Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day March 2012

Although I have been busy in the garden, applying a thick layer of mulch to help the garden get through our dry season and planting seeds and bulbs in preparation for spring, with the following two exceptions, there are very few changes in what has been in flower since my report for February's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

This little ginger is a Globba 'Golden Dragon'

 Aechmea  fulgens 'Burning Bush'

Dahlia 'Marie Antoinette' is still flowering well.

Despite looking a little washed out in this photo, I love my salvia 'Hot Lips' and the way it varies from all white to all red and two toned.

The Evergreen Frangipani Plumeria obtusa looks a picture of health, but the advent of frangipani rust here in Brisbane over the last few years causes early leaf drop, and it is virtually now 'evergreen' in name only!

Always flowering,  Hammerhead Frangipani Plumeria pudica

I don't know what I'd do without my Rosemary. (Roasted rosemary potatoes are the best!)

The Bird of Paradise Strelitzia reginea are putting on a great show along the driveway.

Lots of storm lilies, Zephyranthes candida, have popped up after our wet weather.

Zinnia 'Summer Brilliance' with salvia 'Heatwave Sizzle' and variegated pineapple (also a bromeliad).

In the back garden there is lots of new growth on the spiral ginger , Costus 

...and plenty of flowers

Not exactly a bloom, but this Ponytail 'Palm' Beaucarnia recurvata deserves its moment in the spotlight. It has fallen into the 'hidden in plain sight' category. I have never included it in the blog because it is on its own by the pool, but it is quite an impressive specimen, despite some unsympathetic pruning by a previous owner.

Finally, my nomination for villain of the month...

Look at the terrible damage to the new fronds of this cycad.  All the handiwork of the blue cycad butterfly's caterpiller.  I have posted about these menaces before, and, although I don't like spraying, I used Confidor on this plant, but it seems to have had no effect, perhaps because of all our rain.

To see more beautiful blooms from all around the world, and hopefully no more villains, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

More bromeliads

The beautiful matchstick bromeliad (Aechmea gamsepala) is easy to grow and it propagates readily. Like many of my broms, this one is planted under a huge poinciana at the front of my driveway. Even when it is not flower, the striking green and cream foliage adds interest to semi-shaded areas.

Because many broms are epiphytes, they have minimal soil requirements and happily live in and around the roots of big trees, like the red-flowered one below, 

or on the trunks themselves, like these three examples in my brother's garden in northern New South Wales about two hours south of Brisbane.

An added advantage of being up high - they are safe from puppy predations! I still get very sad thinking about the beautiful alcantarea imperialis rubra (an expensive maroon foliaged brom) I had in the back yard. Onslow and Miss B liked to scratch their claws on the stiff red leaves! Sometimes the broms can come back from such treatment, but the pups destroyed the 'vase' formed by the inner leaves so that mine couldn't retain water and I lost it.  Luckily I have another little one safely ensconsed in the front garden and have two tiny 'pups' (brom offshoots) potted well out of harm's way.