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

Current affairs

strap and terete vandas and a thompsonia hanging in back. happy on a column of chicken wire. 

A snap of current east end of terrace; sea grape, gardenia, bougainvillea, large purple pot has Mexican heather and a 6' sea grape just regrowing it's leaves. I love the big leaves of sea grape..

This Parrot will bite

Pulled an ill deployed philodendron xanadu to house this Parrot Vine. Parrot Vine is an agressive grower, but regular trimming should keep it in it's place. Better have some serious gloves on your hands. The Floribunda Stephanotis on trellis is in bloom, it has a gorgeous fragrance. .  I think purging this beautiful cerulian blue ceramic pot, of the blood sucking xanadu will inspire the Bridal Wreath toward a more fuller self. The trellis should be covered with these two intertwining.

FYI, the heirloom (grafted for S FL) gardenia on the other side of terrace also putting out. The still air is perfumed

Gmelina philippensis, already putting out new growth. 

New blooms after a week.