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!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - The Heat is On!

It's mid-summer, and only the toughest plants can keep from withering in the heat and humidity of a Florida summer. So, before I set about snapping photos for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, I thought I probably wouldn't find too many. Boy, was I wrong! There was so much to choose from that I couldn't even post all of the photos. Some of the other plants in bloom (not shown here) are: hibiscus (I'll do a separate post on those tropical beauties), lantana, pentas, begonia and ixora (definitely summer stalwarts), bromeliads (they love their place in the shade) and thryallis (which was just getting started).

I'll start off with the cool colors of summer - two orchids basking in the impermeable humidity.


Can't live in the south without having crepe myrtles. They may not have a scent but they bloom in abundance - twice, if you dead-head the first blossom.


This Rose of Sharon or Althea has a soft, delicate appearance. You don't see a lot of these around, and I don't know why. They are beautiful!


The Peace Lily does better outdoors for me than in. The dark green foliage and bright white blossom lights up shady nooks in the garden.

Impatiens add a lot of color to shady spots. These volunteers decided to nestle up against a bamboo palm in the side yard. So long, as they are in the shady they're not water-greedy.

Another favorite of mine is the Mandevilla vine. It's not an aggressive vine that is hard to control, and it blooms, blooms, blooms.


I find that Portulaca or Moss Rose does well in patio containers. It's not a messy plant. The flowers dead-head themselves by rolling into tiny little balls and don't stain the patio deck.

Also, this Crossandra is not too messy and it rewards us with lots of blooms.


I love this combination of bright cherry red Knock-out roses and deep purplish-blue perennial salvia. I scooped these 4 salvia plants up off the "bargain shelf" at Wal-mart for next to nothing and they have rewarded me with a profusion of blooms all summer.


Even this variety of Liriope is blooming with abandon. I can't recall the name, but it's not one I've used in the past. I only hope it's not one of those that keeps on spreading and I have to dig it up and separate it (yuk!) I like plants that mind their manners and the boundaries of other plants.

9 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Love all this color Susan. I am always amazed to see what we grow as house plants in the southern gardens.

Angie said...

Hi Susan,
I'm wondering about your peace lilly. Is it in the ground or a container? I have one outside and it's doing very well so I was considering putting it in the ground but am worried about the few freezes we get late in the winter.
Ok, back to reading your blog now!

Carol Michel said...

It may be hot, but you still have some great blooms. Love those orchids! Thanks for joining in for bloom day!

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

walk2write said...

Your flowers are lovely, Susan, and your pics make me smile because they remind me of my garden in Florida. Don't think you're the only one feeling the heat, though. It has been in the low to mid 90s and humid here (in S. Illinois) lately too. I'm glad you left me a message on the Blotanical site so I could find your site. Thank you!

Susan said...

Lisa...everything tends to grow like a weed here.

Angie...my peace lilies are all in the ground. They are planted under a heavy canopy of oaks which I think also protects them during the winter. Generally, they sail through without much problem, even as temps dip close to freezing.

Carol...I always enjoy participating in Bloom Day.

walk2write...thanks for dropping by to visit, and stay cool!

Sunita Mohan said...

Susan, I got to your blog via Blotanical. I love finding gardens where you have the same kind of plants growing as in mine. (It shows me all the possibilities.)
In India, I dont have much of a say in my garden.... my plants just take over. And run! : )

Susan said...

Sunita...Wow, all the way from India. I didn't realize we could grow the same plants that you do in India. That is really neat. Thanks for stopping by.

Mother Nature said...

We were recently in Alabama and the crepe myrtles were blooming everywhere in the incredible heat. I have enjoyed browsing your blog.

Susan said...

Mother Nature...Welcome! Crepe myrtles are unbeatable.

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