Saturday, March 21, 2009

The Yellow Tab Tree


This time of the year the Tabebuia trees (better know as the Yellow Tab tree) puts on a show in south Florida. The flowering of the Yellow Tab tree are a sure sign that spring/summer has arrived in our area. Even though the weather has not really changed much, these trees are telling us that our brief South Florida winter is over and watch out!--the brutal heat of summer is not far behind.

Tabs are popular with commercial nurseries and are used in parking lots, streets, and sidewalks. The Yellow tab is not a native tree to Florida since it comes from South America but, for the next couple of weeks, their beauty will make our driving around town very pleasant indeed.

This is my Yellow tab tree, located on the right-o-way between the sidewalk and the street. I planted this tree when I purchased the house (almost 20 years ago!) and it has survived Hurricanes Andrew, Katrina, and Wilma. Every year this is all the flowers I will get. I am told that the reason is probably the watering from my sprinkler system since these trees do better in dryer conditions.

I continue to work on putting my garden back together and am hoping to be finished by next week when we are having a family get-together at our house. As promised, I will take pictures.

Update on Golda the Owl.

She continues to acclimate herself to my garden and patio. I took an amazing picture yesterday, too gruesome for this family blog. Those of you that do not have a weak stomach can see it at My Viewfinder blog.

6 comments:

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Rusty .. that is quite a colourful tree ! .. I took a peek at your other blog .. it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be .. and I SO love your guest owl .. she is beautiful : )

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

A beautiful tree indeed. That little owl gets cuter by the minute.
Last year I woke up to a tremendous racket from the birds, and when I investigated, I found two very large owls sitting up in one of our trees, taunting all the other birds with their presence.

Meems said...

Rusty,
I LOVE to see those trees blooming this time of year. I actually prefer the pink ones... do you see those down your way? There are lots of them in Manatee County and a few here in Hillsborough County.
Meems @ Hoe and Shovel

Susan said...

The tabebuia trees are beautiful. We have them here in Central Florida and they fared well through our low temps this winter. I have a small one and can hardly wait for it to get bigger. I love that owl in three photo on your previous blog. How nice to have such a critter take up residence in your yard.

Persisis@comcast.net said...

For those of us freezing in the Midwest, your blog is a nice find. Your tree is wonderful. Thanks for sharing the sunshine.

Unknown said...

I am so happy to have found this blog! I searched for "yellow tab tree" and as soon as I landed on your blog I knew you had to be from Miami, with that beautiful bougainvillea in your header and your writing about yellow tab trees.

I always wondered whether you could plant your own trees on government property (technically, property owners don't own the little grass area in front of the property right?). What a wonderful idea to plant it. I also love the framboyan or whatever the real name for that tree is, but I've heard its root system is a killer for underground pipes.