I was walking through Lowe's today when I passed a display of bromeliads.
This type of bromeliad was the bromeliad du jour back in the day in Missouri. I'm sure they grow here in Florida but I don't have them in my yard. Seeing this display sent my mind back to a sweet, fun time of my life in the early 90's. I was renting a house for the first time and living with my first long-term boyfriend (harbinger of the serial monogamist I was to become) and it was the first time I had a yard to landscape. One of my oldest friends was working for a plant rental company and at the end of the day, if he had any leftovers, he would squeal to a stop in front of my house on his way back to the warehouse, and throw a box of tropical plants on my porch without even ringing the bell. I remember orange kalanchoes, Boston ferns, and lots and lots of the pictured bromeliads. It was the bromeliads that seemed most exotic to me at the time and I stacked them around the house, the porch, and the side yard. When I saw them at Lowe's, I immediately texted my friend the photo and wrote, "These always remind me of you!" He replied, "Thank you! I am only known for spiny bromeliads in the closest circles."
My Florida yard has a fairly large selection of bromeliads due to the enthusiasm and generosity of local plant loving friends.
I took a picture of these beauties during my sunset tour of the yard. The blooms absolutely glow in that dusky light.
I've gotten into the habit of planting the tops of any pineapples I buy (also a bromeliad) because they will eventually produce another pineapple. So far, my pineapple plantation has been restricted to clay pots under the angel trumpet tree in back but I asked around and was assured that they can handle full morning sun so I experimentally moved 2 of them to the front yard.
Fingers crossed that they will thrive and someday rival in size the bromeliad flanking them in the photo. Harvesting a pineapple from them would be nice, too!
All this bromeliad talk has brought me to the front yard. It was getting very out of hand because I've been busy with half-finished projects in the back yard but on Labor Day, I was shopping at WalMart when I passed a hand lettered sign in the garden department that read, "Mulch, 50¢ a bag, this row only."
"This row" ended up containing 109 bags of black mulch, all of which I bought, sparking a sort of thwarted feeding frenzy among shoppers who witnessed the transaction.
Total cost? Well, 109 x .50...carry the 3...Crap! You do the math! It wasn't that much and bags are a lot easier for me to move around my yard than trying to shovel up a delivered truckload, one wheelbarrow at a time. I was in mulch heaven!
I thought it would be enough to finish covering the last patch of grass in my front yard and then top dress everything else to match. It wasn't but it was definitely enough to match up the sides and front which made the yard look more cohesive. The black color is different but in the Florida sun I figure it will fade to a silvery cypress color in a few short months.
Spreading all that mulch by myself in this heat is what my dad would call a "character builder." I'm glad it's done!
I did some trimming and cleanup work this morning and probably won't get back to the front yard again for some time. One of my new cactuses that is growing like crazy started to lean so I used a piece of citrus wood for a stake. I am determined to avoid an obvious plant crutch. I'll see how it does and decide later if I like the look or not.
The heat and rain of the Florida summer enables our gardens to experience a high level of growth but I think most of us are ready for a little break.
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