FROST FREE GBBD and FOLIAGE FOLLOW-UP FOR NOVEMBER

It's still warm here in Houston despite some close calls with frost.

Here's a sample of what's in bloom this November day.

As much as I love the blooms, I'm really more of a tropical foliage freak.

For that reason, I've put some green goodies at the end of the post.

Happy GBBD!
P.S. To see the whole collection of GBBD gardeners, just 'google' May Dreams Gardens.
Carol would love to see you. 

Rock rose loves to scramble over walls.

I can't find the name of this little zinnia, but it has had the best year ever in my garden.

The pentas are perfect. Please Mr. Frost, stay away!

Am I a terrible gardener to allow the Gay's Delight coleus to bloom? Kick me out of the garden society, but I'm not pinching back the coleus!

The squill is a thrill.

Hummers are enjoying this native member of the hibiscus family.

The lantana is leaping out of the flower beds! Butterflies love this plant.

This little member of the mint family had no tag, but has round, gray green leaves.

I wish someone could help me identify it. It's very aromatic, but it's not catmint.

Here's the Texas cottage garden for November. The Cape Daisy (yellow) seems unstoppable.

The white Zinnia is also reliable along with the purple Mexican heather.

Our cat Binky enjoys rubbing against the gomphrena. I bought about 2 dozen of these plants in shades of white, purple, and lavender.

Here's some native nightshade in bloom.

And here's soft pink Agastache. It's now blooming after a long summer siesta.

The 4 o'clocks will bloom until frost. I love, actually change that to LOVE the fragrance of this night bloomer.

This is my favorite photo to share. These little tradescantias bloom endlessly throughout my garden.

Honeybees and other insects converge on them daily.

Speaking of insects, I did not realize this goldenrod was occupied until one of the 'buds' started to move.

This is a tiny 'true bug' but I haven't a clue to its name.

Since I've not used poisons or insecticides in my garden for almost 30 years, I find new and fascinating visitors every summer.

I'm going to end the post with the next photo and do the foliage followup tomorrow.

I didn't realize I had so many flower photos.

It's been a nice November here in Houston.

Here's a taste of foliage follow-up. See ya soon!

David/:0)

GARDEN BOOK REVIEW: THE TROPICAL GARDEN by WILLIAM WARREN

Last month I told you about my favorite tropical garden book. If books ran a race, this one finishes a close second.

Back cover with its alluring garden path

William Warren is an American gardener and writer who moved to the tropics in 1960. He collects gardens like some people collect stamps. And we are the beneficiaries of his extensive travels.

Photo from my garden

The close to 300 (yes....300!) photos by Luca Tettoni transport you to gardens in Bali, Thailand, Hawaii, Malaysia, and Singapore. It's almost too overwhelming.

My backyard tropical garden

Even though many of us actually live outside the tropics, many semitropical plants growing in our gardens have tropical cousins in this book. 

Another view of my tropical garden here in Houston

This is an easy book to find and you can pick one up for as little as $7.00 on Amazon or Barnes & Noble used books.

(Port Aransas is one of a handful of towns on the tropical barrier islands along the Texas coast...it's our version of Key West, Florida)

Gardeners everywhere seem drawn to the mysterious tropics and even though you may not have a tropical garden, you would still LOVE the wonderful text and photos in "The Tropical Garden".

(The largest Banyan trees in Texas. Found on the campus of Texas A&M at Corpus Christi)

And just like the surprise I had finding full grown Banyan trees in Texas, you'll find some nice surprises in this book. 

Some of the vibrant foliage in my tropical garden.

***

That's it for this time. Thanks to Holley at Roses and Other Gardening Joys for keeping a virtual bookcase for all our book reviews. We're approaching 100 garden books reviewed by wonderful garden bloggers all over the world.

Happy Reading!

David/:0)

P.S. I'll be doing a post on my visit to tropical Corpus Christi soon! Stay tuned.

JUNE FOLIAGE FOLLOW-UP: RAMBLING AROUND TO FIND SURVIVORS

During this prolonged drought, I water daily for the wildlife, the birds that visit to have drink, and for the plants that provide shelter and food.
Here are some plants adapted to drought, heat, and humidity as long as you give them a sprinkle or two of water. To see other serious foliage that will knock your socks off, visit our host, Pam, at http://www.penick.net/digging .

                              Kaempferia pulchra 'Alva' named by John Banta in Alva, Florida

Kaempferia elegans aka Kaempferia laotica

Kaempferia pulchra 'Chocolate'

Kaempferia pulchra 'Ben Lee' from Mercer arboretum

Kaempferia pulchra 'Silverspot'

A colony of Kaempferia masonii in bloom

Neoregelias seem content with daily temperatures hovering around 100 degrees. Keep them in dappled shade.

This is Neoregelia 'Happy Thoughts'

My squid agave (Agave bracteosa)  has finally started to look like its namesake.

This is part of my Agave collection.

Thanks for stopping by Tropical Texana.

David/ :-)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ HOW TO PERK UP THAT BROMELIAD!

VODKA?

During this drought, I've run out of rainwater so I'm using this.

uh......just joking....

I was moving around my blue bottle tree and saw the bromeliad hanging there.

I'm certain Vodka is not good for bromeliads. But rainwater is very good for tank bromeliads. In fact, I go out of my way to use rainwater whenever I can. It's their natural drink...no chlorine added.

Pass this along to anyone who needs a smile during this horrible drought.

BTW: I found the bottle along a street. I zont drrink Vahd-ka.

David/ :-)

GARDEN TOUR: The Bromeliad Garden

I've had a request from a dear friend back in my hometown. She wants to see bigger parts of my garden. So, from time to time, I'll post a garden tour.  I'm a  perfectionist so no part of the garden is EVER finished. LOL

I GUESS THE JUNGLE GARDENS OF MADE WIJAYA (island of Bali)  would be the style I'm aiming for. Still, I want it to look like a Texas Tropical Garden, so the elements are mixed.  This is part of the backyard with mostly bromeliads along a path to the winter greenhouse. The fence is too stark for my tastes and will have a row of banana trees hiding it by the summer's end. It's my next project. The tropical garden is still recovering from a severe freeze in February.
 David/ :0)

Our family cat wants to be in on the garden photos!

                                      I like tropical plants. Can you tell?

                          Live oak leaves cover the trails around this part of the back yard. The plastic red pot of basil counts as our annual herb garden. The blue-green yucca is the latest gift from a gardening friend at church. I really like it! The Agave attenuata does not grow well in Houston, but this one seems to be making it.

One of the Chinese fan palms ~ the signature plant of our tropical garden. Mine is a wildlife garden so I keep this on the wild side with lots of places for bird habitats.

This owl marks the entrance to the back garden.

It's the latest edition to the garden ~ a fun gift from my dad.

Thanks dad! :-)

And thanks to all who stopped by to visit. It's nice when someone gives a hoot about gardening.

I'll post another section of the garden soon.