On My Walk This Morning 3o

"Sweet Adeline" Phalaenopsis Orchid.

This was the first orchid to bloom, back on Feb. 1.  Now it is blooming for

a second time this year.  The Blossoms are bigger this time.  It has never done this before.

This photo was taken two weeks ago; it has since added additional blossoms (below).

"Cherie Red Chinese Hibiscus."  This is my favorite color in the hibiscus,

and I always look for good examples.

"Angie's Angels."  More orchids continue to bloom.  I don't know whether

people have tied them to the trees more recently or they are blooming later,

but there was no orchid on this tree earlier.

"Canary Grass."  There are many varieties of decorative grasses these days.

They make nice borders.

"Canary Grass."  Dark Green with White Borders.

The rain keeps this gardenia bush blooming.  Today there were eight new blossoms

on a bush which has been blooming since March.

The eight big magnolia trees continue to bloom and ever more prolifically.

Today there were eight of these gorgeous blossoms, 12-14 in. in diameter.

Many of them are higher up and can only be seen by people on upper floors.

But fortunately, there were several at eye level.

"White Porcelain Dinner Plate Magnolia."  The magnolias in Washington, D.C.

bloom in early April; these are still blooming here in Florida.

"White Crepe Myrtle"

A number of these trees surround the children's playground in the park.

"White Crepe Myrtle" close-up.  The blossoms are in clusters, like a sno-cone.

"Pink Crepe Myrtle."  They come in many pastel colors.

"Raspberry Crepe Myrtle."  These are my favorite color, and this bush is

beside one of the tennis courts.  Last week they made two of the tennis courts

into six pickleball courts, because the sport is so popular.

"Prickly Pear Cactus."  We don't have many cacti around because of the

humidity, but this plant seems to thrive and blooms profusely each year.  A nice

salad can be made with the blossoms.

"Flamingo Lily."  This is a lovely little plant in a pot.  I am used to seeing the

full sized versions in greenhouses.  Longwood Gardens always had several

in bloom and about three feet high.  These are about ten inches.

Botanically, they are "Anthuriums."

"Fluttering Moths."  This cluster of orchids appeared almost overnight.

"Sweet Adeline," now up to six blossoms.  Several more will be coming, and I shall

be watching.

"Summer Daydreams."

These lovely little orchids appeared on a tree by a side building.  They are a 

delicate pink and lavender, rather than the usual yellow and orange.

"Queen Crepe Myrtle" blossoms.  Entire trees are covered with these flowers.

But they are on the top side of the tree, and I am not that tall, so it is difficult to get

good close-ups of the flowers.

"Red Ixora"

This was a wonderful view.  This is what every Ixora bush would look like, if the

gardeners left them alone.  But they are usually trimmed severely so that they

"look neat," and they cut off all the buds.  These bushes were far enough away from the 

sidewalk that the gardeners left them alone, at least temporarily, and so they bloomed

naturally and prolifically.

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On My Walk This Morning 3n

 

"Magnolia Blossom."  The eight magnolia trees continue to produce flowers,

usually one at a time, and each flower lasts for two days and then turns brown.

"Japanese Fern Tree."  This is a handsome decorative tree.  It never needs trimming,

and takes this form naturally.

"Philodendron Rojo Congo."  The philodendron comes in many sizes and shapes

and colors.  This one has dark red stalks, like rhubarb, and dark, dramatic looking leaves.

"Coral Mussaenda."  The bush is covered with these large clusters of

colorful petals.

"Mussaenda" flowers up close.

"Aztec Gold Ixora"

Outside one of the doors over at Cypress Bend, I found this nice mixture of

different colors of Bromeliads.

"Carissa Multiflora."  The very dark green shiny foliage makes a dramatic

backdrop for the pure white flowers.

"White Candles / Whitfieldia Elongata."

"White Candles"

"White Crepe Myrtle" in front and "Royal Poinciana" in orange at back.

These are in George Brummer Park, where I frequently stop and rest on my walks.

Clusters of "White Crepe Myrtle" blossoms.

