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"Possibility and promise greet me each day as I walk out into my garden. My vigor is renewed when I breathe in the earthiness and feel the dirt between my fingers. My garden is a peaceful spot to refresh my soul." Meems






Welcome to my Central Florida Garden Blog where we garden combining Florida natives, Florida-Friendly plants, and tropicals.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Day 3: Twelve Days of Christmas in a Florida Garden

Just for fun and also because we just keep right on gardening through December here in Florida, I'm going to challenge myself and post something from my garden everyday for twelve days. Think of it as "excerpts from Hoe & Shovel."

Day 3: Raining on Angel's Wings

Whether this variety of begonia is called angel wing or dragon wing continues to be debatable. It was frost-bitten to the roots last January. But has returned and now stands tall and lush once again with 5 foot lengths of thick green stalks.

This morning the uniquely dangling blooms especially caught my attention as they sparkled from the good drenching of rain we got last night.

And then again later today after the warm Florida sunshine dried their pretty pink petals.

(Feel free to join in on the 12 days of Christmas on your blog if you like. Jump in anytime, on any day. Just let me know so I can come visit your 12 days, too. Scroll down to see previous days.)

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air." ~ W. T. Ellis

14 comments:

  1. What a great idea Meems. With your beautiful southern garden, I'm sure you can come up with 12 wonderful flowers. The begonias are gorgeous. I've never grown them before but they look so pretty dangling in the sun.
    We had 18 degrees for a high temperature today. I immediately thought of your garden for relief!

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  2. oh how gorgeous these are looking...sparkling in the rain and sunshine. so glad they recovered from the frosts.
    i have mine tucked in the potting shed to see if i can winter it in there.
    happy december.

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  3. I am surprised at the size of this, I didn't realise that Begonias got so big.

    Best wishes Sylvia (England)

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  4. One of my favorites in the garden. Mine I am certain have sucumbed to the cold as of last night. They are troopers.

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  5. Meems,
    The angel wings close up is sweet! I'd be wanting to frame it and put it on the wall somewhere, very nice.

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  6. So lovely! You've captured the blooms so well.

    I've become a fan of begonias on my porch (gets winter sun) -- they are STILL blooming! :-)

    Cameron

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  7. Gorgeous Begonia. I brought some inside, just because they're so cheerful.

    I've been thinking on this 12 days thing. Legend is that the first 12 days of the new year indicate the weather each month that year: Jan cold, Feb colder, March windy, April wet; mild, warm, warmer, and so on. Hard to illustrate, though, so I'm going to look at a plant for 12 months of the year. Mine may never leave the planning stages, but it is a marvelous idea. Thank you for the invitation to tag on.

    When I went to the word verification, the word is DROLL. Is that you, or me?

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  8. Those begonia flowers are so unique. I just love their dainty look as they dangle from the leaves. Looks especially pretty covered in raindrops. Thank God we're getting some rain.

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  9. Meems, I've only one begonia in my garden...Begonia grandis. It resembles your beauty, just a bit! I love the images and appreciate the rain right now. gail

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  10. Hi Meems~
    Your angel wing begonia looks so lush and beautiful! The raindrops are a refreshing sight. I wish we had some of that rain down here in south Florida. What a neat idea to do a twelve days of Christmas in a Florida garden post. I only wish I had the time to participate. Maybe next week I'll get to post something.
    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  11. Beautiful, Meems... I love those sweet little flowers. And with the raindrops on them, they are even prettier... Merry 3rd Day of Christmas.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  12. Hey Kathleen,
    My mind always wanders to you and your garden when I hear the weather reports of CO. We were at 58 this morning and there were moans to be heard about it. 18 would be something to moan about. LOL

    marmee,
    These guys are pretty hardy and amazingly can withstand some cold. As long as yours is getting some light and doesn't dip to freezing temps too many times it should do well. It may have to have some recovery time but I think you'll be happy you tucked it away for a while.

    Sylvia,
    I wish I knew the name of this one. Have never seen one in a garden nursery. My neighbor got me started with this one ~~ she brought hers up from further south Florida. Enjoy your day, dear Sylvia.

    Lisa,
    You are so right... as I was saying to Marmee... these tropical beauties are very forgiving.

    Randy,
    Each individual bloom looks a bit like a paper lantern to me. I have actually made greeting cards with photos of them before.

    Cameron,
    Most of my begonias are in the ground but they propagate so easily that I have repeated them in many containers as well. I'm happy to know you like them too.


    Nell Jean,
    Oh, those verification words... always making us chuckle... you of course are the witty one.

    Go ahead with your twelve months... it's a great idea. Let me know if you launch past planning stages.

    Susan,
    Thank you... so many varieties of begonias... who can keep up with them all? This is rain is such a blessing. Firstly, it has been a good soaking kind of rain in our usual dry season and secondly it made me stay inside and get some things done today. :-)

    Gail,
    Begonias here are so easily rooted from cuttings I'm wondering if you have tried to multiply your little beauty? It's always fun to try even if it doesn't work.

    MMG,
    You must be just on the other side of this rain because the radar shows it everywhere but really really south. So sorry... it has been wonderful to feel like we are catching up a bit on the water levels.
    Jump in any time there are no rules... whenever you have time that is.

    Betsy,
    Raindrops are like little diamonds all over the pretty pinkness. Merry 3rd day of Christmas to you, too, sweet Betsy.

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  13. Came over here to answer your questions and comments on my blog.
    The Zebra Swallowtails increased this year, but it's been years since I saw a Zebra Longwing -- do you get those?

    The Tibouchina is potted, and is safely inside the greenhouse for the winter. It is sullen and stopped blooming, unlike the Ground Orchid, who happily blooms anywhere.

    Cassia alata is an annual for me. I try to start some early, early, but they aren't going to do anything but sit around until fall and then zoom to great heights, bloom like crazy and leave lots of seed pods.

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  14. Nell Jean,
    I see the Zebra swallowtails out in the woodlands and saw two in my neighborhood this spring but none in my own garden. I do have loads of Zebra longwings. The passionvine served them well this year as a host plant. I am so enthralled with ground orchids this year. I've planted many of them here and there. They are faithful to bloom and bloom with partial shade. I'm curious to see what my cassia alata does for me this winter if we don't get a frost. I suspect I'll lose it to the ground if we do. Thanks for the answers.

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Have a blessed day,
Meems


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