Butterfly Garden at the University of Florida

Bird of Paradise

These have been here since the day we moved into this house. I have cut them down to about two feet high when the leaves looked diseased, and they have grown back each time. It appears that the previous owner who landscaped the front, planted all bushes based on the colors of the bird of paradise. In the landscaping, there are plumbagos, crotons and yellow ixoras. They have been very hardy and requires very little maintenance.

Flowers from my Husband

August 2008

Visitors to my Garden

Liriope Muscari 'Big Blue'

I hope these are hardy. I have two at my front door. One is blooming with pretty little delicate flowers, but the other is not. I think the other one might have a fungal problem, because the leaves are turning yellow at the root . My hippos - bought a long time ago in South Africa, are nestled very nicely inbetween the two plants.

Orange Canna Lillies

My canna lillies are blooming! My neighbour has these growing on the other side of my fence. A few of them started sprouting on my side of the fence and I dug them up in April and transplanted them to a better place where they would get more light. The blooms don't last very long though and they are susceptible to leaf spot.

Dwarf Allamanda

I love my allamandas.

Blue Daze

The first time Blue Daze took my breath away was when I saw a large planter at Disneyworld filled with them. I planted a few near the pool and over the years, they have spread somewhat. I hack them down once or twice a year. I love their hardiness. Aphids love them too.

Purslane

A few weeks ago I dug up little bits of purslane that were growing in the lawn. I planted them in a re-purposed ex indoor tabletop water fountain and before long, it yielded these beautiful flowers and attracted these beautiful green flies.

I learned my purslane only blooms for a few hours in the morning.
It takes about half an hour for the flowers to open up completely .... yes, I sat beside it and waited. And guess what? It is edible and supposedly very healthy. Haven't tried it yet.

The rest of the day, it looks like this!

June 2009
It was infested with white mealy bugs. I sprayed it with weed killer instead of the buy spray. It turned nasty, so I have thrown it away.

What's This?! It's a Yellow Buttercup!

This morning I found this pretty plant growing beside our palm tree in the backyard.

Is it a weed?
Did it grow from seeds pooped out by the birds?

I transplanted it to another place in my yard to see what it turns out to be. The lawnmower guy has wacked it down twice. I hope it comes back.

Update:

This is a yellow buttercup or yellow alder.

It didn't come back.