Goodbye Sanibel

Tomorrow morning is time to go home, my family and I had great time on the island.
Monday is back to work and the routines of life, but we will have many memories from this magical place.

After two weeks away from my garden, I don’t know what I am going to find, I hope there is minimum damage

There is more then beaches at Sanibel Island

My favorite activities during my vacation at Sanibel Island are biking the many trails and walking the natural preserve trails.

The Bailey track is a popular trail near the beach, teeming with many birds and an occasional alligator.

A beehive took over an owl’s nest.

New this year in the Periwinkle preserve, a trail dedicated the birds and butterflies. (I don't recommend it in the middle of the day, it was so hot)

Here we are biking on the rabbit road trail.

Sunrise and the shelling was easy

Early bird gets the best shells. Sunrise, combine with a low tide is the best time to go shelling.

Catch of the day

This dolphin was swimming close to the beach.

Brown Pelicans shilling after breakfast

Searching for wild flowers in Sanibel Island

About 75% of the Island of Sanibel is a wild life preserve, so finding wild flowers is not very difficult.

PS- Thank you for the suggestions on island restaurants

On vacation from Sanibel Island on the West Coast of Florida

I am seating on the terrace of my condominium, looking at a beautiful Gulf of Mexico, having a Margarita and bloging. Life is Good!!!!!!!

Sanibel is famous for their beach; and this section of the beach on West Gulf is always deserted.

Shelling is a sport in Sanibel and one of my favorite activities.

This fisherman was very lucky this morning. The fish was released after the photo-up.

The Ibises in their natural habitat

Bloom Friday

This last Friday in July finds the DragonFly garden in the regular summer doldrums. The grass is growing at record speed, it's raining everyday, and the heat is stifling (so, what else is new in South Florida in the middle of the summer?). It takes a lot of willpower to go outside and do some basic gardening.
Here are pictures from the garden this morning.

Spider lily

Chenille plant

Rain lilies. There are many different types of rain lilies and this one is my favorite.

Coleus. This is the only coleus I let flower because the bees love it.

Buttercups

Two different types of Ruellia or Mexican Petunia.

Tomorrow, I will be going on vacation for two weeks. My family and I are going on our annual trip to Sanibel Island on the southwest coast of Florida. I am taking my laptop and will be updating both my blogs from this island paradise. I promise to take lots of pictures of the amazing wild life and the beautiful flora of both Sanibel and its sister island, Captiva (in between biking, swimming, and just generally relaxing!). I’ll see you all soon!

60% chance of rain

Fully open Aechmea Fasciata

For once the weatherman was right, the 60% chance of rain turned into 100% by 10am. I was only able to get a couple of hours of gardening this morning, on the agenda today was some weeding, mulching, transplanting and planting rain lilies bulbs, the one's I dug out last week. I hope the weather will clear later in the afternoon, and I can get in a couple more hours and finish the job (what can I say, gardening is a curse).

This time of the year, gardening in South Florida is a challenge, between the constant rain the heat, humidity and mosquitoes, sometimes I wish I could take a break, like northern gardeners do in winter. The problem is, that if I did, my garden would turn into an impenetrable jungle in no time at all.

This bromeliad is from the Portea genus, I don’t know the particular name, I got this one as a gift, and now I have many growing in the front garden, where they loves the full sun.

PS - I was able to go back to the garden between 5 and 7pm and finished.

Propagating bromeliads.

My garden task for today was dividing the many bromeliads I have around the garden. One advantages of growing bromeliads is that from one plant many pups will grow.
I had a dilemma, what to do with so many offshoots. Solution, take out the rain lilies bulbs and use that space for as a bromeliad bed.

In the new bed I planted, Aechemea Fasciata, Neoreglia Aztec, Porte Petropolitana (my favorite and the most expensive bromeliad I purchased so far, there is one pop coming up) Vriesea Gigantea, Neoregelia Fireball and the small Short and Sweet. The only reason I know all these names is because the book I got for my birthday “Bromeliads for the contemporary garden” by Andrew Steens, excellent book I recommended.

My new dilemma, what to do with all these rain lilies bulbs? I got to have rain lilies somewhere in the garden but where? (maybe I’ll take some grass out). These lilies are the announcers of the summer rainy season they only bloom for a couple of weeks in June but they are beautiful. I will give some away, and if any of you want some let me know. The others I’ll find a place in the garden, I hate throwing any plant or bulb away.