On My Walk This Morning 4g

 

"Daphne" White Orchid.  This is one of a dozen orchids of different varieties and
colors tied to trees around the door to this condo.

"Lilac Cluster" Orchids.  As you can see, the stem is loaded with buds, so

I will come by again and see it loaded with flowers.

"Pittisporum" is an attractive low growing plant.  This one has glossy leaves;

other varieties have a matte surface.  They vary in color from pale green, like this one,

to deeper shades of forest green.

These are "Mini White Phalaenopsis" and they now have three clusters of flowers.

The plant started blooming a couple of months ago with a few flowers in one

cluster.  It has developed additional clusters along the stem and many more flowers.

"Grandpa's Pajamas" is another mini-phalaenopsis orchid.  The flowers are about

one-third the size of standard orchids.  They are quite charming and delicate.

"Strawberry Lime" Coleus is a new bed which they just planted.

The flowers look very nice now, but unless they are watered regularly, they will

fall apart.  Coleus is one of the easiest flowers to grow and also the cheapest.

Just use a sharp knife or razor to cut off a piece five inches long with a growing tip,

put it in a shot glass with water, and in ten days it will have inch long roots and

you can plant it in dirt.  But you must water regularly.

"Pink Bubblegum" Hibiscus.  This condo building uses lots of hibiscus.

Left alone, the tree will bloom prolifically.  But groundskeepers want it to stay

back away from the sidewalk and stay symmetrical, so they trim it - and cut off

all the buds.  Right now the tree is small enough that it can show off many blooms

before they cut it back.

The "Bismark Palm" is striking for its grey-green color and for the large fans.

It is always very dramatic in a setting.  This is the entrance to the swimming pool,

with Blue Agave, Asparagus Fern, and Yucca plants growing tall.

These are the small pink and white wax begonias.  They are growing very thick

and bushy.  They come in three heights (at least): these small ones,

the big beautiful Angel Wing and Dragon Wing varieties growing along

the driveway, and an intermediate height for hedges.

Pink and White Begonias Wax Begonias in front, and larger Angel Wing Begonias

behind, but not in very good shape here.

"Red, White, and Pink Impatiens."   The bushes get bigger and bigger and thicker and

thicker.  Like Coleus, they are easy to grow and multiply.

"Arboricola" is a very colorful, dense, and hardy variety of Schefflera.

"Red Wax Begonias."  They are very bright and intense in a bed.

"Red Wax Begonias"

A cluster of Mini White Phalaenopsis.  This year there are a number of the

Mini-Phalaenopsis Orchids.  They are popular in stores because they take up less

room on a table or desk and last a long time.

"Tawney Tiger" Orchids.  They do not grow on a straight stiff stem, but
on a flexible, curving stem.  

"Frivolity" Orchids.  These are actually in a mini-variety.

This condo has several mini varieties, so there must be someone who really likes them.

"Dream of Esperanza" Orchids

These blossoms are so delicate and soft, they almost appear to be clouds of smoke.

"Canary Flock" Orchids are one of a number of orchids around the door of 
this condo.

"Buttercup Beauties" are a thick cluster of large yellow orchids

with purple throats.  They hang over the back of the bench in front.

"Aunt Violet" is a deep, rich purple variety of orchid with wine colored throat.

They are across from the yellow varieties.

I made two wonderful new discoveries this morning.  The first is this gorgeous

ten foot high Gardenia Bush.  Most gardenia bushes are about four feet high, 

and they prune them so awfully that only a few flowers appear.  This bush is set back

away from the path, and so they must ignore it.  It had dozens of gorgeous Gardenias all over.

"Gardenia #1."  They all look as if they are made of snow white velvet,

and each flower is different in its petals.

"Gardenia #2"

"Gardenia #3."  I could have taken dozens, but I stopped after six.

And not far away, in a parking lot, is this magnificent "Scarlet" Red Weeping Hibiscus.

Most hibiscus grow on firm stems that are rather short.  But this weeping variety has been

developed with long flexible wands six feet long with a flower at the end of each.  

Breathtaking!  And the red color is the most intense of all the flowers.

Another "Scarlet" Red Weeping Hibiscus.  In D.C. some of my favorite

cherry trees are the weeping variety, especially in the Japanese Garden outside

the Freer Museum of Asian Art on the Mall.

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On My Walk This Morning 4f

This amazing Succulent Garden appeared suddenly one morning, actually two of them,

one on either side of the door.  I checked and a tenant from New York who is a florist

and landscape artist, offered to plant them for the building.  I think he did a wonderful job.

