In Bloom today.

Lots of stuff in bloom/going into bloom. A few nice surprises also!

My gardenia (in the ground) is blooming. I forget the variety, but it's supposed to be hardy so I guess we will see. 

My White Bouganvillea is blooming very well.

Some hibiscus blooms.

Passion fruit on the way! 

Jasmine is blooming and the fragrance is incredible! 

Plumeria Divine is rooting.

Oleander is blooming.

And my surprise is my crocomansia! This is the second summer in the ground.

Random Backyard Shots

Just some pics around the yard today.

Here are my Brugmansias...

Just got these a few weeks ago. Hoping they bloom this year.

My oldest Brugmansia (got it off E-bay in October 2010) is budding already...

Thailand Giant Elephant ear. Seems to be a pretty good grower, looking forward to seeing how it grows.

My Potted banana is growing a lot faster than my Saba Banana in the ground.

Butterfly ginger getting a very late start this year. Alocasia and caladiums are right on schedule.

The electricity went out in my yard in February and my Livistona was left unheated during a night of 19F! It had a lot of damage, but it is coming back well. The Purple heart plants in this pic have survived 2 winters.

My largest and by far most robust alocasia. 

A look at my Sabal Minor palm with some tropical "annuals". It's been surviving the winter in the ground since 2009.

Oleander blooming

My 3 year old oleander is blooming strong, although it is a bit shaded from a weeping cherry tree that I am considering getting rid of it since it is blooming less this year than usual.

My big Plumeria!

Some pics of my largest plumeria. It was 1 foot tall in March 2009 when I first got it, not bad growth for 4 years! 

Pics from Last Saturday's Supermoom.

I got a few nice pics around the yard of the Supermoon, the brightest full moon of the year. Some of the pics were edited slightly to make the figures sharper, but I did not add brightness to the images.

New plants.

Here are some pics of my newer plant purchases...

I finally got a southern magnolia. I've been wanting one for a long time now.

Here it is in it's new spot. This planting bed had been neglected for a while so I had to re-do the stone work and I'm still in the process of adding new soil and mulch. So far it's going pretty well.

I underplanted with some Caladiums since it gets shade for much of the day.

Just got a Thailand giant elephant ear! Can't wait to watch it grow.

Here are my new Brugmansias. The first one is Salmon perfect, it's a double flowered one. 

 I got an awesome jasmine plant. The fragrance is really nice.

Some nice blooms!

Here are some of the nicer blooms around the yard today.

These begonias aren't too showy because the blooms droop down, but they are definitely beautiful.

Mandevillas are doing well.

The big leaved begonias are always one of my favorite annuals in the yard. They go well with ti plants.

The oleanders are blooming well. 

I really like these marigolds