Sunday Morning in the Garden - come have a cup of coffee and sit a while

[Sonny]

Musa 'Truly Tiny'.  It truly is tiny only growing to 2 ft.



Musa Ornata 'Bronze'.



Belly Ache Bush.



Hedychium - Butterfly Ginger



Ornamental Peppers.  They've been self sowing in this pot for a couple of years now.



A look at the sky through a palm.



Here's a picture of a snail.   



Thanks for coming to visit.   

[Mikey]

Hey thanks for the cup of joe and the chance to visit with you in the garden!    Beautiful looking plants!  Your ginger blooms much sooner than mine.  I can't expect anything here until about July.  Belly Ache bush, LOL.  I've never heard of that plant before but I gather that one doesn't want to eat any part of it.... 

[Sonny]

Mikey,

Belly Ache Bush is actually Jatropha (a type of Euphorbia).  It is considered a noxious weed in some parts and I understand the oil from the seed can be used as a substitute for deisel fuel.  So I can see why it might give you a belly ache. 

Thanks for visiting.  Stop by any time.   

[Indiana Karen]

Thanks for sharing a lovely morning in your garden. 
Wish I lived across the street and could just walk on over for a visit.
I remember having ornamental peppers in a pot in the house when I was a child.  I always thought they were so colorful.

Karen

[Sunbeam56]

Picture of a snail? 

I like the rolling pin its climbing on - what kind of pie do you make with that? mud pies? 

Thanks for the visit.

[Sonny]

Wish you could walk over for a visit too Karen.

Picture of a snail? 

I like the rolling pin its climbing on - what kind of pie do you make with that? mud pies? 

Thanks for the visit.

Sunbeam, the 'rolling pin' is an old limestone lawn roller.

[Jonna]

Beautiful! I forget how close Houston is to us and how tropical it is.  I love the ginger, it's a soft, lovely color.

[jclements]

Lovely yard/plants! Makes me want to move to Houston! 

[Sonny]

Thanks Jonna and Jessica.

Houston can be a frustrating place to garden though.  It teases you, sometimes for years, convincing you it is a tropical climate.  And then it throws you a cruel curve ball and freezes.     Next day might be 78o F but your tender tropicals have been damaged.  I dream of living in a truly tropical climate where you never have to worry about your plants getting zapped.  Hawaii maybe or the Virgin Islands.  Jonna, I've even done some internet house hunting in Merida.   

[miguynmkoi]

As always, Beautiful!  Like Mike said, your plants are ahead of ours.  This is my first year with ornamental peppers too.  They reseeded last year and now they are growing like full plants but no color peppers yet.

Thanks for the break!

[Joyce]

Always tranquil and tastefully done garden pix Jim!
You don't know how close we came to moving into the Houston area a few months back!
It would have been so much fun meeting you and my other TX AP friends.
Well....if Jamie still has her heart set on Marine Biology when she graduates,
we still may end up in TX!

[Sonny]

Thanks for stopping by Annette and Joyce.   

Annette, I believe the warm nights are largely responsible for our earlier growing season.  For example, the nighttime lows have been in the upper 70's to low 80's.

Joyce, please do look me up if you're ever in town.  It would be great to meet you in person.  Is there a particular school Jaimie has her eyes on?

[Jerry]

Until we met you Somy I had no idea that Houston wassuch a plant paradise.
I deal with Caldwell's in Rosenberg TX.  They were my first inkling tjat yolur area is so "tropical."   Have any decaffe?

[Mikey]

With all the work you are doing in the garden Jerry, you better drink the high octane stuff 

[Jerry]

The Doc says NO to caffine. :'(  When I played basketball it was a must drink. Really worked.

[miguynmkoi]

No Monday manic here so I am taking another stroll around your paradise, Sonny.  BTW Did all the Dads have a wonderful Father's Day?!

[Sonny]

Decaffe is no problem Jerry.  Come on by.

Glad to have you back Annette.  Come on over here and let me show you something new since Sunday morning.

It's a night blooming cirrus.

[miguynmkoi]

WOW!  The night blooming cirrus is beautiful!  Thanks for sharing this outstanding bloom......now to check it out!

[EagleEye]

First of all, I think that your photos are fantastic and you gardens a tropical paradise. I don't want to live there, but I'm glad that you do so I can share in your photography and gardens.
Thanks,
Steve

[Jonna]

Do those strap like leaves belong to the Cereus?  I'm trying to tell the difference between this one, which sounds more like a true cactus, and the Hylocereus or Pitaya or Dragon Fruit which is also called Queen of the Night and has large white flowers with heavy scent.  It seems they are 2 different things, but they both are a vining, cactus like plant. 

[Sonny]

Yes, those are the cereus leaves.  The grow long and flat, I used to have the parent growing in a hanging basket.  The flower isn't fragrant; at least not that I noticed.  I have never been sure of the plant's identity though.  It was given to me by a friend years ago and that is what she told me.

[Jerry]

I have them and always called them "Orchid Cactus"  Great flower but lasts but a day or two.
Easy to grow from cuttings.

[Sonny]

I have them and always called them "Orchid Cactus"  Great flower but lasts but a day or two.
Easy to grow from cuttings.

These flowers only open when it gets dark and stay open for a few hours after day break.