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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.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

October Favorites: Bridal Veil


Before we get to the Bridal Veil could we have a quick look at the Clerodendrum ugandese blue butterfly?

It is a sprawling perennial shrub that blooms continuously from late summer through the autumn season. Nectaring critters are frequent admirers along with me.

What's newly opening her pendulous white blooms this month is the Clerodendrum wallichii Bridal Veil. She is tucked away in partial shade under the oak trees creating a wonderful fall blooming treasure in the garden.

Salvia madrensis or Forsithia sage is setting buds and blooms are beginning to burst open from the top and sides of 10' tall square stems. It is a giant of a plant.

Spring/summer I dug up and transplanted starts from the spreading clump in the front garden to additional locations in the garden.

There isn't a single quality I don't favor about the Cassia Alata. So cheery-golden and full of desire for winged creatures.

A favorite last month and this month it makes the list easily. False blue ginger ~~ a fabulous fall bloomer.

With a plethora of bottlebrush-like blooms the Agastache x 'Black Adder' carries its share of the load adding color and critter attraction from spring to fall. I'm loving these plants more each season.

Muhlenbergia capillaris Muhly Grass remains the autumn-star in the sunniest corner at Hoe and Shovel.

The zinnias in the vegetable garden really must be pulled out (soon - like yesterday)to make room for the rest of the cool-weather seeds that need to be sown.

It would surely help to know the sweet, fuzzy bumbles will find some soft petals elsewhere to sleep.

Dangling clusters of begonia flowers from stiff stalks of angel-wing (or is it dragon wing) begonias are flushing back out after retreating from the high summer temps.

These are in containers along the front walkway. These tough tropicals can also be enjoyed as ground plants in other areas of the garden.

It's time to give the Plectranthus ‘Mona Lavender’a soft shearing across the top. One last photo just prior. It won't take long for them to flush back out with their delicate-appearing purple blooms that contrast with the wonderfully dark, two-toned foliage it presents.

Celosia seeds given to me by a garden center in north Florida ~~ I had given up hope they had germinated. Fun surprise in the butterfly garden.

On the edges of the butterfly garden and in three more places in the garden our Florida native Hamelia patens firebush blooms from early summer and steadily qualifies as a favorite even in October.

Dietes iridioides African Iris is planted as borders, as fillers, as clumps for middle layers, as accent plants in so many places. Easily divided and adaptable in shade or filtered light this is one of my go-to Florida-Friendly choices. The stark white flowers with lavender and gold accents are a bonus.

It wouldn't be a proper post without a view of my all-time favorite caladiums still adding lots of impact to the gardens. Have I mentioned lately how very fond I am of these heart-shaped clusters of showy foliage? Oh. Well. I'm glad I remembered to bring it up ... just one more time.

Callicarpa americana beautyberry is especially rich with deep magenta berries all tightly clustered along the long draping stems. More of these Florida natives were added to the SE side of the way-back gardens this summer.

Speaking of berries. I'm partiularly fond of just about any plant that produces berries. Belamcanda chinensis blackberry lilies get their name from the berries that appear once the flowers have gone to seed.

Love every phase of these great plants!

The cooling down night temps allow for the Lobularia maritima sweet alyssum to flourish happily. They prefer our autumn/winter/spring ~~ much like this gardener.

Be sure to scoot on over to Susan's at Simply Susan to see what she has posted as her favorites this month. And check out the other participants while you're there.

18 comments:

  1. Meems, Where to start~Everything looks wonderful from the sweet, sweet blue butterfly plant~to the pure white Bridal Veil and onto the Salvia Mad! I've long admired it and wanted to give it a try! Cassia~I was just reading about it~What a candalabra of yellow prettiness. Hey, you can grow beautiful natives! Agastache and Pink Muhly looks wonderful. Thank you for a delightful tour~gail

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  2. Meems, This is a nice assortment of plants that are new to many Florida gardeners. You have become the Virtual Botanical Garden of Florida Friendly Plants. Thank you for all you have shared with us.

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  3. Your post reminded me to go check my Forsythia sage! I just planted it last year and am looking forward to its late season blooms. The White Queen caladiums are my favorite -- and I get them from your fair state every year!! Thank you Florida! And the muhly is hard to beat! Just gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the photos :-)

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  4. Meems, I'm just in the process of developing our garden and use your site as a valuable resource. So many great ideas! :) Do you have any suggestions for a soft shrub appearance to line our back property line? I backs up to a street and need something for a little privacy. Thanks for any suggestions. Liz

    ces2147@verizon.net

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  5. Meems ~ Everything you have, I want, and that's a fact. As always, your bloomers and foliage are just gorgeous and lush looking. Your gardens always inspire me to keep working in my own. The cooler weather helps now too.

    Enjoy all that wonderful beauty that surrounds you.

    FlowerLady

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  6. Beautiful, beautiful! I love all the berries of fall too. I just purchased a beautyberry and wild coffee at Bok for their lovely berries.

    Isn't a Florida Fall grand?

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  7. Alas, my caladiums sleep. :`( Anyway, yours look lovely. We share so many of the same faves...firebush and blue butterfly being two all-time faves of mine. Love the nodding clerodendrum...it is on my October faves post as well. I saw that celosia at Bok Tower recently. It was taller than me! Quite striking and beautiful blooms! Need to get me some of that false blue ginger......

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  8. Ya know what? I never knew that so much color could flourish in a garden with so much shade. Alas, I haven't got that, but I am working on creating a bit. Love the variety of textures as well as colors. Enjoy...daisy

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  9. Lovely! The dangling clusters of begonia flowers are my all time favorite too! That Celosia flower is so beautiful, and I need to find one for myself.

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  10. Hi Meems...Lots of nice choices for your autumn favorites. I love both of your clerodendrons. My mother grows these, but mine froze and never returned this spring. It's so nice to see the new autumn blooms joining in with those from summer. It always adds so much color at this time of year.

    Your forsythia sage is really pretty. Does it stand up well or fall over from the weight? That's a plant that you don't see in local nurseries.

    Thanks for joining in and sharing all your beautiful autumn blooms.

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  11. Great set of pics, Meems! So much variety in terms of color and morphology. I particularly liked the African Iris.

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  12. Your vivid tropical blooms are a sight for sore eyes - around here the sky is grey and most of the plants are turning brownish-grey or greyish-brown. Just a few flowers left, and they'll be gone soon . . .

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  13. So many great plants! Firebush, muhly grass and cassia are among my faves here, and it was great to see so many beautifully taken photos!

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  14. I really love your style of tropical gardening!!! I'll be on the look out for some of these next Spring. My American Beauty Berries have vanished. The Mockingbirds find them to be a delicacy.
    Nice to see so much blooming in your garden. We're winding down here in Houston.
    David/ Tropical Texana

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  15. Meems, Love your Bridal Veil, mine still only has buds, now I have a preview. Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden with us. Janis

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  16. Hi Meems, I think if I lived in your climate I would grow A. The Australian tree fern and B. Every warm-climate salvia I could get my hands on. Great plants, girl!

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  17. You remind me I want that False Blue Ginger! My C. wallichii is just now opening blooms. Your garden is splendiferous!

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  18. Such a beautiful garden full of gorgeous flowers and foliage! I love your caladiums, mine are the red n green type and your Mona Lavender looks so bushy not like mine, mostly foliage no flowers!

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Have a blessed day,
Meems


September 2010

Back Garden: October 2010

Louise Philippe: Antique Rose

Tropical Pathway