Finally, we own a Key Lime Tree! (Citrus aurantiifolia)

Indeed, we now have a Key Lime Tree in our garden! Wooo!!! Sigh…

Oh, the many Key Lime Pies I will make! If you don't already know, I have a passion for Key Lime Pie, among many other things. So, at one point I finally decided it was high time to start making my own - you can check out my Homemade Key Lime Pie recipe here.

This wonderful baby Key Lime tree (Citrus aurantiifolia) came from Home Depot and we've planted her in a sunny spot. I hope she thrives! In other words, I hope the dogs don't urinate it to death! As with both our Mango trees, we've had to put these guards around the young plant to shield it from just that...

Garden Gnomes

My love for the movie Amelie has thoroughly wooed me, or perhaps I watched too much David the Gnome on Nickelodeon as a child…  We'll never know for sure and it doesn't really matter, all I know is I'm rocking some gnomes in the garden!  So far, I've got two, these dudes are from Homegoods and Ross:

The Stapelia gigantea Cactus Flower (Carrion flower)

Let me tell you, I love the Stapelia Cactus!  There are many types of Stapelias, I have three:  Stapelia scitula, a very small cactus with small fuchsia-colored flowers; Stapelia grandiflora, a bigger cactus with large grand (hence the name) hairy pink flowers; and Stapelia gigantea, which puts out this gigantic pale yellow and pink hairy flower…again, hence the name!  Apparently, some of the flowers on this particular Stapelia can reach up to twelve inches in diameter!

Bleeding Heart Vine: Clerodendrum thomsoniae

Hi there!  A belated Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all!  Sorry I've been lost, I got carried away with life and the busy holiday season.  Let's jump right in shall we?  It has been a shamefully long time since I posted about the garden...

Say hello to Clerodendrum thomsoniae, also known as the Bleeding Heart Vine and Glory Bower.  It's native to tropical West Africa and can grow up to fifteen feet!  My mother purchased two from Home Depot and planted them at the base of the columns of her patio.  Both of the plants have red blooms (the backs of the petals are fuchsia pink), however she eventually found the variety with white flowers and has since planted it between the other two vines - at the base of another bare column.