A new fountain for my garden.

The small pond in my back garden became a casualty during my vacation this month. The pump stopped working and, as you can see, it did not look very nice and smelled worse! I'd been thinking of replacing this pond for a while because it had become too difficult keeping it clean.

This weekend I took a trip to my local Home Depot and found this beautiful fountain. It’s the right size and height and resembles the fountains found in courtyards in Italy. I am very happy with the result.

On Sunday, my wife and I attended "Butterfly Days" at the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden in Miami. This is an annual event but it was my first time seeing it. We had a great time! It was amazing to see hundreds of native butterflies flapping around the grounds of this amazing garden. We attended a couple of seminars on how to make your garden butterfly-friendly and got some great tips. Sorry no pictures--I forgot my camera!

What I did on my summer vacation.

I mentioned in my last post that my family and I returned from a European vacation last week. We planned this vacation as a college graduation present for both our daughters. The oldest graduated three years ago and my youngest last year, so this was the perfect year to take this family trip.
All of us have traveled in Europe before but never as a family. The last time I was in the old continent I was carefree and single, looking for adventure. My wife did the same before we met, enjoying her own European jaunt as a single woman. This time we were going with a different perspective. Each of us had different wants from our European trip-- my girls wanted some adventure and shopping, my wife--a history buff--wanted to see castles, palaces, churches, etc. etc., and I wanted to see gardens.
We settled on 10-day cruise from Genoa, Italy, to London, England and a few extra days in London.

We arrived in Genoa after a long transatlantic flight so tired we went directly to the ship and did not get to see much of the city.

Our first port-of-call (the very next morning) was the Principality of Monaco in southern France. Monaco is the Disney World of the rich and famous with the second most expensive real estate in the world (second only to Hong Kong). Every inch of this beautiful harbor is taken by million dollar yachts.
The public gardens and parks are gorgeous and immaculate. I was surprised to find the flowers and trees growing in the area are the same as what I have in my garden in Miami.

There are many roof gardens because space is scarce in this tiny country.

The big yacht with the name "Carnival Splendor" is mine!

Our second port was Barcelona, Spain. I am not a big fan of cities but this city left an impression on me. There is an energy in Barcelona that is hard to describe.

The most famous sight in the city is the church of the Holy Family, “La Sagrada Familia." This church was designed by the famous architect, Antoni Gaudi (from his name comes the English adjective, "gaudy"). I have to admit his architectural style is an acquired taste, most definitely "gaudy!" The church has been under construction for over 100 years; Gaudi himself passed away without seeing his creation finished. When you stand next to it, is so impressive that even if you don’t like the style, you can't help but admire and appreciate its sheer magnificence and dimension. It literally dominates the city square where it is located.
Barcelona has very few parks and gardens. I was told that the city was designed that way. Most buildings have inner courtyards where the locals garden. Unfortunately, these are not seen from the streets. This city is definitely on my list of "must return for longer inspection."

Our third port stop on the cruise was Lisbon, Portugal. The entrance to the harbor reminded me of San Francisco (even with a Portuguese Golden Gate Bridge) and the city even has the old cable cars, just like San Fran! Lisbon is very old and charming but unfortunately we visited on a Sunday and most places were closed.

Our next port was La Havre, France, the port entrance for Paris. “Aaah, Parie” without a doubt, the most beautiful city in the world. I had forgotten how gorgeous this city is with its wide avenues, magnificent monuments and buildings, and famous landmarks. The architectural style of this gem is incredible and I was able to fully appreciate it. The last time I visited, I was a young man looking for adventure and the architecture was not my priority of things to find in Paris!

Cruising down the River Seine, you find many people that have converted old cargo barges into homes and on these barges you find lovely gardens. How cool would it be to have one of those barges as your home and be able to garden with the Paris skyline as your backdrop! Since we were in Paris just for the day, I was unable to visit Versailles with its magnificent gardens--oh well, looks like I'll have to return!

The cruise terminated in the port of Dover, England. We then treated ourselves to a few days in merry old London. Finally, I thought, I am going to see English gardens, famous for their beauty!
We spent several days in London, visiting the city, sightseeing, attending West End plays, and shopping (why do women have the need to shop everywhere they go???)

After a few days in the city, I had not seen any typical English gardens. London is a city like any other, with beautiful parks and exciting places to visit. Most of the locals live in "flats" (apartments). Space is scarce and there is little room for gardens but you see many balconies and side walks full of plants that reflects the English passion for gardening.
On our last day, we visited the village of Royal Windsor and Windsor Castle on the outskirts of London and finally I was able to see some beautiful gardens from the window of our tour bus. This magnificent castle is Queen Elizabeth's favorite residence. It is said that she considers Buckingham Palace her office but Windsor Castle her home. (No, she was not "home" that day!)

This garden inside Windsor castle belongs to the Lord Governor (in other words, the "manager" of the place). I would not like to be the Lord Governor, tending to my roses while thousands of tourists take pictures of me from above. The queen has her private gardens but these were not open to the public.

I have one complaint about our visit to England. While we were there, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth had one of her famous garden parties. Over eight thousand people were invited and I was not one of them! It is very upsetting that I, a gardener visiting London for the first time after 30 years, was not invited to her garden party at Buckingham Palace. That's it--I am taking her name off my Labor Day barbecue list. Let's see how she likes that! Cheerio, all!

Wrong plant for the wrong place.

