Gibby's ghost

The increasing shortness of the coming winter days has cut sharply into my time on the terrace, however my pruning shears found time to cut sharply into the solanum macranthum yesterday. I think they must get some sadistic pleasure in cutting back so hard. The potato tree demands great respect when handling as it's barbs are serious and will pierce if given a chance. I cut the trunk(s) into 6-8" pieces. I want to dry them and try planting them as a plumeria.. I haven't heard of that being best practices for propagating but I wasn't able to find much info at all about growing the potato from cuttings. I have grown it before from cuttings, though it seemed to take quite a while to plant.

Finally had time to water everyone in deeply. Fertilized with fish emulsion the orange, bamboo, jasmine and one of the macho ferns.The wonderful philodendron that J Durko had yanked off a tree and gave me, has been getting burned in the winter sun (which stares straight at us now that it is lower in the southern sky). I gave it a few months to see if it was simply getting acclimated but it's clear they are understory plants that probably perform in slightly shadowed light. I would like to empty a large pot that I had a large plumeria in and plant the climbing philo and some wart fern and put it under the portico roof, as was done with the night blooming cereus. Perhaps it would grow up the wall and onto ceiling? or it may take to having it's top cut and sending up other shoots that would spread out over the wall. Too much work to do that today. We have a 4 day holiday weekend coming up, maybe that will inspire me.

Visualize world peace and a botanic garden for Broward County-- specifically, visualize the botanic garden being on the piece of land where Gibby's steak house used to be. You needn't have gone there for the visualization to be effective. Though they had THE BEST fresh bread, cesar salad with an overpowering amount of garlic and anchovies (yum) meat was good, but the strawberry shortcake was unbelievable, and they gave you a nice big piece. It was an old school steak house. Now, it would make the perfect spot for a public garden, canopied with tropical hardwoods, understoried with ferns, begonias, philodendrons, orchids, palms.  Of course, I will be dead by the time it is fully grown in but what a nice bit of love to leave behind. Visualize the garden please.