CPSM

Finally got out and did some watering. The past week has been cool (50's) and dry. By today there was noticeable wilt in several pots. The orchids have been neglected-- to my defense there had been some cold, wet days a week or so which I hoped hydrated them enough.. Bonsai, sea grapes and bougainvillea the biggest bang for the buck as I'm tired of studying for the 1st of 3 exams for Supply Management. Like I said I went out and watered-- the bird of paradise, the burle marx, colusia, bougs, begonias. I'll give them another gentle watering in tomorrow. I need to find someone to clean the terrace floor once a month. I'm too tired. The cane begonia is acclimating to it's cozy spot next to the colusia and is doing what a happy cane can do, beautiful pinkish red racemes hanging down from silver highlighted jagged leaves.

colusia n' cane

Thanks.

Two and a half weeks (and some nights) straight through at the office finally over. Ridiculous. 

I guess I should be grateful to have a job. The bird of paradise are growing in, new growth has emerged. Really looking forward to the controlled, tropical structure of the orange bird. The jack fruit threaded through the handrail as a curiosity has become a gaggle of heavy, green arms with short piercing needles down their sides, their very strong growth is cause for alarm. The longest arm is 4' - 5' from the neighbors below. I've been neglecting the orchids, only wet weather keeping them hydrated. My chicken wire orchid tower is a success holding vandas and teretes tight -- the bark filling keeps roots inside hydrated.

 (see below)

The half- ass gardener

I bought a gallon pot of orange bird-of-paradise for 14.95 at Living Color nursery- seems awfully cheap to me.(I hope they don't turn out to be white which would be a VERY inappropriate choice). There were 3 nice plants coming up in the gallon container. I finally got around to planting today, which I did rather sloppily; separate the plants by splitting apart snake-like roots from one another. It hurt me probably more than the plants. 2 birds into large square planters, one per, already crammed with wart fern red bougainvillea and sanchezia. I watered in well. The desire to live is very strong in plants. They will probably out grow the pot in a few years. The 3rd replaced a tall (too) leggy plumeria in a large rectangular planter one half of which is overflowing with burle marx. Below is a 'Pixie' bloomer with small, double magenta bracts. A charming type of boug for a bonsai.. Remember imaginary readers, that beautiful bonsai was purchased at Richard Lyons Nursery.. I think I paid $50, great deal for that thick trunk.

First bloom after getting the bonsai chop-chop. Slow raining Saturday does not get this wizened old boy down. 

Sharp sunlight

The sun is moving toward its southernmost position (12/21/2014). This south facing terrace is more exposed and is getting spanked by stiff, bright sun which can be withering. Watering every two days absolutely necessary. The bonsai bougainvillea suffer. I thought they'd like their new spartan, root-bound homes. Only so much. I should have used more of the water absorbing polymers when mixing the potting soil-- it's tricky down here using that however, as we have 5-6 months of heavy rain for part of the year during which time, the roots need to dry and breathe. Can't overwater in the cool of winter.. I need to retire and just sit in the garden and do the needful.

Candy darlings!

Yes sir, ruby red. 

I've been looking for some dead-on-red bougainvillea for a while. Today, I stumbled onto a few gallons at Living Color Nursery on Griffin Road. $14.95 per. I need to research the specific species from which reds are descendant.

Looking West over the middle handrail. Coral and yellow bougainvillea behind column. Jack Fruit and Bleeding Heart in foreground.  I think I'll throw one of the reds over the center rail. 

Please turn to page 176 of The Golden Age of American Gardens, Mac Griswold and Eleanor Wellor. Addison Mizner's Palm Beach garden for Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Kay takes my breath away. BTW, This is a must have book for every gardener's library. You can pick one up for cheap on Amazon. 406 pages of exquisite gardens-- Joan Didion wrote respectful review in the NY Times, of course Joan got it right-  it is indeed a most beautiful reflection of this period of our country. 

Bougie bower

 a throw of purple bougie over the sliders-- in training for a nice arbor.  I'll post progress.

Several weeks later--weather is cooling the purple bougie is starting to sing

Pretty little nameless orphan $10 from nearby nursery -- supposed to have a pretty red spray of flowers

Likes the sun but what really excites is the growing availability of TREE BRANCHES to hang on

I've been a little surprised with some black soot that's appeared on the Sea Grape. I had to scrub a few leafs off.  Also, aphids (some sort of sucker) LOVE the new born leaves.

The gardenia was absolutely overcome with soot 4 or so weeks ago. I cut back severely trying to clear all signs of soot. A month or so later, she is a ball of shiny green leaves. 

Soot is tricky. It can be washed off though that is a pain in the ass. The leaves will survive if cleaned. Left too long, it will destroy the plant. Probably because photosynthesis becomes impossible? This is one of my famous S.W.A.G.'s (scientific wild ass guesses). Same with the suckers. If sprayed with a little soap, new Sea Grape leaves mature - though sometimes with some puckering. Actually, the Sea Grape is pretty scrappy and can outgrow the suckers. Other types of shrubs on the terrace, e.g., the croton, gardenia need to have the insects removed.. systemic anti pest works well. 

