loquat tree

Also known as the Japanese plum, the loquat is a small evergreen tree with a dense, rounded, dark green canopy.  It is a well-behaved little shade tree that grows moderately fast and reaches only 25 – 30 feet in shade with a 30 – 35 foot spread, but is often no taller than 15 feet…

buddleia (butterfly bush)

Buddleia – or “Butterfly Bush” – attracts hummingbirds and many different kinds of butterflies. Fragrant pink-purple flowers in conical clusters appear on and off all year (more during warmer weather) at the tips of arching branches. With regular trimming, it will reward you with its showy year-round flowers and butterfly-attracting qualities. By Michael West –…

foxtail palm

Available in single or multi-trunk specimens. Its smooth gray trunk is topped with a bright green crownshaft and big tufted fronds that resemble the bushy tail of a fox. Native to Australia. By Clau8a – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link   Classification Alternate names Latin name Wodyetia bifurcata Family Arecaceae (palm) Related species Cultivars…

crepe myrtles

Crepe myrtles are among trees with the highest wind resistance (“Wind and Trees: Lessons Learned from Hurricanes”). Here is a good article from Southern Living on how to prune a crape myrtle. Best time to prune is when it’s bare, in late winter. “Once crepe myrtles have bloomed and shed their first flowers, they will…

spiral ginger

Despite the name, spiral ginger is not a ginger, but it’s related. By Franz Xaver – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link Alternate names insulin plant Latin name Costus pulverulentus Family Costaceae Related species Gingers Cultivars Characteristics evergreen ornamental cold tolerant freeze tolerant part shade to shade tropical low maintenance edible flowers medicinal Description Leaves…

golden canna

The Latin name for this pretty plant is Canna flaccida. ‘Flaccid canna’? Really? Imagine going through the world being called flaccid. Poor canna. No wonder it’s a little less showy than its cultivar relatives. It has an inferiority complex. By Peter A. Mansfeld, CC BY 3.0, Link As it happens, though, wild golden canna is…

canna lily

You’ve seen cannas around gardens in Florida, even if you don’t know it. They’re the giant orchid-looking things with great big colorful leaves and seed pods that look like fuzzy duck heads. They take some work to look their best and they prefer to stand alone, but they’re worth it. Probably. Cannas are heat-loving perennials…

candlestick senna

The first thing sustainability-minded people usually say about candlestick plant is, “Yay, it’s a host plant for sulphur butterflies to lay their eggs” (of which we in FL are blessed with species ranging from the tiniest sulphur species, the size of a fingernail, to a giant floating flower the size of a tiger swallowtail.) But…

chard

By Neelix at English Wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Quadell using CommonsHelper., Public Domain, Link (post is sprouting} Classification Family Chenopodiaceae (beet) Cultivars Favorite varieties are `Bright Lights’ and `Fordhook Giant,’ which are green-leaved, and `Rhubarb,’ which has red leaves. Also Bright Yellow, Lucullus, Red Ruby. Source Seeds, Neem Tree Farm (8/1/18)…