Welcome to my zone 9 garden. My roots are deeply planted in the sandy soil of sub-tropical central Florida, where the summers are long and hot, but the rest of the year is paradise!

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Mount Dora Plant Festival

It was the perfect weekend for the Mount Dora Plant Festival. A breezy day in the 80's made it even more enjoyable. There was a good variety of vendors, and lots of customers loading up their carts or carrying bags of plants.


There were your usual stands of orchids, bromeliads, tropicals, and some really unusual plants like this hanging pitcher plant.


And, there was plenty of color around. Perennials and butterfly plants could be found in abundance.


My first intention was that I really didn't need anything, but I would go "just in case" their might be something out of the ordinary. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Then I remembered the tillandsia guy and the begonia vendor from last year, and I got a little excited thinking about picking up one of each.
Well, I did end up finding two tillandsias and 3 begonias. I must admit that when I'm confronted with numerous choices (especially plants), it's very hard to select just one. Plus the begonias were 3 for $5. Who could pass that up?


And, of course there were a few other plants I just couldn't pass up either.
Like this dazzling leopard lily with leaves that feel like a succulent and whose blooms are a pretty violet color. They had this plant potted in a hanging wire basket and the plant had surrounded the entire basket. It was stunning!

Oh, and this very unusual variegated fern. I've never seen one like this before, so "I just had to have it." You know the feeling, right?

Oh yeah, and this really cute crinkly-leaved fern and this beautiful red-colored bromeliad. I did, however, display some self-control. There were about 3 other ferns I wanted but I was determined I wasn't going to spend every penny I came with. So now, I'm looking forward to next year's festival. :-)


7 comments:

James said...

You posted some beautiful photos of plants. Very nice blog too.
James

Susan said...

James...Thanks for the compliments, James and thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you'll return.

Susie~From My Home To Yours said...

Hi, I just found our blog..I was also at the Plant Festival on Saturday. One of the gals from my church organized a brunch at the tea room and then we went to the festival. I wanted everything, but I only had a $20.00 bill...torture! I ended up with a Meyer Lemon tree and some cuttings of Mexican Sunflowers. I love the begonias also, some very interesting varieties. Well, next year I'll know better and be prepared! Happy Gardening,
Susie

Meems said...

Hi Susan,
It looks like you found some very unique plants... all very interesting and pretty. The prices were right, too. What a fun festival! I'm going to put this one on my day-trip list.
Meems

My Mother's Garden said...

Hi Suan~
Looks like it was a wonderful garden festival! I was at Mounts last weekend for the fall show. I had my booth right next door to the Wellington Garden Club and hoped I'd get to see you. Hope things are well!
Take care!
~Karrita

Susan said...

Susie...Welcome to my blog. It's always nice to find another Florida gardener. I will include you on my list to follow here and at my other blog - www.centralfloridagardener.blogspot.com. Come visit me there too. I'm glad you enjoyed the festival. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. And, do remember to bring more $$$$'s next year! :-) There's soooo many interesting plants to buy. I hope you'll drop by again.

Meems...You definitely want to attend this one. Lots of fun things to do and see.

Karrita...I'm sorry that I didn't know you would be there selling your beautiful garden treasures. I remember seeing your table next to the garden club. Your goods were sparkling in the sunlight. I hope you had a good day and sold lots of beautiful garden ornaments. Next year I'll remember to ask you if you're going and seek you out.

Rusty in Miami said...

I love Mount Dora, I must come up next time they have another plant festival

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