On My Walk This Morning 3i

The German lady with the nice flower beds keeps getting more new colorful plants.

These are "White Ruellia," or "Mexican Petunia."  They are much rarer than the usual

purple Ruellia below.

These are the "Purple Ruellia / Mexican Petunias" which make nice, colorful beds.

They make prolific bloomers and go all year long.

These are "Callibrachoa" or "Million Bells."  I first met them in the Jean Talon

Farmer's Market in Montreal.  They are also called "Mini-Petunias" and have lots

of flowers for a long time.  They are nice in a hanging basket.

"Persian Stars" or "Persian Onions."  These are members of the onion family, but they

are only for flowers.

"Calendula" or "Field Marigold"

Suddenly my iphone offers to identify any plant whose picture I take.  I can't remember

whether I downloaded a program or Apple is just offering.  But it is totally free and

very accurate. I am enjoying it very much.

We have hundreds of kinds of palms in South Florida; this is one of the

most common because it works well in so many places.  It is a

"Cabbage Palm" or "Sabal Palm" or "Sabal Palmetto."

"Coral Barleria."  I had not seen one of these in a long time.  I first met them when

I lived by the ocean.    These may have started on their own, underneath this hedge,

gradually grew up, and now they have taken over the top of the hedge.

"Dracaena Marginata / Dragon Tree."

These are extremely common and come in hundreds of varieties

from household plants to large outdoor trees.  They ae

extremely hardy.  Three months before this picture, the

landscapers had gone through and cut all the branches off; there was just 

bare wooden sticks.  It is all filling out now.  I will show you more

attractive versions later.

"Delft Blue Plumbago"  This beautiful pale blue is so different from every other

flower, that they always stand out

A nice bush of "Delft Blue Plumbago."

These are a couple of "Foxtail Palms" by our swimming pool, called that for obvious reasons.

They are very attractive.   On the left are more "Dracaena Marginata" and on the right are

"Robellini Palms / Pygmy Date Palms."

"Queen Palms" grow much taller and look like the graceful flowing sleeves of a queen.

"Persian Stars" or "Persian Onions"    Allium.

"Sunny Days Calendula" or "Field Marigolds"

"Yellow Alder"

"Roebellini Palms / Pygmy Dates Palms.  They are usually kept small and decorative like this,

but some of them are allowed to grow taller.

"Red-Eyed Pink Madagascar Periwinkle"  Hardy and prolific.

"Blue Porterweed."  In the building next to mine, Victoria grows these because

they are highly desirable to butterflies.

"White and Magenta Madagascar Periwinkle / Vincas."  These came

originally from Madagascar and Mauritius and those islands off the coast of Africa.

"Blue Bird Vetch."  The German lady claims they have an awful smell and keep the

iguanas away.  Last week, groundskeepers were issued airguns and told to go out and

shoot iguanas; they have become a real plague in Florida.