Monarch Resurrection in Fort Lauderdale

I want to share this amazing butterfly on a cool morning last week. Enjoy the photos. This monarch was resting outside my door. I brought over some flowers for nourishment and little by little she became active.
I lifted her up with a piece of paper and placed her on a collard green leaf and brought her into the sun. She then had enough energy to fly away.

Shamrocks and Irish Expressions - Miami Gardening | Examiner.com

Shamrocks and Irish Expressions - Miami Gardening | Examiner.com

Best Irish Blessings

The plant of the day is the shamrock (oxalis.) This one shown is a hanging basket that was originally planted with an impatiens plant. The shamrock was a volunteer that started growing in the pot on its own. I never got around to pulling it out. It eventually overpowered the impatiens and came in handy when I was doing my St. Patty’s Day class and nature crafts at the nursing homes. I am a horticulture therapist.


Here are some great Irish expressions
• As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way.
• May you be in Heaven a full half hour before the devil knows you are dead!
• May the lord take a liking to you but not too soon.
• Do not resent growing old, many are denied the privilege.
• A blessing does not fill the belly.
• He who has water and peat on his farm has the world.
• Often a person’s mouth has broken his nose.
• A shut mouth catches no flies.
• It’s no use boiling your cabbage twice.
• May your kilt be short enough to dance theIrish jig but long enough to cover
your lucky charms.
Drink enough green beer and it comes out green as well.
• May you live to be one hundred years, with one extra to repent.
• May the lord keep you in his hand and never close his fist too tight on you.
• May the road rise to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again,
May G-d hold you in the palm of his hand.

Old Fashioned Roses Are New Again

There is a new phenomenon in the south Florida gardening world. What is old is new again. Heirloom roses are becoming available at local garden centers and nurseries. There are wonderful benefits to growing the old fashioned roses.


Old fashioned roses are easier to grow than the new hybrid roses. They require little to no spraying of insecticides or fungicides. Heirloom roses flower more profusely than the newer hybrids. They often have a wonderful aroma. They grow on fuller bushes so they look less straggly than traditional hybrid roses. They require less pruning than modern roses.


The drawback of heirloom roses is that they do not have long stems, so they are not used in large vases. The stems are also very thin and are best suited for a bud vase. The flowers usually have fewer petals and fall off the stem in a shorter time than new hybrids. The color selection is limited.

There are a bountiful amount of old roses, such as the Gallica, Damask, Centifolia, Portland, Bourbon, Ramblers and more. Some of these early hybrids originated from the old china roses. European in origin, they came here with early settlers to the United States. Southern plantation owners covered their entry fences with many of these roses. They became own as Dixie roses.

Best in show : Fort Lauderdale Orchid Society

Consider this: The Fort Lauderdale orchid show is the second largest show of its kind in the country. There is an expression, the number two guy tries harder. The volunteers bent over backwards to make this a great experience. Everyone was very friendly and accommodating. There were lots o warm smiles and helpful hints.
Orchid prices were fair. Remember, you will not be buying the mundane common big box orchids here.

These are orchids that are much harder to come by. Sold here are genus and species not available in mass merchandisers. Also, here you can purchase large mature specimens not available elsewhere. Orchid prices began at about fifteen dollars, heading up to three hundred for some rare huge price winners.


In these tough economic times, they made it easy to spend money on the orchids by making it less expensive elsewhere. Parking was free. If you purchased your ticket early online by a deadline, it was only five dollars to get in. Even a day before the show, there were two dollar discounts for the regularly priced ten dollar tickets.
It is so much fun seeing such wonderful beauty in one room. They even provide you with a wrist band so you can come back and visit another day of the show. Next year do not miss this great show !

