Two Orchids

Two Orchids

This Orchid was blooming at work. I was surprised to see it . I took all the Orchids out of the conservatory and just tucked them in among the tropical foliage plants that I put on the terrace. I usually don’t bother with the Orchids as they seem to be getting enough light and water. The tag that was in the pot had faded away and I couldn't tell what the name is.



I have been going over some old files from Florida in February of 2006. I saw this orange Orchid blooming at Nancy Forrester’s Secret Garden. I read a lot of complaints about the condition of the garden and the admission price but I found it a lot of fun with a good mix of botanical stuff. Not bad at all for an ‘in-town’ type of garden.
I uploaded several new pictures to my Florida Keys webpage if anyone is interested. There a few good pictures but in some respects represent an extra culling of all of the files.

Florida Keys/West Palm Album

Shooting Star (Clerodendrum quadriloculare)

Shooting Star
Clerodendrum quadriloculare
(kler-oh-DEN-drum) (kwah-drih-lok-yoo-LAIR-ee)

This plant seems to get huge and when it is blooming its covered with blossoms. This was taken at Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach. I have posted before on the garden. I read an article in the Palm Beach Post on this plant while I was down in Florida. It described Clerodendrum as among the fastest growing shrubs in the world. Each time I saw a Starburst Bush it was in full bloom with huge waves of flowers giving only a glimpse of the purpley/green foliage. I grow two species here in Connecticut but they are a lot different. The flowers are different but the suckering habit and rapid growth sound about right. I have even trained a couple up as small trees. They have been around for years so they seem pretty hardy. One came in as a seedling in a tree ball and I think it is Glory Bower (Clerodendrum trichotomum var. fargesii). It is growing in a Styrax tree ball but starting to spread out. The other species I am not sure about but it looks like Clerodendrum trichotomum or Harlequin Glory Bower. Its colorful calyxs brighten the late summer/fall season. I had to go through the patch of this last year. It had just become too overwhelming. It was easy to restore it to a viable level and I have enjoyed having in the garden. There are several other beautiful species in the genus.

It looks like I will be living on this Florida stuff for awhile. It sounds like it is back to winter around here next week.

Shrub Rose ‘Belinda’s Dream’

Shrub Rose ‘Belinda’s Dream’

All in all Shrub Roses aren’t my favorite types. Though I must admit that roses like ‘Belinda’s Dream’ are helping change that opinion. I have been seeing more and more nice shrub roses. This rose was growing at Mount’s Botanical Garden Mount’s Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach. It is a nice garden and offered a well-marked substantial collection of interesting plants. I guess it took a hit from a couple hurricanes so the canopy has been reduced but they are certainly far into the recovery process; as I didn’t see any damage. It seems like it can take years and years to repair the damage from a storm around here. Tropical gardens seem to have a wonderful way of healing themselves. Mounts is Palm Beach County’s largest and oldest Botanical Garden.

‘Belinda’s Dream’ was a nice bushy rose with good color and fully double blooms. It is mildly fragrant and has a petal count of 45. This rose was bred by Professor Robert E. Basye, a Texas rose hybridizer that did much work towards breeding Black Spot resistant varieties. ‘Belinda’s Dream’ is a cross between ‘Jersey Beauty’ and ‘Tiffany’ and was introduced in 1992. There were a couple of patches planted along a brick walk and they were all doing well. The roses growing at the house I rented were also blooming heavily but I did notice they were on the Northern side of the house and got shade most of the afternoon.

Synonyms: ‘Belinda's Rose’

Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia)

Mexican Sunflower
(Tithonia diversifolia)

This is a Mexican Sunflower I was not familiar with. It was not to be ignored as it grew to about 25 feet tall and was covered with hundreds of blooms. The foliage was nicely patterned and a good color.

I made it down to West Palm Beach and have been doing a bit of garden hopping. Internet cafes are not very popular around here and I finally found a place where I could update my blog. I actually miss updating this site. As much as a pain it can be, sometimes I have really begun to enjoy my time I spend here. I guess it is a bit of an escape for me.

The weather hasn’t been typical Florida, not the postcard type anyway. There is actually a freeze warning for interior Palm Beach County tonight. It still is better than the reports from home; I didn’t mind missing that messy storm that hit Connecticut the other day. So this isn’t t-shirt weather, but it isn’t jacket weather either.

I visited the Mounts Botanical Garden, which is a nice collection with some good design elements. The price was right for this garden; free. I also, on the advice of a regular reader, visited The Japanese Garden in Delray Beach. It is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. It has all the aspects that I know about Japanese Gardening and then some. The restaurant is also a good place to grab some authentic Japanese cuisine, probably one of the nicer garden cafes that I have been too. This garden has the added benefit of being directly next door to the headquarters of the American Orchid Society. I saw some plants in there that I hadn’t seen before including some wonderful exotic orchids. It was really, really windy during my visit, but I managed to get a few pictures. For plants, I would have to rate this place a 10.



I have been enjoying my new lens. It seems to be a good all-purpose type. I really like the macro function and the ability to get a wide-angle shot without having to change. This was the first exposure I took with the Sigma. There are 3 rose bushes at the house I rented. I think this one maybe ‘Peace’.