Along came autumn

Celebrating the autumnal equinox today. The temperature, although early in the year to change, has bent lower for the past several days. There is a sweet ocean breeze blowing today.

Oh dear. The price, size and health of these canes made them irresistable. The problem--neither colusia nor seagrapes offer enough shelter for these two quarts. Impulse buying can lead to sorry endings.

$15 bucks a quart (2 here). Great deal. 

Beautiful leaves and flowers; canes are elegant begonias

I'm a fool for you baby

Having coffee and rolls with a loved one at the 'Alchemist' coffee shop today. There is a small rather homey nursery adjacent -- which has a good selection of begonias for it's size. There were two b 'Lana' (?) superba type canes, 36" high with some beautiful pink clusters of flowers. I bought one for $15 dollars, the nurseryman 'accidently' rang up two, had to buy both. I'll post a portrait of the pair tomorrow.

Until then;

Of Mere Being

The palm at the end of the mind,
Beyond the last thought, rises
In the bronze distance.

A gold-feathered bird
Sings in the palm, without human meaning,
Without human feeling, a foreign song.

You know then that it is not the reason
That makes us happy or unhappy.
The bird sings. Its feathers shine.

The palm stands on the edge of space.
The wind moves slowly in the branches.
The bird’s fire-fangled feathers dangle down.

~Wallace Stevens, 1954~

Perfection.

Sunday dinner

reckless handfuls of Alaska All Purpose kelp all around to liven up tired soil. Watered in well of course.. by.. my...new..purple WATER RIGHT Extra Light Garden Hose. Fab-u-lous.

Talk to me my love(s)

The vellum kept green this am by 99% humidity

Bending up to face the sun

Only flowers on a drooping bough

Hylocereus undatus

If it's happy and shows it, you better tie her securely to something

I clipped the top at a joint. Planted in rich soil a number of fingers are sprouting.  I'm guessing gravity will pull them -- hopefully to flower and fruit.

10/4/2014- gravity and a gentle nudge sent these stalks hanging low. It seems that once this one gets going she gets going. A little research suggests that pollination (by hand?) is necessary for the fruit to set. 

Morikami Garden (Delray Beach, FL) UPDATE

I posted earlier that I had been disappointed with Morikami garden. Reviewing my pictures of that visit of bonsai and Japanese buildings of the former pineapple landowner certainly warrant a visit.



Cool cover of green for an already hot midday at the end of August

Tree dates from 1930, bonsai'd in '76. 

sweet n' gnarly

 

I am a fool for the windswept romance of an evergreen bonsai however. Well done here.

26.1822° N, 80.1334° W

The past week and a half have been very sunny and humid without cooling (hydrating) rain. Wart fern fronds are getting seared. Creeping fig is getting burned on the wall. I've begun 'double-watering'. Dump a few liters on a large pot as much as possible without flooding the neighbors. Then, come back in 15 or 20 mins and bathe with less water but enough to keep the roots wet and able to absorb a drink. My mornings begin with coffee and the 3 gal orchid sprayer. Vandas, schomburgkia, dendrobes, everybody needs a morning shower. The v. tessellate 'wink' and Ascda John de Blase x V tessellata (ala Dr. Mote) purchased at Fairchild last year are healthy, but no blossoms. Orchids require controlled negligence. They need their space. 

The Intelligent Plant

Have just gotten around to reading  Michael Pollan's essay on the possibilities / examples plant consciousness, in the 12/23/2013 of The New Yorker. Too much information for my small brain to offer a synopsis. I did want to throw my hat in the ring with the other research being done and offer my experience as a non-scientist, conducting anti-rigorous experiments with my custodials. They have an emotional hold over me. I am their puppet, serving up food and water and care daily. I seem to be quite susceptible to this floral heart/mind control. My mind is numbed when I go into the garden, like a hit of some sort of opiate. Happy, joyous and free

I've  been putting one sort of food or another in most of my spraying lately. MiracleGro and / or seaweed tea. Seaweed tea and SuperThrive. Tonight I'm steeping some ass-ugly smelling fish emulsion and seaweed overnight in the hot humid air (to allow bacteria to come to life?) to spray in the morning.

The orchids' growth reflects the heat and humidity of late. I haven't experienced the growing season with many of them and I'm delighted to see new rhizomes, roots and leaves appearing.

Cat on a hot tin roof

I'm coming up on my 4th year anniversary of this blog and I can't say I've ever sat and written a post sitting in the garden. I'll tell you, imaginary reader, the here and now. It's been very hot lately, well into the mid 90s and no rain for the past week(ish). 7:20P EST and we're securely in the upper 80's and are wrapped in 75-85% humidity. I have to stay out of the direct sun, my custodials do not . As long as they have some moisture so they're able to transpire, they're ok. There is a warm, salty breeze coming off of the ocean tonight which makes sitting out pleasant.

Some of my recent efforts at mounting:

Den. Aggregatum 'Green Elf' x Den Aggregatum 'Yellow Velvet' --from home depot

Oncidium Apliatum a central american species-- from home depot

ÄPPLARÖ

A handsome teak table for the bougainvillea bonsai

$30 IKEA

Been very busy at the office for past week, but not too busy to mount several orchids on pretty weathered driftwood. 

