Cookie Kid

This weekend the city has sponsored an art show. It's a part of our seniors program. To enter the competition you had to be over 65 and live in Coral Gables. The entries were better then your average sidewalk show.

Killed by the Name

This flowering shrub was very popular in the 40s and 50s. We called it the candle flower and it sort of looks like a candle. In the 60s we started to have more Caribbeans moving into south Florida and they brought their name for this plant. They called it 'young mans pride'. Over night the plants vanished. I spotted two this year.

Gloxinia perennis (maculata)

It's been blooming in our garden for two months. The only other gardener that I know of that grows this plant is the one that gave it to me. I don't think that it is rare, but it isn't a plant from Home Depot.

The Brown House

I have watched this house for the last 40 years and this is the first time that the owners have a decent color on the exterior. For many years it was a dark brown, the color that you would use for trim. Then it was gray, a very dark gray. Now the house looks happy.

Another Park

This triangular spot of green was upgraded to a park for flowering trees about 10 years ago. Hurricanes have taken out some of the trees, but there are plenty left. I am curious as to the blue package that was dropped into the park 3 or 4 months ago. I stopped to check it out and all I know is that it is marble. Is it someones face or their name for posterity? We have enough. I hope it's art.

Bc. Maikai 'Mayumi' HCC-AOS / Eye Candy

Brassavola nodosa and Cattleya bowringiana are the parents of Bc. Maikai. Yesterdays orchid was also a nodosa hybrid using a little white flowered specie. Todays flower is a cross with a purple flower. So much for science. This pink flower gets as spectacular as yesterdays flower, but it isn't as fragrant.

B. Little Stars

This orchid is growing on an avocado tree. It is one of the 'Ladies of the Knight' group. Every evening our garden and the neighbors garden is bathed with a very pleasant fragrance. The ladies get around. The pink flower is another orchid.

Loggia

This is the north side of yesterdays building. It's attractive, but at the same time it's sterile. It needs some landscaping. It looks like it belongs in a cemetery.

Architecture Center at the University of Miami

The staff must have had fun figuring out which professor would design the building.

Is There a Pot of Gold?

Another view of the fountain. But this time you might see the rainbow ending in the water. You seldom get a chance to see were it ends. It is said that you will find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This is only the second time that I have seen such a phenomena. The first time was in our Key Largo garden, next to the water.

Lake Osceola

Lake Osceola and the Cobb Fountain is a nice setting for a few alligators. University of Miami students know better then to swim in this lake. It is reserved for the alligators.

A Private Garden

I have walked by this yard for years, but I never looked through the hedge beside the house.

It Keeps on Going

Just like the right kind of battery the white mussaenda keeps blooming and blooming. The flowers start in late May and blooms until the first of December. With the possibility of a warm winter it might bloom into January. Chick here to see the Mussaenda in our garden.

Refurbished Courtyard

This house was built in the 20's and nothing was done to it except the outside was painted and the roof was replaced. New owners gutted the place, they even had to add support to the walls that were faulty. Walls were usually made of concrete blocks, but this one was built with hollow clay ceramic blocks. This courtyard originally was just an indentation on the side of the house. Now it's the grand front door.

Putting It Together

A vehicle rammed this post two weeks ago. The city has a private company doing the repair. Years ago the city had a specialist on staff to take care of such problems. The expert retired and now the city out sources the work. It's less expensive. The driver who caused the problem, pays for the restoration - or his insurance pays. If you forgot what the broken post looked like, click here.