Oooh, love that one called Fireball Lily!!

Also known as Blood Lily. Scadoxus multiflorus.

Thats what I always called mine, but it does look just like a firecracker exploding.

Saw this as I was on my way out the door early this morning

Hetty, WOW, WOW, WOW ... that is one amazing cactus!!

Lots more buds too.

As predicted, there were another bunch of blooms out this morning. I managed to get this closeup.

I got one picture of bloom this year. Mine is barely struggling along, but it came from my MIL 'mother' plant, and I just want to keep it going.


Do I have something different

Yeah that is a different plant. Epiphyllum I think.

Just gorgeous, Hetty. You should post that pic to the database. I'll bet it smells divine, too??

I'm just back from a week in the Utah desert - yeah, right! It rained off and on every day I was there, and was cold! Down into the high 40's at night some nights. It feels so good to have short sleeves and short pants on again today, and to enjoy the sunlight.

Crazy 9ft. tall sunflowers. They're twice as tall as the seed packet said they should be . . . The flowers are about the size of my hand.

Lots of orchids on this big mounted Brassavola Yellow Bird - 5 stems in bloom and at least 5 more coming along.

Hetty, that is one gorgeous close up!

Pam, your orchid cactus looks like Hooker's Orchid Cactus (Epiphyllum hookeri)

Elaine, oh my goodness .... now that is some tall sunflowers and they are really beautiful as are all those blooms on Yellow Bird!

Elaine I love showy flowers so your sunflowers are pleasing to my eyes. That yellow orchid is beautiful

These are my night blooming cactus, I only have 2 blooms but worth the wait each time...I don't know the name of this one...it is long and skinny cactus but blooms are Palm size

My neighbor is having his Poinciana tree removed. Part of me is sad about the tree, but part of me is really happy to get the sun back on that side of my yard.
Also - if you had a tree that blooms spectacularly for two weeks out of the year, would you pick those two weeks to have it removed??

I guess maybe he's sick of cleaning up the flowers when they're done. This way the tree removal company does the clean-up for him.

I know, but then none of us would remove a Poinciana tree anyway, blooming or not.

Yeah, he is that kind of person....

I've probably told all of you this one before, but a wise lady from DG says "there are two kinds of gardeners, landscapers and collectors." Landscapers want everything perfect and tidy, and collectors are actually interested in growing the individual plants to their full beauty and potential, but less concerned with the overall look of the garden. I think most of us are on the "collector" side of that.

I have a little golden Vanda opening a spike today, and this one has never bloomed for me before!

on the Poinciana tree. I think they are as pretty as jacaranda trees.

That's beautiful Vanda! I might be a "collector" Ellaine I have a neighbor who is a "landscaper" and she is probably glad she is not my next door neighbor.

I removed a "dwarf" Poinciana tree at the beginning of the year; realized this wasn't going to remain a dwarf and there just isn't room for a large tree in that spot. I loved the blooms; I didn't mind the spent flowers; it was the seed pods and it seemed that a good number of them sprouted. It was constant work picking those things up.