I had to google cat's claw vine, wow, what a monster! I'm sorry it killed your beautiful spirea. Were you able to eliminate the vine?

I don't think that there is such a thing as complete elimination of that monster. We have however been able to put a dent into it. Once it takes ahold of an area, it pops up everywhere. Our next door neighbors 'lawn' is full of it. You have to go deep to get the radish/potato tuber. My DH walks our yard with an eagle eye looking for the first hint of a vine starting. It truly is a pain in the arse!

Ha! Pollen & the cartoon. Uh yep, can relate. I started to take a photo of the paper towels I used to clean the glass table on the screened porch with this morning. Only 2 days worth of pollen because I had cleaned it 2 days prior. I looked at the paper towels & decided a photo of them would be just too gross to look at.

Loved the cartoon, Melanie. Despite taking Zyrtec, eye drops, and nose drops I come inside and it is not too long before I have a sneezing fit.

Jean.

Big improvement in the pollen count today, as we finally had some good rain. More to come later today, and still more tomorrow. Hope all the rest of you got some, too.

The rain in DeLand wasn't anything to write home about. Just sort of sprinkled but it did last for several hours. I was hoping for one of those gully washers so I could see if my repositioning of the splash blocks was correct or if I have to go back to the drawing board.

Figures.

We got a pretty good rain here in the Tampa area. I transplanted one of my Senna ligustrina and planted some Pentas so I was glad they got a good soaking. Still had a sneezing fit this morning while driving (yikes!) to Starbucks. I took an Allegra and I'm feeling better. I rotate between that and Zyrtec, but Allegra seems to be working a little better for me right now. FYI, I've had allergies since I was eight and have done a total of about nine years of allergy shots in my life. On my last skin test, the only things I didn't react to were rye grass and fleas!

Just to show off a bit, here's my Brugmansia from the other day. All my neighbors get to drive by this since I live on the corner. Aren't they lucky?

Gorgeous, Melanie. I do hope you risk another allergy attack when it's getting dark to go out there and smell the beautiful perfume from your Brug.

I went with a friend to see Selby's Orchid Festival yesterday. The orchids were magnificent, but I was most impressed with the broms they had mixed into the displays. This first one has orange calyxes and light blue buds coming.




Sorry about that last blurry photo, but you can see the neat colors, dark red with navy blue buds.

Then on the way back to the car, in a huge oak tree in the parking lot, there were two magnificent orchids blooming, plus a bunch of broms as well. I'm once more determined to establish some orchids in my oak trees . . .

Elaine, I was just talking to Mom this morning about how we need to get down to Selby because this is the last week of the Orchid Show.

The rain knocked most of my blooms off so I'll have to wait until the next flush of Brugmansia. My brother's friend was over here this weekend and let's just say, he likes "weeds". I jokingly, (I hope!) told my brother to make sure his friend stays away from my plant. Too many idiots try to get high off the flowers and end up killing themselves instead. I've read where some communities don't allow people to grow it at all. I actually have another Brug that a lady up the street gave to me in exchange for a cutting of mine. It's in a pot right now, and I'm trying to decide if I want to upgrade it to a larger pot or just plant it in the ground. But where?! I'm running out of room over here! Too many plants, not enough land.

Melanie! I killed my yellow one. I think it didn't like being in a full sun.

Elaine great pictures especially that last one with orchids blooming on the oak tree

Elaine, when I lived in Ft Lauderdale, I put my orchids in the oak trees. Someone told me to put them in nylon stockings until they could establish their own "root grab" to the trees. It worked pretty good, but I had to monitor them closely in the beginning as the squirrels were ripping the nylons up.

Can't do that here since we have freezes in the winter. They are all in my garden tub now. I think our last cold spell may be gone and the orchids are going out today. Now I tuck them into the boot jacks of a palm in the garden until late fall.

Went nursery shopping yesterday. Bought a bunch of plants to keep and some to share with my son's girlfriend at his house. She asked if I would help her over there. Always happy to garden, no matter where it's at.

I pulled a bunch of plants from the guest house yesterday and put them on the deck. 4 brugs I started this winter will go into the ground. Think I'll keep 2 and share the other two.

Funny about the brugs, most people (non gardeners) can't tell the difference between an angel trumpet and the devils trumpet (datura), much less understand the deadly risk of trying to get high on them.

Just given me second thoughts about sharing one with Tieah, she has her own kids and nieces and nephews around all the time, not to mention a herd of dogs. Better I be selfish, than sorry.

I hope you don't get the cold front we have moving through today, Molly. We are dropping 30 degrees and will be back into the upper 30's/low 40's beginning Saturday morning.

Ken, I'm hoping our weather liars are more on point for the next week. Lowest over the next week 58, highest 82. I am hopeful winter is over in my neck of the woods.

I love Brugs, such beautiful scented flowers. But you're right, Molly they are a danger to little kids. Before my grandkids visited last time I pruned all mine so they had no leaves or branches down within reach of a toddler. Little girl still found a leaf on the ground that I had to whisk away from her. I think next time they come here, I'll give the brugs a huge hair cut (which they don't mind) so they have no leaves that could possibly fall.

We lived in Utah for 20 years before coming here, and those white Datura grow wild in the southern deserts there. Stories every year about stupid teenagers poisoning themselves trying those seeds!

Yes, the weather is still a little bit unsettled, although the weather guy said this cold front will "stall" to the north of us. Not sure if that means you will get some cold and rain or not, up there in Florida's Tundra.

I brought in a few of my most tender orchids again last weekend, when the night temp went down into the 40's for just one night. I do think they're outside to stay now, though. I love the cool, dry nights for sleeping but we can't leave the windows open right now anyway because of the clouds of pollen from the oak trees.

@Mollymc, your latitude must be far more south than mine.

By the way, where is the "tundra" in Florida?

My wife is so hoarse she can barely talk. I had to close all the windows/doors in the solarium because of the oak pollen. She has become more and more sensitive to this over the years.

Ken I live about 25miles sw of gainesville near Bronson. I named it the Florida Tundra several years ago when we were having some excruciatingly cold Winters.

You are way south of me then. My favorite aunt and uncle lived in Alachua for well over 50 years before they passed away. I can remember visiting them back in the early 50's and there were nothing but citrus groves for miles in every direction. By the 80's, almost all of those groves had perished. Cold got them. I guess another sign of global warming, huh?