Ann: They are pretty hardy plants for sure; I don't know why mine have bloomed numerous times over the years, I never fertilize them and I'm lax about watering too.

You know, I've never checked.... I wonder if there are male & female? Interesting that you get blooms. I have never seen one bloom before. The big ones with the red berries yes, but not the small like yours.

But, even if there are male and female they still both have to bloom. Like my papayas, which have distinctly different blooms on the male plants to the female, the male plant's flowers produce the pollen and the female flowers have the ovary. I'll bet Lin's bloom because she 'neglects' them a bit.

Just wanted to show off this funny little orchid - Dendrobium Yellow Song 'Canary'. I'm hoping it's not putting on a huge show of bloom here because it's getting ready to die . . . sometimes they do that. I started this plant from two divisions less than 18 months ago, so this is unprecedented bloom for such a young plant.

Oh my, that Dend. Yellow Song 'Canary' is sooo pretty!

Nice Den.........
Never thought of the Umbrellas as "hardy". I managed to kill every one I ever had.

The ones I grow are extremely easy to grow but they will not take a hard freeze. Mine have survived the upper 20's but when we got down into the teen's this winter, I lost every single one of mine (that were left outside).

Taking a break from all the weeding & digging. Next task is a much needed raking of back yard & trimming of the tangerine tree. Then need to fill the empty raised bed. Doubt I'll get the other 2 made before I run out of energy. My friend who was to help me today has not shown up.

It is MARVELOUS out there.

Go ahead, Jean, just rub it in! LOL It is a balmy 30 here with a wind chill of 18 F. I want spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ken - temps like those are why we moved down here 2 years ago!!!!! Leaves here fall now so I raked most of the afternoon. They are small so are great for mulch.
Hopefully rain will hold off tomorrow till I can get s few more tasks completed.

"Winter" is coming back tomorrow.........................Only to be in the 50s!!!!!

Jean: Oh no, I didn't hear that winter was returning tomorrow! You are only @ 1 1/2 hours north of me so if your high is only going to be in the 50's I bet we will probably only make it to the mid 60's, wonder what the lows are predicted to be? I thought we were done with cold weather for the year! Our high here was @ 81º today and such a beautiful day and now the news is reporting thunder storms for Thursday and possibly severe weather. Grrr.

Did I share this photo earlier? If so, please forgive me ... the weeping bottlebrush is in full bloom and I saw the first butterfly of the season visiting the blooms yesterday (a Red Admiral) .... the hummingbirds should be here in a few weeks!

Yep, we are scheduled to visit the school garden on Thursday, too. Hope the storms hold off at least until the afternoon, as it's our last visit before Spring Break.

Lovely shot of the butterfly, Lin. Those bottlebrush trees sure are beautiful.

Why can't we have warm rainy days???? 40s, windy, & wet is dang chilly!!!!!

It hasn't gotten above 63º here today, cool, dreary and cloudy all day; no rain yet but it's supposed to be wet and rainy here tomorrow .. and still dreary.

Guess it hasn't quite reached us yet, we had a nice day and the a/c is running off and on this afternoon, so it must be above 80. Just starting to cloud over now.

Tomorrow is supposed to be stormy and Friday the cold will get us with another low in the 40's. arg.

It must be spring, my broccoli goes straight from little shoots to great big flowers, I can't pick it fast enough. Luckily the flowers are pretty, and my neighbor's honey bees are all over it. Mango tree has pretty blooms right now too, but they don't smell too great.



Love this pretty kale with purple veins and stems, too. My passiflora quadrangularis has been blooming 'way up in the bamboo clump where I can't see the flowers, but they drop onto the walkway when they're spent, just to taunt me . . . This one was low enough to get a picture and a sniff.

I've never seen broccoli flowers ... very pretty and the mango flowers are gorgeous but not fragrant huh? Love the Passiflora bloom!

Oh, Lin they are fragrant all right. Just not a very nice fragrance, sadly. Mangoes are pollinated by flies, so the scent that attracts them isn't the nicest.

We never hit 50 yesterday. Tied a record for the Coldest High for the date. Drizzled all day. Today comes the RAIN but it will warm up to 60!!!!!
Weekend & early next week are looking very nice.

I need to start pulling up the Kale that is planted in the ground so I can put a raised bed in that area. Sure wish it smelled better when it starts cooking!!!!

Elaine, I didn't know Mango's were pollinated by flies ... Yuck, I bet those blooms are stinky but the fruits are so wonderful!

Kale, I put it in things like mac n cheese, and it's great on any pasta dish, even on pizza, but never cook it alone.

My favorite is putting a few raw leaves in the blender with a banana, skim milk, and some other fruit for a very healthy smoothie. You can't really taste the kale, but it gives a little 'bite' to the fruit. Mmm, breakfast time!

We have the huge blob of rain looming over us now, and I'm supposed to go teach the kids gardening today . . . not happening, I fear!

Rain predicted pretty much all day here. Gloomy but at least it is above freezing. I took two bags of my dormant plumeria out of their closet yesterday and potted up a couple of dozen ones, those that were already rooted. Depending on size, they are in 1-4 gal pots, but most of them are in 3-4 gal. pots. I have them in my mini-greenhouse on the patio. We are supposed to get down to 37 tonight, and even though they should be fine (no leaves), I will go ahead and put a 100W or 150W light in the greenhouse to keep the temperature a bit warmer. I still have two more bags to pot up, but with the rain, it will be tomorrow or Saturday when I do so. I will just leave the cuttings on the enclosed porch for another few weeks and then begin the process of rooting them.