Chocolate does grow on trees: Great Valentine's Day Gifts

Modern chocolate still originates from the fruit of the cocoa tree. Cocoa trees thrive in tropical rainforests throughout the world. Ancient South American civilizations enjoyed the natural cocoa and benefited from its natural antioxidants. Spaniards introduced the cocoa to Europeans where they heat processed the beans, added sugar, milk, fillers and more, degrading the health benefits.
The flowers of the fruit are pollinated by an insect that lives in the rainforests. When modern growers removed the trees from the forest and planted them in opened fields, the results were terrible. In South Florida, it is not recommended to plant the trees due to the lack of rainforest, cooler weather and overall poor results of past attempts. The only way to get a fruit is to hand pollinate each flower.
Life is good, especially if you eat and share an amazing patented cold pressed dark Belgium free trade chocolate.Chocolate, backed by thousands of research papers is considered a super food. XOCAI has the added benefit of being cold pressed, caffeine free, low in sugar, and is infused with healthy flax seed known to be good for the heart, pro biotic which aids in digestion and is found in yogurt, acai and blue berries great antioxidants, and more. The product line even has a meal replacement chocolate protein shake that is producing amazing results.
Sell it or buy it, here is the link www.robertstropicalgardenhealthychocolate.com

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Worlds largest floating garden at night, Allure of the Seas

The Allure of the Seas Central Park garden takes on a different feel in the evening. Lights can be attached to the base of the tree, with the light facing up to illuminate the trunk. Lights can also be mounted on the tops of the trunk, facing down to illuminate the trunk. Spotlights can be nestled at the base of the tree among the groundcovers to illuminate the tree canopy.
Foundation lights illuminate the walkways, as well as show of the low growing plants. The Central Park garden on Allure of the Seas gets foot traffic day and night due to the safe environment. Most cruise passengers would not dare enter their city garden at night back home..
The skyway pedestrian bridge across the garden is illuminated in a spectacular illusion of clouds in the sky.Foundation lights illuminate the walkways, as well as show of the low growing plants. Pedestrian walkways can also be lit with street poles as well.
This garden was designed to be a cityscape garden. However the plants are marked with identification like a botanical garden. Plant lovers will appreciate that.
I loved the living wall gardens on either side of the atrium, the great design details in the hardscape, as well as the art in the garden. I would have liked to have seen more Florida natives utilized and less generic interiorscape plants.

Largest Floating Garden at Sea: Allure of the Seas

As you walk into the mature garden, it’s hard to believe it was just put in. It took seventy people seventy two hours to install the garden, according to Eva Matos of Ambius, the interiorscape firm that is contracted to work with the crew to keep the landscape maintained for the first month. According to Laszlo, the head manager of the garden, two nurseries supplied the plants for the entire garden, Michael’s Nursery and Southeast Growers, both well established south Florida wholesale nurseries.
There are twelve thousand plants in the garden, including fifty seven trees. There are seventy five species of plants. All of the plants were pre planted in two thousand modular planters at Michaels before being loaded onto the ship. Calibri (Body)Calibri (Body)

Edible Gardens made easy: 11th Street Annex Restaurant

Just a tad south of the hustle and bustle of downtown Fort Lauderdale off Andrews Avenue there is a gem of a restaurant with a fantastic edible garden. This hidden gem is called Church Side 11th Street Annex, located next to Trinity Church and Trinity Churchside Garden.
When Jonny Altobell and Penny Sanfilppo created their restaurant 11th street annex, one requirement of their front entryway garden was that they wanted something special. “Everything to be medicinal, edible or smell good.” According to Penny. Luckily, her boyfriend happens to be the noted BCC plant guru, and nursery owner David McLean.

There are many very interesting unusual trees in the garden. There is large tree called the strawberry tree, which hails from SE Asia. There is a cinnamon tree. The cinnamon comes from the bark. There is a mulberry tree, a line berry tree and a mango tree. A large bay rum tree and lime berry tree rise up within the garden.

Naturally there are plenty of fresh grown herbs. There are some unusual plants also, notably the Chinese Fisheye Jasmine. There is a tree called lolate, in the piper family. The leaves are similar to grape leaves and they can be stuffed and eaten.