This week I came back from my vacation and I fond my garden in total chaos.
It looks like I was gone for more than a year. The plants have grown like they were on steroids, the weeds are out of control and the snails are back.
I purchased this vine a year ago at a BJ super club while buying groceries; the flowers were so beautiful that I could not resist.
Here it is today, after three weeks alone in the garden. It definitely has to go.








I came back from my European vacation nursing a bad cold, my energy levels are not up to working outside in the 90 degree humidity accompany by thousands of mosquitoes. Sooner or later I’ll have to gather my energy and go out side and reclaim my garden, I can’t stand looking at it this way.

I am taking time off from my garden.

HI everyone, I will be away from my garden and blog for the next couple of weeks. My family and I will be on vacation (“holiday”) traveling in Europe. I hope to take lots of pictures of gardens, plants and flowers (if my family lets me)
See you soon.

A Spider Lily is not!!!!

I need some help with this plant; about three years ago I purchased this plant in my local nursery and was told it was a Spider Lily.
This week while I was preparing to do a post about it, and I discovered in one of my garden reference books that the spider lily is a much smaller plant, that it can be use for ground cover, and the flowers are similar but not the same. It could be that my plant is a close giant relative of the Spider Lily but is definite not the same plant.

So if anyone out there knows the common name, I would appreciate it if you let me know. This plant is the kind you put on the ground, walk away and never had to do a thing to it, perfect for busy gardeners. The white flowers are magnificent they have an intoxicating aroma, it usually blooms during the summer months or the rainy season and they do resemble a spider.

Bromeliads the perfect tropical plant

Over the years, I have become a big fan of Bromeliads and consider this plant perfect for the tropical gardener. Needing very little care, Bromeliads grow in most soil conditions as long as it is well drained with no pest problems.
The best part about Bromeliads, are the offshoots the mother plant produces before it dies, making sure the plant goes on living forever.
This past weekend I finished my second bed of Bromeliads in the front yard.

These Bromeliads were offshoots from mother plants of my garden, except for the one with the red flower that I purchased at the local nursery.

This is my first Bromeliad bed. It got me thinking about collecting these fascinating plants.

Here are some of the other Bromeliads I have around the garden.

This yellow Bromeliad has been with me for several years and every year it gives me this beautiful flower that last throughout the summer.

If you look closely, you can see the little blue flowers in the center of this one.

This is an older picture. These Bromeliads will not bloom until the end of the summer. The blooms last until Christmas.

I had this plant around the pond and every year I get a couple of flowers.

These are called Fireball Bromeliads. They are small but grow in bunches and are great for ground cover. It does not grow any flowers but when exposed to full sun, the color is magnificent!

This was a gift for my birthday. For now, it will beautify the inside of our house but later, it will take its place in the garden.

Lastly is this chocolate-colored plant, a gift from my dad's garden. It doesn't look like much in the picture but I assure you the color is stunning.

I want to buy more plants for my collection. I also need to buy a Bromeliad book so I can identify each one correctly. If anyone knows of a good book, please let me know.

GBBD, Father’s Day, and my birthday, all on the same day.

How lucky can I get? All three events on the same date! We are having a party in my garden to honor MOI. I don’t know much of the details since it's a semi-surprise.
The DragonFly garden is doing well this June 15. The constant rain of the past few days has reinvigorated the grass and all my plants (as well as the weeds). Summer is the super growing season around here. I swear if you stare at a plant long enough, you can see it grow.

My feature flowers this month are:

My Night Bloomer was on que last night; I think it knew it was my birthday weekend! These are the first blooms of the season. These pictures were taken at 8am this morning and by 10am, they already had wilted.

The Gardenia has been blooming for the last couple of weeks but the plant is not doing well. The leaves are yellowish and the blooms are smaller this year.

This is the newest container in my front garden. I planted the summer annual, white Purslane, and a Pinwheel Jasmine shrub.

I purchased this bromeliad yesterday for my new bromeliad bed in the front garden. More details on this bed in my next post.

The Thryallis, a summer favorite around here, is in full bloom.

The Yellow Lantana’s by the side of the street are doing well despite all the rain.

I love the strong color on this bougainvillea. This is one of three bougainvilleas I have growing in containers, which allows me to better control the growth.

And, finally, the Blue Plumbago is beginning to bloom this month.

PS – If either of my daughters are reading this blog, a word of warning--I am not settling for just one gift on Fathers/birthday day!

Summer blooms!!!

The height of the summer season has arrived at the DragonFly. The mid-day temperatures are in the 90’s, humidity is high, and it rains every day (the rain is welcome after the drought we had this winter).

The star of my summer blooms is the “Rangoon Creeper” (no it is not a horror movie), also known as Quisqualis Indica. In my native country it was known as “Jasmin Manzano”, which translates to "Apple Jasmine," probably so named because of the fragrance of the flowers.
The vine is very aggressive and it needs to be cut back several times during the year. I don’t mind the extra work; the rewards I get from this plant are worth it. Besides the beauty and the fragrance of the flowers, it also brings back memories of my grandmother’s garden in Cuba.

This morning the rain lilies appeared for the first time.

This beautiful plant growing in all the shady areas of my garden comes back every year between May and October. I don’t know the name but I believe it is a relative of the Prayer plant.

Today my wife and I are heading to Captiva Island in the west coast of Florida for the weekend; we are celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary. I’ll see you next week.