"Sanchezia" is a very attractive green bush.  It comes in many varieties of

patters and shades of green.

"Yucca" plan in bloom.

"Broad Leaf Lady Palm."  This comes in many varieties and sizes.

"Yellow Alder /  Jamaican Ramgoat Dashalong"

"Split-leaf Philodendron," one of the hundreds of kinds of philodendron.

A hedge of "Pink Ixora."

A young "Queen Crepe Myrtle"

Close-up of "Queen Crepe Myrtle" blossoms.  Entire trees are covered in these

beautiful purple flowers.

The "Golden Showers" tree bloomed before it had any leaves.  As the leaves appeared,

the golden petals of the flowers dropped off.  But now something unusual has

happened; the tree is sending out more golden showers of petals along with the 

green leaves.  I enjoy watching it.

"Angus" Agave.  The Agave plants come in many sizes and colors, so they are very

handy in creating interesting landscapes.  This large Agave has many stripes on it.

This plant could not be used to make tequila, which is produced only from the Blue Weber

Agave, which grows at a high altitude.  But this and all other agaves can be used to

make mescal, which is also a nice alcoholic drink.

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On My Walk This Morning 3m

 

"White Peace Lilies."  They do very well in the shade.

Bed of "White Peace Lilies" in deep shade beneath large shade trees on North side.

Now the "Crepe Myrtle Trees" are coming into bloom.  They come in many colors.

These are my favorite color, raspberry.

"Raspberry Crepe Myrtle Tree."  Once established, they are very hardy and

drought resistant, but they must be well watered the first year.

"Yellow Dazzler Hibiscus"

This Hibiscus plant has been blooming nicely for years, but this year they trimmed

it very badly and it now has this strange form.

There are at least six of these gorgeous "Blue Jacaranda" trees in Cypress Bend,

the community to the east of us where I go walking.  They grow quite tall

and you have to look up to see them.  I think many people walking this path never

notice them.  But they are covered in beautiful big clusters of blue flowers.

Close-up of clusters of "Blue Jacaranda" flowers.

The zoom lens on the camera is sometimes invaluable.

I walked a slightly different path today and got close to a side of this building

which I had never noticed before.  Two yards had lots of flowers, and the two owners

happened to be outside chatting, so I talked with them.  This is a single "Desert Rose,"

but it has both the pink flowers and the deep red flowers.  I have never seen that before.

On one of their trees they had this lovely cluster of "Jennifer"

Phalaenopsis orchids.

There was also this deeper colored "Oscar Wilde" Orchid.

Normal "Crepe Myrtle Trees" have cone-shaped clusters of small flowerlets, like

the "Raspberry Crepe Myrtle" above.  But horticulturalists have also developed the

"Queen Crepe Myrtle" which has stalks of large flowers which completely cover the top

of the tree.  They make beautiful specimens this time of the year.  This is one of about

twenty "Queen Crepe Myrtles" on the West side of my walk.

This is another of the "Queen Crepe Myrtles," but I am shooting the photo

not with the sun at my back, but into the sun, and so I get this wonderful effect

of sun-lighted flowers.

Here is a closer view of the stalks of "Queen Crepe Myrtle" flowers

covering a tree.  They do not grow very high, so you can see and enjoy

them easily.

Another "Queen Crepe Myrtle" in the parking lot.  They are striking.

Very close-up of a cluster of "Queen Crepe Myrtle" flowers.

And if the blue and purple are not colorful enough for you, the flaming

red-orange "Royal Poinciana Trees" are now in blossom all along my path.

A red-orange "Royal Poinciana" beside our Community Center, where I play cards

once a week.

I have been waiting for this tree to reach full bloom, and it has this morning.

It is a "Sweet Viburnum" and is covered with clusters of little white flowers

that have a lovely, sweet aroma.

Clusters of flowers on the "Sweet Viburnum Tree."

This is related to the "Snowball Bush," which you may know from up North.

The "Red Wax Begonias" are doing better this year and lasting longer than ever.

This is a very nice bed along my path.

"Red Wax Begonias."

Wow!  It was a very colorful morning walk and exciting this morning.

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