NEW TO THE GARDEN: VARIEGATED ERYTHRINA

I was going to try a 3 for Thursday, but this post contains 4 pictures of one of my favorite new plants.

There are 2 kinds of people on Earth; those who LOVE variegated plants and those who don't.

I seem to be drawn to them like a magnet. I found this one at Another Place in Time on 11th Street and it just about knocked me over when I saw it. I have a lot of self-control since my garden is already FULL of plants. But the more I stared, the more I thought....WOW!

It feels more like I'm taking a picture of some type of Zebra...a feeling akin to being on some safari..than it does to feeling like I'm standing by JUST a plant.  It also goes by the name Indian Coral Tree and Sunshine Tree.

I'm told it's handled just like Plumeria during the winter...just let it dry out and put it away while it's dormant.

I have a number of Plumeria that I store like this, so I think we'll make it.

Some of the garden regulars have already moved in and set up camp.

Does anyone grow this plant? I'd love to know if it can root from cuttings like Plumeria.

Well, that's it from Tropical Texana.

And remember....if you see a 'ZEBRA' growing in someone's front yard here in Houston, it just might be our garden!  /////\\\\\\   :0)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ GARDEN CHORE #999

Garden Chore #999....Pulling the weeds out of the Yucca bed. OUCH! What's last on your garden chore list?

PEPPERVINE DINNERTIME

I found this little guy munching on some native peppervine. Anyone have a guess what it will turn in to?
I'm calling this a Macro Monday shot even though I could have gotten a lot closer. Visit Rainforest Garden (thanks for posting!) in my sidebar favorites and click on his Macro Monday. That will take you to the whole collection over at
http://lisaschaos.com/  just in case this link doesn't work. This is a new MEME to me, so I'm excited to find it.

GARDEN BLOGGERS MONTHLY BOUQUET ~ SINGING THE BLUES

I really DON'T want my OTHER LIFE (work, problems, etc.) to spill over into my nice, cozy garden blog.
But sometimes you get overwhelmed by a wave of circumstances that crashes through all those nice little walled partitions and affects everything...including gardening.
I had a bad fall at work last week, went in ambulance to the emergency room and have hurt my back. The good news is that I have no ruptured discs and as far as we know I've not reinjured my back from a long ago surgery in that area. I'm in recovery now with physical therapy and have now gone back to work. But, as a kinda sad joke, when asked if I'm OK, I just tell people 'It only hurts when I move'. un haha. :0)
Sooooooooo.....my poor wife has had to endure the pain with me and she's a trooper for taking on all the chores in the garden.   We've had the blues, so the blue family of flowers is the theme.

These mini bouquets are really fun to make.

Angelonia, Sage, and Peppervine

Pink Garden Phlox, Licorice plant, and violet Lantana

Blackfoot Daisy, Blue Daze, and Violet Lantana

                                                 More Blue Daze and Peppevine. The yellow coreopsis offers a ray of hope.

One of my teacher friends at school made this card for me with her scrapbooking skills.

Isn't it nice to have friends that care?

My doctor says I can do SOME gardening, but no heavy lifting for awhile.

A tip of the trowel to my garden blog buddy NOELLE for the monthly linky for MONTHLY BOUQUET.

I love making these.

To see our small, but spunky group, go to

http://www.azplantlady.com/

See you next time from hot, humid, Houston

THREE FOR THURSDAY: 3 LEAVES ON LEAVES

Most of us garden bloggers have that artsy photo muse gene somewhere inside of us. And I'm one as well.
I love to find leaves on leaves. These were all from my garden this summer.

Old Bauhinia leaf fallen upon a palm

Curled up pecan leaf hung up on a bluish Sabal palm frond

                                 Freshly fallen pecan leaf on white bird of paradise leaf after a rain.
                     Thanks to Cindy at My Corner of Katy for starting Three for Thursday. Go visit her great garden blog over on my sidebar favorites.  }}}}}}Want to  you join in on the fun. Find any 3 garden related pics and post. Three cool bugs, three weeds that need whacking, or three bugs that bug ya.  :-0 Thanks for visiting Tropical Texana...where it MIGHT finally get cool in 4 days.  Lows in the 60s? Did I hear correctly? We've been waiting since May to hear those beautiful words here in HOT, HUMID, HOUSTON!!!

WILDFLOWER WEDNESDAY ~ DISCOVERING SIDA CILIARIS

Thanks to Gail at Clay and Limestone for setting up Wildflower Wednesday the fourth Wed. of each month. Her great blog is over on my sidebar favorites, so please go visit. :-)
I found this mystery flower blooming this summer along our hike and bike trail. I'd never seen it before and thought maybe the seeds came in with the granite gravel from a faraway place.

                                It's called fanpetals and you can see why. It's small, but unique.

I'm always interested in finding new native plants that look nice in a rock garden. The ones in the park had been stepped on repeatedly, but still looked good. On the left is a fanpetals plant and on the right our native dichondra, another nice low growing groundcover.

                                      Fanpetals sida is in the hibiscus or mallow family. You can tell by the central part of the flower. Both the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower data base and the Brazos Bend State Park website list it as a Texas native. I'm hoping the 20 or so plants in the park will set seed and continue to bloom each summer. It makes a nice addition to a rock garden. The leaves are linear and dark green and very drought tolerant.

                                 Be on the look out for blooms in late July and early August. It's also called Bracted fanpetals or Bracted sida. It has a nice clumping habit which is always a plus in my book. :-)
BTW: The mallow family is HUGE, so if I'm off on the species part (ciliaris), please forgive me. It's the best match I could find. Thanks.

