A Three Hour Tour... of the Garden!

I know it's been a while since I've shared the garden at my mom's but then again, I haven't been there much lately! I'm making up for lost time with a megapost filled with pictures of the flowers, foliage and fruit from the garden in July, but I haven't found the courage to sing a ditty like last time. Maybe after I sample some of the ripe figs that I've just harvested and wash it down with a passionfruit cocktail.

Yes, you heard correctly! I've had bushels and bushels of sweet and luscious figs from the same one gallon plant that I brought home last year. These things start producing right out of preschool... or the nursery, I guess that's a better analogy.

The Colocasia 'Elena' is revitalized by the recent downpours and will soon tower over the surrounding plants, but for the time being she's approachable and petite.

The turmeric on the other hand... is getting to be a little statuesque. Soon the "hidden" flowers will peek out between the leaves and I'll have material for flower arrangements!

Another large leaved plant, this Black Tropicanna is about to burst into bloom! I happen to like the unopened flowerspike in the meantime.

You can see the foliage of the Canna "Black Tropicanna" above the Alocasia odora leaves, which are also having a field day in all of this rain. This is all from one bulb, by the way.

The blood lilies finished blooming a couple of months ago, but look at the foliage that followed in the flowers' wake! Yet another reason to love those supremely tropical looking blood lilies.

Here's another tropical looking plant for you: radicalis palm! It's gotten a lot larger in the last few years, and the aerial trunked form has been reaching for the sky. This is probably one of my top five plants.

How could I forget the bromeliads? You'll notice how full the cups are after all of this rain. I lose more bromeliads to the stagnant water caused by drought than I do from freezes, if you can believe it.

Passionflowers are thuggish brutes that consume everything in their paths but you wouldn't know it by looking at their dainty flowers, nor would you want to yank it out. Sacrifice those pretty little flowers? No way!

Besides, I have a crew of little landscapers that keep the plants in check 24/7. This grasshopper is helping me keep the princess flower bushy with a little judicious tip pruning. It's thanks to these "pests" that I can leave the garden alone for weeks with barely any maintenance! Maybe I'll save some figs for the crew.