Amazing Secret Gardens of south Florida # 7

Located off Fort Lauderdale beach, Richard’s secret garden has a unique tropical charm. The entryway offers visitors the opportunity to sit on a swing and watch the world go by. The front yard has just enough grass to keep the dogs happy, and it’s the only grassy area on the property.
The side yard has a lush tropical atmosphere with flowering hibiscus, gardenias, night blooming jasmine and more lining the edge of the property line. Hanging potted plants are decorating the slide walls of the house. This is a nice area for entertaining since the hot tub and BBQ grill are here as well. Turn the corner and here is an amazing surprise.The back garden’s main feature is a beautiful pool, with a water fall. A palm curves out and over the pool and the lush tropical garden wraps its way around the back yard giving privacy. There are palms, flowering bromeliads and a multitude of orchids hanging from the house.
There are unusual art works throughout the property as well as some garden whimsy here and there. An alligator rests at the edge of the pool. A set of lions frames the front of the property. A large wood sculptured table holds a bonsai collection.

Fabulous tropical palms

What makes south Florida unique in the United States is the amazing assortment of palms we are able to grow here due to our unique climate. At Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Miami, they have collected over 700 species from all over the tropics that grow here as well.

There are about 10 or so native palms from Florida. Our state palm tree is the Sable palmetto, or cabbage palm. In order for officials to pick a state tree, it had to be able to grow throughout the various temperature growing zones. North Florida is practical Georgia, so the climate is much cooler. Here in the south we can grow cold sensitive palms that would freeze there.

In certain cultures, palms are dominant as a food source, housing, fiber, oil and many other uses. Here we see the fronds utilized for the roofs of tiki huts. Street vendors sell ice cold coconuts on street corners with sipping straws for cool summer refreshment.

Collectable caladiums, superstar plants for your garden

Caladiums are grown for their colorful elephant shaped leaves. The plants are started from bulbs. Now is the time to add them to your garden. Caladiums thrive during sweltering South Florida heat and provide a great colorful tropical look to your patio or garden.

Wholesale growers plant the bulbs in the winter. The caladiums are ready for sale by early summer. Landscapers often switch out the heat sensitive impatiens, petunias and pansies for the heat tolerant caladiums. Visit your garden center for a bountiful selection.
Caladiums are easy to grow and can be placed in partial shade to full sun. They can be transplanted to the ground or into larger size pots. Do not keep them in the containers they came in. The roots will soon become pot bound. The pot will not hold water well and the plant will decline.
When repotting the caladiums make sure you untangle the root ball. Do not tear off the roots; just loosen them so they can grow out into the larger container or ground. If you leave the roots all cramped the plant will not grow as well.

Going bananas!

Going bananas
South Floridians love bananas and there are many to grow here. There are ice cream bananas, red banana, finger bananas finger banansas and more. In fact, there even is a nursery called Going Bananas located in Homestead, Florida. Homestead is in southwest Miami.
Katie Chafin is co owner of Going bananas. When asked which her favorite banana was, she replied “Whatever is ripe!” With over ninety two different varieties to choose from, it is understandable why one would never tire of them.
Here in South Florida, many people without gardens get their bananas mostly in the supermarket like everyone else does elsewhere in the country. We buy the same ones imported by the big name producers located in Central American and the Caribbean Islands.
Many back yard gardeners also grow their own bananas. They are best started by shoots from the mother plant, divided up by digging the new shoots. If you have a friend with a banana you can get suckers from them, or buy plants from a local nursery. Backyard growers like to try varieties not found in stores.
The top sellers according to Katie:
• Gold finger- is a disease resistant large variety. This hybrid was created in Honduras.
• Nam wa- originated in Southeast Asia and has a delicious pineapple banana flavor.
• Raja puri – has a superb flavor but warns Katie, “You need to feed it like a teenage boy, you can’t feed it enough.” This Indian variety requires heavy feeding for the plant to thrive.
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Fairchild gardens mango festival a great success

The record breaking heat would not keep hundreds of cars lined up before opening early Saturday morning. By mid day, thousands of people were piled into the normally serene Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. The quiet as a library environment instead was alive with sitars and tablas playing, babies and mothers giggling with delight tasting the mango ice cream.