Much more later. 

lights fade

My garden evaporates as the work required to keep the floor clean and the lines neat weigh heavily on this weekend gardener's shoulders.

Nonessentials are being evacuated.  The large specimens will hold things together and provide cover for hanging orchids.

lessons learned

Orchids;  If they're happy DO NOT MOVE THEM, they are creatures of habit! learn from my costly and saddening mistakes.

Foliar feeding my plants was suggested to me, I've found it to be a convenient way to apply nourishing tonics like my 'green genie' cocktail; 1tb MiracleGro 1/4 cup Alaska emulsified seaweed 2 capfuls of SuperThrive in 3L of water. Everyone loves it.

Colonel Mustard in the conservatory

I also add Alaska dried fish pellets every so often to enliven soil.

Let your soil (and roots) breathe before soaking it thoroughly with water again. Ants help aerate the soil.

Enjoy this humid hot summer! The plants are thriving.

Bonsai

My first effort - a wizened old bougainvillea

I trimmed it hard, but I love the gnarlier look. 

field trip to H&F Imports Bonsai Pots and Supplies

long island ficus

small finely serratted leaves.. wan't marked but elegante (cypress?)

fukien tea

 I purchased 5 fukien teas and a shallow free-form platter for them.

fujian forest (i'll retake pic)

The fukien teas above were $14 for smaller $20 fro slightly taller. The pot was $35. Expensive. Tools and rocks etc. were very overpriced. Do your homework. But still worth a visit.

some rooms with a view

the evening summer skies from the 4th floor

a fair part of gardening on a terrace

poison apple? or fruit of the gods

Banana-like fruit growing on my philondendron. 

Monstera deliciosa? Better be careful! 

Sharply incised palmate leaves.. not the round leaves usually attributed to deliciosa. Perhaps the mature fruit will help id.

tricho tricho

I have two trichoglottis brachiata. Both from the same Hawaiian nursery. The smaller is mounted on a block of tree fern. It's doing well. I have a larger plant, that has a healthy upper body the lower roots were dead underneath bark in hanging pot. So.. I cut off the unhealthy lower stem. the rest of the orchid I wired to the sea grape. It is now a neighbor of the terete 'miss joachim'. Time'll tell. 

mm. I think all of my plants are growing quite vigorously of late. I asked Leonard to help me in my garden. He died several weeks ago. He loved nature. Souls can be reborn in the garden can't they?

Stormy weather

Lots of rain lately. Pics from the new Nikon.

Nascent blood orange

Sea grape, sex unknown

Undergrowth under the shade of the bonsai 

Nikon D3200 w/ Nikor 18-55 and Nikor 55-200

baby's first steps, oh what a pleasure to use!

Miss Joachim takes to the sea (grape)

Snipped off the top of this terete 'Miss Joachim' and lashed to the trunk of a sea grape.The trunk is 5' so it will be able to climb for a while and hopefully throw out some color.

today is first day of the rest of the humid hot summer

Too hot and humid to go outside now at 10A. I sprayed the orchids a little before 7. Had to leave the tennis court by 9:30. It is in the low 90's with humidity in the 90% range as well.

The orchids are rehydrating themselves in this weather. Rhizomes and leaves are fuller. Though no blooms from  Ascocenda Laksi 'Chili Pepper'.

a phoenix

I thought this thing had bit the dust. But I remember having read in the early stages of my orchid lust that just because it looks dead doesn't necessarily mean it is dead. Suddenly, forgotten in the thorny bosom of a bougainvillea, this sweet dendrobium began to sing.

Sunny mornings, rainy afternoons
have woken this dendrobium parishii
from dormancy

this species has a delicate candy scent

It is the summer solstice today. The sun will be directly overhead today at its zenith here in the Tropic of Cancer. I wish you, imaginary readers, an auspicious and very merry midsummer holiday-- party on, pagans.

homegrown

I have been asked several times whether my blog design is custom made. It is. I've simply grabbed gadgets and experimented. Emphasizing the plants is my object. Tropical plants are incredible, they are the object of the sentence. The side bar are my shout outs to loved ones and past endeavors.

Plumeria, a pure white is special in the garden

Evidently there are some problems pulling the blog with certain browsers-- please let me know your thoughts on rectifying this. I would be incredibly grateful for any input on how to make the pages more readable / efficient.  Thanks, JMF.

recent rain on the Pandora vine

a southerly thunderhead-- on the eve of the summer solstice 

what are the odds?

How many potted sea grapes (not in bonsai form) are being grown on terraces? How many terraces have 3 potted sea grapes growing in large pots? 10-20-30?? How many terraces on the planet are there? 10,000,000? I'll be generous and say that there are 100 terraces with 3 large potted sea grapes growing on them. 10M/100= 100,000. There are 7 billion people on Earth, 100 gardeners are growing 3 or more sea grapes on terraces; one in 70 million people on Earth are growing 3 or more sea grapes on their terrace. I AM GOING TO PLAY THE LOTTO!!

1 in more than a million?

Lucky number slev