Melanie I love butterflies and dragonflies. I am not sure if they can get anything from plumerias and epidendrum orchids because that is mostly what's in my garden.

I mean in addition to weeds.

Last year I got a small Cigar plant. Put it just outside the sun porch. The Hummers are loving it.
My cat removed the "t" key from the keyboard. Makes typing difficult. So if there are t missing, you know why.

My Daylilies I acquired last Fall are putting on a wonderful show. Of course, all the tags faded away so all I know is I have pretty flowers!!!!

There you go teasing us again, Jean. How about some pictures? Even cell phone pictures are better than saying "I have pretty flowers" then not showing us. Like telling a kid you have yummy candy . . ..

I just do a tour in the morning or evening a few times a week with the camera.

Caladiums, Gailliardia and cat. I started the Gaillardia from seed, and it was supposed to be a soft rose and cream variety. Well, they just look like slightly faded regular ones, but I do like the all pale yellow.



I planted these sunflowers from seed, supposedly a 'decorative' variety that would top out at 4ft. Well, they're almost 4ft now, no sign of buds or branching . . . It's really fun to watch them 'follow the sun' as they're right out my window here.

Jean, yes ... we want pictures!

Elaine, Love the Caladiums and Gaillardia and oh my, the kitty is so beautiful! I planted some Gaillardia about 4 years ago, one called Arizona Sun, another named Oranges and Lemons and one just labeled Gaillardia. The one with no cultivar name still comes up each year but the other two are no more ... I think they weren't getting enough sun. I was outside around 6:30 this morning taking a few pic's; will have to get them downloaded from the camera to share.

You all are so demanding!!!!! I'll have to move some from the phone to the computer......

Today in my garden:

Agapanthus and ................................ a pot full of Aloe maculata plants that's been blooming for a couple of months


Spanish Needles (Bidens) are not one of my favorites because they are so prolific and difficult to yank unless you get them when they are still tiny ... but the Butterflies love them so that's a plus!


Beach Sunflowers ................................. Butterfly Bush 'Honeycomb' & 'Flutterby Petite Tutti Frutti Pink'


Caladiums (can't remember the name) Ouch! Thistle (Circium nuttallii) .......... Society Garlic


Daylilies, 'Hillbilly Heart' ...................... 'Midnight Raider' and ......................... 'Fire Coral'


Hibiscus and a Dragonfly perched on a Hibiscus bud


Blanketflowers (Gaillardia)

GigiPlumeria said:Melissa I love butterflies and dragonflies. I am not sure if they can get anything from plumerias and epidendrum orchids because that is mostly what's in my garden.

I mean in addition to weeds.

GiGi - Butterflies and Hummingbirds will use the Epidendrum ( Terrestrial variety) frequently ! At leas the more common dark yellow one. But I've seen them on my purple and red ones also.

Yes the Butterflies and Dragonflies do love the weeds..I just like to call them Wildflowers.

Great pics Elaine and Lin. I've got a couple of Daylilies blooming also. All pretty generic, but one is a Butterscotch color and pretty good size bloom.

I have pics I need to get uploaded too...........but just got home from Mother's Day dinner and tired out. So hopefully tomorrow.

FYI, I'm still Melanie, not Melissa.

Oops I apologize Melanie, I edited my previous comment.

Elaine and Lin beautiful pics, I'm hoping to upload more pics tonight. You two have a good variety of blooms. Lin the Hoyas are pretty!

MJ great info about epidendrum. I only have the common Orange variety but I have 3 pots of them. I just love how epidendrum blooms look. I agree about the pretty blooms of some wildflowers. I remember having my husband stop by at the side of the "not busy" road to dig up some wild flowers (the pink ones you see carpet FL highways). I was going to replant them but they did not survive.

Well, I haven't been in my yard much but I did go to the Tampa Rose Society show at Citrus Park Mall. If you want to go on a virtual tour, check out my thread: The thread "A Virtual Visit to the Tampa Rose Society Show" in Roses forum

I clicked that link Melanie and truly beautiful rose blooms.

Here are a few blooming in my garden:

Epidendrum more blooms:



Divine Plumeria




Aussie Pink Plumeria



Red Adenium (Desert Rose)

Very nice Gigi ... Love that Plumeria!

Thanks Lin, they are great host for my Dendrobiums.

I enjoy the Plumeria bloom photo's too. I don't try to grow them anymore, but still think they are really pretty.

The Gloriosa lilies are all up in the trees already.




This old fashioned tall red Penta is a favorite for the Butterflies and Hummer's as well as me too !





NOID Rose of Sharon, best it's ever done for me. Probably because of the early rains we had. I really need to move it to where I can water it more when we don't get the rain. It's out by the front fenceline which is pretty far to water without dragging out 100 feet of hose...

Wow, really beautiful MJ! The Gloriosa's are amazing! I have a couple that still sprout up in a container each year but they don't do much at all anymore ... when we move next year I'm going to put them in the ground at the new house and maybe they will take off. I used to have a large bed of the tall red Pentas but lost them a couple of years ago when we dug out a long line of hedges and stuff in the area; the Pentas had to be moved too so I transplanted them to another area in the yard and they were doing really well until the dog trampled them. That Alcea is really lovely!

Yes, I tell everyone Pentas are one of the best nectar plants. And the butterflies tend to prefer them in the red, pink, and purple varieties. Plus, they're a host plant for the Tersa Sphinx Moth which is a super cool caterpillar.

Pentas are my all time favorite perennial; Butterflies and Hummingbirds love them! These photos are from last year and year before last:

I only wish Pentas were perennial here! They are simply lovely. Here the Better Nurseries do carry them but they only last till the winter. Stunning flowers!

When we have extremely harsh ( for Fla.) winters, they will die but when we have mild winters they do just fine. I have a dwarf pink and a dwarf red that have survived the past three winters.

Gorgeous, Lin! My pentas vary year-to-year. I usually lose about half of them in an average winter. But I don't bother to cover them; they would probably last if I covered them. They're so cheap, though. I can just replace them and that way if I want more of one color or another, I can mix them up each year.