India was the theme of this year’s mango festival and the air was filled with the aroma of mango curry. Bollywood dancers performed. Yoga classes were taught for children and adult. Vendors were aplenty, featuring mango this, mango that. Rare spices were featured as well as rare teas.

Free samples of Mango salsa, mango cake, and mango creampuffs were offered. Local bakers such as Joanna's Marketplace local chefs like Chef Allen were there signing books and handing out salsa. Local soap maker had mango soap, along with plenty of others. Macy’s handed out mango cannolis while promoting their catering service. A pie maker from Georgia offered samples of delicious mango pie.

Secret gardens revealed # 1

Nestled among charming homes in the Bell Mead neighborhood, Steve Hagen’s garden is unique. There is not a blade of grass. “Why grow and mow grass, when you can smell the roses! Not that I have roses, but most plants, bushes and trees store much more carbon than any blade of grass.”

When walking down the sidewalk, most of the other neighbors have grass and neatly boxed high maintenance cut shrubs. Steve has a wonderful tropical English style garden. Shrubs, trees and grownd covers converge and produce an amazing symphony of color texture and depth.

There are plenty of native trees and shrubs, mixed in with colorful flowering shrubs and palms. The meandering pathway to the front door leads us to a covered sitting area with inviting chairs
.
The backyard is a tropical paradise. There is a large fruiting mango tree, vines flowing up the palms and a wide assortment of shrubs and groundcovers as well. A stepping stone pathway meanders through the garden with a small wading pool off center acting as the focal point.

There is no sprinkler system in this lush paradise; the plants have to make it on their own. Steve hand waters when he has to on occasion. Many of the plants came as cuttings and samples from friends' gardens. Steve is the past chair of the Parks and Public Space Committee of Miami Neighborhoods United.

He is living proof of the magic that can be accomplished with a small amount of space without spending a king’s ransom. (Politicians take note.)

Best summer flowers to plant in the garden or patio

The summer heat is frying the delicate winter annual flowers such as impatiens, petunias and pansies. With much tender loving care, you may be able to cut back your impatiens, relocate them to deep shade, and keep them alive over the summer.

Several summer favorite flowers to plant now are colorful and can live up to the challenges of the heat. Perslane and portulaca both do well this time of year. Often confused, the perslane has the larger, flatter leaves. The portulaca has the rounder, cylindrical leaves. Both flowers close up at night and open mid morning.

Pentas do well year round and are always a welcome addition to any garden. The red and pink varieties attract the most butterflies, followed by the white and purple. The red and light pink grow the tallest. The purple stays the shortest. They can last for a few years and are considered perennials.

Caladiums are grown in the summer for their showy colorful leaves. There are a multitude of variations in color. However, the nurseries only stock a few of them. They proudly show off their leaves until the autumn, when they start to decline. Do not throw them out, the bulbs revive again in late winter.

Ultimate Green Father’s Day gifts

Father’s day should be different this year. We really feel helpless with the oil spill in the gulf. Fathers traditionally are the providers, the head of the household and all that goes with it. Dads are Mr. Fix it. We want to do something to fix the gulf but feel it’s too far away and too deep down in the ocean to help.

Fathers can control their kingdom, their garden. They can mow, prune, fertilize and water. A great father’s day gift this year is to go green. Plants that is. Give Dad a tree to plant. Give Dad plants to start a butterfly, vegetable or herb garden. This gift for Dad will be appreciated by the whole family and everyone will benefit.

