by Keri Byrum | Sep 28, 2015 | Plant Spotlight |
Rex Begonia Vine, Cissus discolor, is a vine that you will see once and remember forever. I first saw this plant at my friend Sonya’s house in Virginia when we visited one weekend during graduate school. Avid plant collectors, out of all of the pots on their porch, this is the one that I remember. A tender tropical, Rex Begonia Vine is worth the effort. The leaves look like they should feel like velvet and have a metallic silver color. The bottom side of the leaves, vines and tendrils are all a deep purple color. When the sun shines through the leaves the green and silver disappear and just a burgundy purple colors glows through. Cissus discolor is not an extremely aggressive vine.… Read Full Post
by Keri Byrum | Sep 25, 2015 | Around Our Yard |
The 12 month growing season in Florida can be both a blessing and a curse at the same time. Especially for transplants from other parts of the country, the fast growth of most plants is shocking! A landscape with new plants can quickly become overgrown and out of control if plants are placed too close together. There comes a time in every yard and garden when some hard pruning must take place to get things under control. Now I know that I should have taken a ‘before’ photo of this overgrown corner of our yard, but when the mood hit me to clear it out there was absolutely no stopping the momentum. Within fifteen minutes the plants that were swallowing our red chairs had been cut back and removed, leaving in their absence an open area just begging for some attention.… Read Full Post
by Keri Byrum | Sep 22, 2015 | DIY Garden Projects, Small Spaces |
You know those scenes that just stop you in your tracks? Coming across this beautiful wall and plant color combination was one of those moments for me! It seemed like one of those scenes that would appear in a glossy magazine but it was just along a street on a quiet Sunday morning in Tampa. The beautiful silver blue foliage of this Bismark Palm looks perfectly selected for this peach wall. Or was it the other way around? Do we pick our plants based on wall color or do the walls dictate our plants? The largest container with the Bismark palm (Bismarkia nobilis) also contained two copperleaf plants (Acalypha sp.), a small orange lantana and several small blue salvias that weren’t in flower.… Read Full Post
by Keri Byrum | Sep 11, 2015 | Plant Spotlight |
Tibouchina heteromalla, or Silver Leafed Princess Flower, is becoming increasingly popular and more widely available. Similar to other tibouchinas, this species has the same deep purple-colored flowers that are so distinctive, but it also has beautiful foliage to match. Tibouchina heteromalla has large, velvety leaves that are covered with many soft, fine hairs. These hairs are actually the cause of the silver color of the leaves, and also make them so nice to touch! In central Florida it is rare to see a Tibouchina heteromalla more than six feet tall. I have one in a container that is about this height, but the container is adding a couple of feet to the size. The branching is strongest in full sun and can get rather leggy and weak in the shade, causing the plant to lean over.… Read Full Post
by Keri Byrum | Sep 9, 2015 | Garden Visits, Uncategorized |
The Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg, Florida are one of those places that I have heard about many times but never visited, that is until this past weekend when Mike and I took a few minutes to stop by this beautiful little garden. The sign from the road was unlike any botanical garden entrance sign I’ve ever seen! How great is this?! If we were unsure about stopping before, this was certainly going to pull me in! The tagline for the Sunken Gardens is “A Botanical Experience” and I think that is truly fitting. The kitschy sign by the road does not do justice to the high quality of horticulture taking place here. According to the guide map, the Sunken Gardens was a 4 acre property purchased in 1903 by Mr.… Read Full Post
