#fngla

LooXo ‘gorgeous’

As you can see below, all violets have those yellow pollen sacs that thrips love. These new violets do not have those sacs.

A violet with the yellow pollen sacs

I kind of like the looks of the yellow sacs and the new LooXo will take some getting used to. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

A whole container of LooXo ‘gorgeous’

LooXo sign

#TuesdayTidbits Mother Nature Grows Them Best

I’m in Florida at the TPIE or Tropical Plant International Expo and today we went on a landscape tour of exceptional private gardens in the Miami, Coral Gables, and Homestead area. I love all the tropical plants and especially the many different kinds of trees. I always get close to look at the bark and when I drew near to this palm I immediately noticed these tillandsias. I thought the homeowner…

As we rounded the corner to the back yard, we were wowed by the pool and the plantings surrounding it.

  What I was most in awe of, was the amount of epiphytes in this garden. Orchids, Tillandsias, bird’s nest ferns, staghorn ferns, and Peperomias. The side yard had so many hanging from the trees, the walls of the house, and the fence dividing the properties. The size of these plants was unbelievable! Look at this bird’s nest fern (Asplenium nidus) growing on a slab of wood!

Bird’s Nest fern Asplenium nidus growing on a slab of wood in a Florida garden

And the HUGE stag horn fern that stretched almost the entire height of the wall. Look at the door frame next to it to get an idea of the massive size of this plant. This whole side yard was just full of amazing epiphytes growing on nothing more than slabs of wood!

This was just the first garden of many we visited throughout the day. I’ll take you to some more next time. It was an amazing day! Thank you FNGLA!

Staghorn Fern Florida

The plants below were in the “New Plant and Product” section. There were many more new things to see on the show floor, but the plants in this area were there because their companies paid to have them there. This area is always a big hit at the show and their products are sure to be seen by everyone. We started here first and then continued on to the rest of the show. If you put your arrow on the picture, the names of the plants appear.

Vriesea ‘Sparkle’

.And some more in the product area.

Check out this enormous Spathiphyllum lily!

Spathiphyllum ‘Grando’

Out on the show floor, there were other plants and products to be discovered. I was on sensory overload!

New Aglaonema Not named yet, but I suggested ”Pink Frost’

Some more plants that were new or at least not that old.

Check out these new Dracaenas. I love the color combinations.

Need a particular color container? They have them all.

These orchid arrangements incorporate succulents and bromeliads to make stunning displays.

These clay planters captured my attention right away. The first two planters are called cocoon planters and are able to be planted.

The detail on this cocoon planter is made to appear like coral.

Rose detail on this cocoon planter

This planter below is called the pollen planter. Each hanging piece is made to resemble in some way a grain of pollen. Obviously, they used air plants in these, as the hole is very small. I like the air plants. The bottom piece is a bell. I really loved this planter. I think I may need one…..

Hanging pollen planter

There were so many new things to see, I was overwhelmed. I definitely needed another day, but was very thankful  to be there for one day. I hoped you enjoyed this walk through the show to see some of the plants and products that you can be looking for in a garden center near you. I have so much more to show you, but that is for another post.