YIPES! THERE'S A COONTIE IN THE COMPOST! :-)

Have you ever found a plant growing in your compost pile after you have thrown it away? I find elephant ears and gingers that seem to thrive there. But this was different.

I totally freaked when I saw this! It had been since March when I tossed the DEAD coonties into the compost.

I even could see that the surface bulbs were mushy. I was really sad since I had just bought them in November and they were growing so well.

But apparently one little coontie wasn't about to give up.

Zamia pumila ~ a native of Florida

                                                  Its new home next to another cycad. Does anyone else grow coonties?
                                           I'm thinking I love these little guys. They look so fragile, but apparently they're one tough cookie. I'm getting some more if I can find them. They're good even in zone 8. Anyone in Austin growing them? Thanks for any comments or feedback.

UPDATE (9/21): It was a year ago that I bought these and now they again on sale at Houston Home & Garden Centers for $6.00 (Katy, Texas). This only happens late in the season and it must have just happened this week, since they were very expensive last time I checked.  Trust me, that's a very good price. Happy hunting.

BIDENS ALBA & TINY TOADS ARE IN THE GARDEN

For Cindy at My Corner of Katy.
Out of sheer luck, I think I found your mystery flower. This is from a wonderful book, Wildflowers of Houston and Southeast Texas by J. Tveten    

It's attractive to butterflies! :-)

If you have a pond with tadpoles, you'll love this: our new toads are out and about. I still am amazed at how

small they are. And so...cute!

After all the attention, this little guy was ready to go back to the garden.

I have 7 ponds and water containers, so we get toads every year.

I have one toad  each year that stays on our front porch and catches bugs attracted to the light.

SEPTEMBER FOLIAGE FOLLOW-UP

First of all, thanks to Pam at Digging for hosting this monthly event. I skipped GBBD this month since I've posted a lot of flowers already.  The southern sun has shifted to the backyard and so you'll get to see a few reasons why I call my garden Tropical Texana.

                                             A peek through our native palmetto

Monstera deliciosa is root hardy in zone 9 :-)

Air Potato vines scramble up the swing set

Variegated Mexican Fire Spike

Red reullia grown from a stem cutting. I love these leaves.

Agaves march along the sidewalk to the backyard.

THE BACKYARD FILLED WITH HEAT LOVING TROPICALS

                                Thanks for visiting on Foliage Followup. To see the entire collection, go to
                                    Digging. It's on my sidebar favorites. :-)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ Will That Be to Eat Here? or...to...go????

Found this scene at Garner State Park here in Texas. I'm sure there's a logical explanation. :-)
And yes, they did drive away....albeit slowly.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ 6:39 O'CLOCKS BLOOM LIKE 4:00 O'CLOCKS

These gorgeous 6:39 O'Clocks are almost as pretty as the more commonly found 4:00 O'Clocks seen in most gardens. Now of course I MUST ask...when do your 4:00 O'Clocks bloom? :-)

If you've never smelled a white 4 O'Clock, then you need call your gardening friends and find one in bloom.

Mirablilis jalapa ~ Marvel of Peru

ZINNIAS IN SEPTEMBER

The hot weather just drifts along in a seemingly endless pattern of heat and humidity. No relief and September is 1/3 over. So...there's only one thing to do: plant zinnias.  I think of zinnias as early summer flowers and was actually excited to see them for sale this time of year. They love heat and some varieties are tolerant of humidity.
These are the very short variety and will bloom until it gets cold...which is currently beyond my imagination.

                                                 Is this bright enough? :-) Whoa!

                                                       The petals have a light peach tone in the white.

                                                  Another bright color to liven up the day

.                                Half the fun of buying a variety pack is waiting for new colors.

                                                 There are still some surprises in the bunch.

                                               I'll close with a closeup of the Porter Weed I just bought.
                                              It is quickly soaring to the top of my favorite's list.

THREE FOR THURSDAY: 3 FLOWER CLOSE-UPS

Justicia fulvicoma: can bloom in shade here in Houston. A close cousin to the Shrimp plant. I wish I had more of this little guy.

Asclepias curassavica; attracts Monarch butterflies

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis; Purple Porter Weed

I just got this one from Buchanan's Native Plants on 11th Street. There was a hummingbird drinking from the display flowers. That sold me on the spot! :-)

As always, a thank-you to my blog friend Cindy at My Corner of Katy for the great idea and format. She's on the favorites side bar. Go visit ASAP!

Do you have 3 garden photos of something? Join in the fun. Three favorite weeds to pull, 3 garden art shots, 3 bugs that bug you...anything is fair game. :-)

That's it from here. Also, I'd like to thank my new best friend Hermine for bringing us 2.85" of rain and breaking our 40 day dry spell. Hermine is making rainy day friends all over Central Texas and now Oklahoma.

We should name cool fronts that hit Southern Texas. Cold Front Agnes ...already came and went

Cold Front Bob...we're WAITING..hurry up BOB!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ HELP FOR THOSE REALLY STUBBORN WEEDS

Any weeds come to mind?

Maybe Nutgrass?  :-)

NEW INVASIVE SPECIES STRIKES HOUSTON GARDENS

This is for Houston Garden Girl since she posted a hilarious video regarding a new invasive species. I think it's done by a botanical garden! I promise you'll laugh. :-)
You will have to watch the video at http://houstongardengirl.blogspot.com/  to get the yard art connection in the picture I'm posting. She passed it on after seeing it on Plano Prairie Garden...another garden in the know (or shall we say in gnome). Visit at http://planobluestem.blogspot.com/ to see a great conservation garden filled with native prairie grasses up in the Dallas region.

I commented to Houston Garden Girl that pink flamingos were another invasive species we have to deal with here in the south.
This yard has both.