Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Last Of The Crop


We ate the first avocado at the end of June and we will now eat this last one next week. We will have had avocados on the table from June to April. We have three trees that fill out the large season. I guest we will start eating more tomatoes until late Jume/

Monday, March 30, 2009

Bougainvillea On The Garage

It's beautiful, but hard on the roof.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

A 5K Run, Well Maybe A 5K Walk

The 5K run/walk blocked our street yesterday just like last Sunday. In the spring the weather is so nice we just seem to find things to fill our major roads with pedestrians like this and that.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

'Kohala' longan

This longan tree hasn't produced fruit for the last three years. Now I have some flowers and a hope for a crop of fruit. My Kohala longan is the squirrels favorite food and I am not likely to get any fruit for my family. I don't mind letting the squirrels eat the avocados because they will sit down and eat the entire fruit and leave other avocados for us to eat. I do mind when they eat our longans because they will take a small bite in every fruit a week before they are fully ripe and we don't get to have any of the crop.

Friday, March 27, 2009

First Daylily Of The Season

Daylilies are seldom grown in south Florida. If you can keep the fungus and aphids off the plants plus water them a lot you can grow them in Coral Gables. Our plants are the evergreen types that grow so well in middle flower.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Three Relatively Rare Tropical Vines


Jade vine Strongylodon macrobotrys This flower was the first page on this blog. This year it started to bloom in January and it will bloom in to April


Tecomanthe hilli This is probably the rarest of the three. It likes to climb up large trees. My is in an old oak. This is the time for the main flowering. But it blooms off and on for 9 months.



Clerodendrum x speciosum - Java Glory Vine This vine started to bloom in November and I'm not sure when it will stop.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Inlaws Apartment

It was once a garage and now it's a small apartment with a large front window and a nice patio.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

A Mango Tree Full Of Orchids

It has to be spring!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Now I Know That Spring Is Here

This orchid opens spring like clock work. It's too warm to grow tulips, but I'll be happy with my orchids.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

The Trees Are Sick

These old Ficus trees went through many hurricanes without giving up. Now a little white fly is going to kill the trees. Yes we could use poisons to kill the white flies, but then our ground water would be toxic.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Rebuilding Of Venetian Pool


This past fall the pool was closed while the city repaired the leaks. On the last day that it was open the locals were invited to take a swim with there dogs. That was a one time chance for the dogs. We took our dogs to the ocean for a swim since I was a youngster. Now you can't do that in public beaches. We were lucky, we had a house by the water in the Keys. It was good for the dogs but not the house.
The pool looks better with water.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Bougainvillea


This winter has been unusually dry, which means that flowering trees and vines will be more colorful then normal. This is true of the bougainvillea. While they can bloom any time, the winter is the time that they are at their best. The colorful show lingers until a few raining days and then the flowers drop. Last night was the first good rain in 3 months.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Beer For All

Last Sunday Miracle Mile was closed in the morning for a show of classic cars and the week before there was an art festival. This evening the city is celebrating St Patrick's day with good food, good beer, and ear breaking music. Fortunately it is one block north of the Mile.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Orchid Show This Weekend

The FTBG spring orchid show was a topper. You will not find this orchid for sale in your big box store or grocery. But now some of the most beautiful orchids are produced in very large numbers. Thus some of the very best orchids are now sold for very reasonable prices.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

A Wall With A House

Fifty years ago fences and walls were seldom seen in our city. The lawns and gardens just blended down the block. This house looks better then ever with the the wall.

Friday, March 13, 2009

A Mango Grows On The Prado

The Prado is public property and the city doesn't plant fruit trees on city land. This rouge tree is a rarity. It's not likely that a seedling wasn't cut down by the large lawn mowers that the city uses. Maybe someone in the area planted the tree with out permission.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Another Kapok Tree


One of the best that I have seen. This is a young tree. In time it will become a very large tree, and they are seldom used in private gardens.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Father Of Our City

This large statue of George Merrick is now at home in front of city hall. At first, not all of use knew that he was holding the blue prints of the city.



Tuesday, March 10, 2009

10 Weeks Old


And we are very pleased to have another Grand son.

Monday, March 9, 2009

We Heard Yoooou


The party lasted for two days and into the evenings. We live 6 blocks west of the festival and we heard all of the music. We could even feel the blast of the music when we were in our yard.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

A Festival On Our Main Street

This festival fills four blocks of our city for two days. There is a lot of art, and all sorts of things to buy. But I didn't see many people walking with things that they might have bought.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Three Royals

The royal palms are so tall that you normally see only the trunk.

Friday, March 6, 2009

More Politics

Signs are up for Commissioners that want to keep their job. There are very few signs for the want to be.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Two Balconies

When Romeo comes to visit with Juliet which window does his pebble land on? Who does he awaken, Juliet or Mama?

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Death By Whitefly

This is the median of the Country Club Prado. The green space in the middle of the street seems more like a park. I have watched this Ficus tree all my life and now I have to say goodbye. Since I was a young boy I was aware of my surroundings. The vegetation was particularly important. There are many trees that I have watched for long time. Now you will see some that I'm lousing.

Monday, March 2, 2009

This Orchid Stands Up To The Cold Weather

This orchid, Cattleya skinneri is a forth generation species from the jungle. The white form is not common and the petal size is extremely large. No you will not find this in the wild. Remember that the cold weather for us is 50f.
Check here to see more forms of Cattleya skinneri.
And check here to see what is in bloom this chilly March day.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Theme Day: Glass


Today when people think about glass as art it's always the work of Dale Chihuly. This was in the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and it was so well liked that he came back the next year with a new show. That really means that he sold a lot of glass. Many people bought the art and then gave it back to the Garden. Now we have a large collection of Chihuly that will stay in Coral Gables.

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