org/plant-ta...

Okay...thanks.

Here I was really envying your ability to grow Pink Lantern (Medinilla magnifica)! It is magnificent.

i live in a high-rise in z7b in a huge city not geared to growing plants :). and i manage to grow well over 100 plants + some corm/tuber/bulbs in summer on the balcony. i have some capricious tropicals, but my space and care are necessarily limited. i did not mean to mislead anybody, but i feel silly putting a disclaimer 'it's not mine!' as a comment for multi-pics. but may be i should :).
if you've seen my other DB pics - i do put 'bot garden' on most stuff that i don't grow myself. so you can prolly guess, what is mine and what is not. but there is always a 'plant list' to check when in doubt ;).
perhaps, florida is not so far away in my future and so medinilla might become a reality one day :).

Yeah. I toyed with the idea of maybe keeping one with the few tropicals I keep now over the winter, but I'm about maxed-out on that kind of space, too.

Thanks for sharing the picture.

my pleasure!

I was admiring this pic *again* (It's amazing!!!) & noticed the discussion. I also wish we could put comments on multi pics!

thanks, tiffany!
i actually went and asked dave about putting a comment on pics. but that apparently is not so simple. i know you like persian shield. the first time i saw it way back (20 years?) - i was so stunned by coloration.
it's not used that much for some reason in landscaping or gardens. or at least i don't see it somehow anywhere at all :(...

I DO love that plant, so much! That was probably about the same time I first saw it, about 20 yrs ago.

Medinilla, OTOH, I've only realized exists in the past year or 2. I saw on facebook that the only great mom'n'pop store I know of in this general area had some a while back, but I couldn't rationalize driving 2 hours over there just to buy one. When/if it's meant to be, it'll happen. :+)

Even a date &/or location would be great for MP's.

i suppose one can post a comment for multi-pic and indicate in the subject when and where it was taken - so you don't need to even open the post to see it. may be that's what i'll do next time.
i think it was at this particular exhibit that i first saw medinilla in full bloom. it still remains the best arrangement i've seen so far. even though now i see it almost in ev bot garden i go.

I was looking at photos for combo plants for persian shield and this picture just jumped out at me. And even more so, because I've finally been able to acquire a medinilla. I'm not sure which one it is, as I bought it out of bloom from a Philipine woman at a recent Farmer's Market plant sale. It could be M. Magnifica, or M. Cummingii (I'm happy with either). I was ecstatic, as it is in a 3 gal. pot is huge . I'd seen that plant in photos probably 20 years ago, and vowed to get my hands on one. I can see the combo working, as my Medilla was grown hard and is a bit leggy. My persian shield plants are small and should fit right between them. Then when the medinilla blooms, the stalks will bend between the strobilanthes. Thanks for sharing the photo and inspiration. Gardino's Nursery http://www.rareflora.com/ carries them if anyone is interested in purchasing one.

you know that they can grow into small trees ?

I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for that possibility.