Dad can proudly say to his neighbor, “Look at this wonderful oak tree (fill in the tree name) my family bought me this 20 years ago and looks how big it has grown.” Can Dad say to a neighbor, look at my wonderful underwear my family bought me! Not in this lifetime. Forget about those old tired gifts of underwear, slippers and ties.

We are lucky to have some wonderful choices locally to buy Dad a special plant or empower Dad with a gift certificate to one of the following nurseries in the tri county area:

Meadow Beauty Nursery: Specializes in Florida native trees, shrubs and wildflowers. Note, the nursery is opened to the public on Saturday’s only. An amazing place to see loads of butterflies and see how the potted plants will look years from now: the nursery is nestled alongside their personal garden. Owners: Donna Leone and Carl Terwilliger
5782 Ranches Road.
Lake Worth, FL 33463
(561) 969-9250

Living Color Nursery: A wonderful nursery that also has a vast selection of pottery, garden statuary, wind chimes, stepping stones and so much more. Owner Mark Herndon
3691 Griffin Road
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
(954) 985-8787

Casey’s Corner Nursery: A wide variety of unusual plants including palms, trees, shrubs and natives along with Susan, a wonderful woman who knows her plants! Owner: Susan Casey
31877 S.W. 197th Avenue
Homestead, FL 33030
(305) 248-7284

Royal Poinciana Blooms Amazing This Year

A special treat greets those visiting South Florida this time of year, the Royal Poinciana tree. Due to the coldest winter in years, scientists say that is the best bloom in decades. The brilliant red blooms of this tree are so spectacular, it’s also known in some Latin American countries as the Flamboyant tree.
Originally from Madagascar, how it got to south Florida remains a mystery. David Fairchild, the famous plant explorer who has a garden named after him in Miami planted one in 1917. Early settlers of the areas used to plant the trees to cool their homes in the summer months with their shade. Since they are deciduous, by winter time the tree canopy is bare, so the house gets warm from the sun. The trees look like they are straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. They have a large stout trunk and an enormous canopy that is often shaped like an umbrella. The leaves are fine and compound. The tree is in the Leguminosae family and has relatives such as the Tamarind and Mimosa trees. The seed pods are mature to a dark long 12-18 inches and when shaken sound like a maraca.

So important is the tree to Miami that in 1937 the mayor declared a special day to be Royal Poinciana Day. In 1938 they started a Fiesta and had concerts and our poet laureate of Florida Larimore Raider wrote a special poem dedicated to the tree called Peacock Proud. Every year a Royal Poinciana Queen is appointed. There are special events and tours of the most beautify trees.
The popularity of the Royal Poinciana is exemplified by the numerous local landmarks named after it, notably schools, streets, shopping centers and developments. On the FIGI Islands, the trees bloom in the winter. They call it their Christmas tree. It also grows in central and South American as well as Hawaii.

The trees need a lot of room to spread out so keep that in mind when planting. It is suggested to plant thirty feet away from the house. They can be seen along roadsides, in older neighborhoods as well as in parks, schoolyards and botanical gardens.

If April Showers Bring May Flowers, What Do The May Flowers Bring? Pilgrims!

Let’s check what is blooming now in the garden. The wonderful Tabebuias, both in pink and yellow are making a wonderful show of their trumpet shaped blooms. Up north the forsythia starts off spring like a lion, and here in South Florida the Tabebuias bring us wonderful color as well. The wonderful bougainvilleas are giving us bountiful blooms, see below.




Although bougainvillea blooms off and on most of the year, this time of year their colors blend nicely with the other blooming plants. Vines are also starting to pop with color, including the popular bleeding heart.

The record heat wave of late is causing the potted plants to dry out more quickly. The pansies have already withered away. The petunias and impatiens are struggling while the caladiums are gorgeous as well as the crossandra. The tomatoes are still producing although the greenery is dying off. This is our end of the vegetable season except for the hearty collards, okra, peppers and the like. The heat and humidity are here, the snowbirds (tourists) are gone. When late fall arrives, the cool weather returns along with the snowbirds.