Now I shall keep checking to enjoy them and see how they survive.  He included four

or five colors and sizes of stones in the garden and several containers.

All of these plants are drought resistant and may not need any watering.

At the top and on a lattice on either side are two bougainvilleas, a red and a purple.

One of the containers is filled with "Blue Daze," a flower I first met in Montreal.

I think this will require manual watering, but it seems to be quite hardy.  "Blue Daze" 

is often used as a ground cover and spreads quickly.

On top of the posts and in containers are a variety of plants, which I will look at

individually.  The different elevations, colors, and textures offer wonderful

visual delights.

A small agave in a container.  I had never seen such small decorative agaves

used before.  Very interesting.

"Pale Green Sedum."  The plant is common as a ground cover, but the color is very nice

as a standout plant.

"Drooping Algernon Agave" in planter and beside a small bamboo lattice.

This one I knew from the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago - the "Pencil Plant /

Naked Lady / Euphorbia."  It grows in the desert, in Arizona, and does not send out

leaves.  Its stems are green and carry on photosynthesis and make food.

In front is a pineapple plant with a young pineapple growing.

"Pastel Patsy" Copperleaf Plant.  This is a variety of plant which is very popular

down here because it comes in so many colors, it grows rapidly, and is very hardy.

It can be severely pruned many times and it keeps coming back.

Close-up of "Pastel Patsy Copperleaf."

Also in front of this building is "Sunburst Yellow," one of the purest and most

radiant yellow hibiscus of all the many varieties.  Everything - outer leaf, inner core,

stamen and pistils are all yellow.

"Red, White, and Pink Pentas / Egyptian Star Flowers."

Each day I walk by this building, I stop to enjoy this pot.  It keeps getting

fuller and more lush all the time.  It was a wonderful idea, I think.

There is a matching pot on the North side.

"Purple Shamrock / Oxalis Triangularis."

I remember this one from last year, and it has come back very nicely.  It looks like

a shamrock, but is actually an oxalis.  Tiny oxalis plants in white or pink are

found all through our lawns, kind of like a Floridian Dandelion.

In intense sunlight or deep shadow, the leaves appear almost black,

and it is sometimes called "The Black Shamrock" 

"Green Spider Croton."  The variety of colors, shapes, and sizes for crotons

seems to be infinite, and I enjoy seeing all the new ones.  They are decorative

plants for the garden, not flowering.

    

This wasn't exactly on my walk, but in my living room.  A "Waxed Amaryllis."

A friend sent me the bulb at Christmas.  It arrives as that red waxed ball at the

bottom, which looks like a Gouda Cheese.  You just set in on a dish in a bright

spot, but not direct sun, and wait.  No water, no food.  It gradually sends up a

couple of leaves and then a stalk, and mine opened into these two beautiful

red flowers a few days before Valentine's Day.  Each flower is about 5 inches 

in diameter.

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On My Walk This Morning 4e

The "Red, White, and Lilac Pentas / Egyptians Star Flowers"

is one of my favorites, and I walk by this pot often.

"Pink Impatiens / Busy Lizzies" flourish when the temperatures are cool

and the light is bright.

"Peach Copperleaf" is a beautiful variant of the popular copperleaf.

The "White Privet" has come back and is sending up a number of shoots.

"Lady Priscilla" is a nice flowering bush of yellow hibiscus.

The landscapers do a strange job of trimming on this bush.

"Jasmine" White Phalaenopsis with purple throat.  This is one of five orchid

plants outside a condo.  They face north and like the bright light, but no sun.

They have been blooming for many weeks now.

Another of the five orchids is "Heloise," yellow with a purple throat.

Many more blossoms will be opening.

"Starburst Clerodendron" on a young tree.  There are many of these trees in our area.

They frequently surround a swimming pool.  They are quite spectacular

as they burst open.

Close-up of the "Starburst Clerodendron," and you can see where the name

comes from.

This little bush had the most intense red "Crown of Thorns" I have seen.

You can see all the thorns along the stems.

"Maid of Orleans" is a beautiful orchid plant with many buds, and so I shall

have to return to see it again with more flowers.  They are big and robust.

It is much fuller this year than last year.

"Happy Days" is a white orchid with pale yellow throat.

There is a big agave plant below it, and I am being stabbed in the leg

as I shoot this picture.

"Happy Days" is growing on a tree alongside "Butterscotch."

Both are fuller and bigger than last year.

"Butterscotch" Orchids with wine colored throats.

I like this one very much.

"Magic Moments" is a dark wine orchid.  These flowers are a little

smaller than the usual Phalaenopsis orchids.

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