One Year Blogversary and A Rain Splashed Garden

The 14th day of this month was my one year blogversary day.  I started a post draft a few days before that day.  The day came and went, and I did not get time to finish the post for the day.  Actually, struggling to find the time has always been the common theme in my one year experience with the blogging.  With only 79 posts to the day, obviously I am not a prolific writer, but how glad I am that I made it to my one year blogversary!

We had a good day of rain several days ago, which was much needed in my area.  I would like to present you some foliage and blooms in my rain splashed garden along with my one year blogversary rambling. 

Delicious Cordyline fruticosa 'Kiwi'

Hawaiian Ti is showing its bright pink new leaves of the season

As lots of my readers might have known,  English is my second language.  I know most of my blog friends can  flow their thoughts naturally through their flying fingers without the need to think about the grammar, spelling or the organization of the sentence.  For me, I need to look up the dictionary to make sure I am not saying something I didn't mean to. Not to mention the grammar, spelling or a common English saying. Although I tried to check as much as I can before I click the "Publish" button, I am sure there still have been lots of mistakes in my writing. Thanks to all my forgiving readers for the encouragement you have given me over the past year by reading my blog and leaving the comments!  I still could not believe my blog got nearly 7900 visitors from all over the world, and more than 21600 hits within one year.

Christmas Cacti

Together with the writing, it is also a year that I learned to take pictures of plants. I use a Cannon EOS Digital Rebel XTi as my viewfinder. I have to admit that I still have not read the manual yet. All of my knowledge about this camera are from my husband, who is the real owner of this camera since it was gifted to him several years ago. I really need to take some time to read the manual since I believe there are still something about this camera I am not fully taking advantage of. 

Snapdragons  (saved from the distressed rack in the big box store)

I never took so many pictures in a year, and 98% of them don't have people in it.  Thanks for the invention of the digital camera.  It made it possible for an amateur like me to choose a presentable picture out of numerous blurring, not well-exposed, or unbalanced pictures for my posts.  My family is now used to seeing me rushing out in the morning before work to capture some flowers in the soft morning sun.  Sometimes, I wonder what my neighbors think about me when they saw me in my apron taking pictures in the front garden during the late afternoon time. That was when I had dinner cooking on the oven, and wanted to take some pictures before sunset, and forgot I am still wearing apron!



Various bromeliads, one of my favorite collection in the garden!

Of course, the main driving factor for me to start this blog is to record my garden progress I started around the time we bought our house about one and half year ago.  It helped me to record my gardening lessons and fun as a beginning gardener. So many of you have endured my whining since very beginning, and shared the excitement and joy with me every time a new bloom was unfurled, a new plant was acquired and a new garden bed was opened. Thanks for all the tips and plant identification help you have given me along the way.  I guess many of you are now used to seeing me asking the questions in my post!


Loving this swan container full of double impatiens blooms!



Lemon Lime Warneckii is now blooming




Angelonia angustifolia

 Now one year has passed, and I definitely want to continue my blogging fun.  Please bear with me when I could not post frequently, response to all the comments you have left, or visit your blog and leave the comment as much as I would like.  I do enjoying reading every single comment you have spent time to write.   I felt I have made so many friends in this blogging world, and learned so much from all of you.   I deeply appreciate the help you have provided to me in various ways, and I know I am growing up both as a blogger and a gardener because of all of you precious readers and fellow gardeners.  Thanks for the continous support!

To end this post, I need to ask "the question of the post" :)  Could anybody identify the cultivar of the hibiscus I have in my header picture?  I got two cuttings over one year ago, and now they are both blooming.  One has been identified by Floridagirl at "Peace in the Valley" as "Jane Cowell", and the one in the header picture is still unknown.  Thanks!

Autumn Colors -- My Favorites October 2010

One thing I have missed living in Florida is seeing the autumn colors on the trees and in the gardens.   My hometown in China has distinct season changes, and when I was kid, I loved to see autumn breeze blew those orange, brown, red and yellow leaves off  the trees, and then I would chase those leaves along the road. 

Yes, I do love living in Florida, especially I can garden here all year long.  But every year this time, I still find myself missing those autumn colors, and always try to find something around me that can remind me those time I spent in China when I was a kid.

Here are the autumn colors I found in my garden. 

Crotons' colorful leaves look like this all year long, but I found they seem more noticeable in Fall.

This bush has green leaves with yellow spots.  It seems quite popular in South Florida landscape. Both my previous and current houses had this in the garden before we moved in.  They seem to be just there all year long, and I even have not bothered to find its name until today!  My camera did find it is quite a good Autumn color for my collection, don't you think?   I know I will have the answer soon from my garden friends out there...

The leaves of Acalypha Wlkesiana (Copperleaf or Beafsteak) are the ones that closest to the autumn colors in my mind.  They do change the color from green to red/orange between the new leaves and more matured ones.

Bromeliads are showing their colorful foliages even mother plants are fading away.

Orange color is the most cheerful Autumn color in the garden. 

Bulbine Frutescens

Hibiscus

Aechmea blanchetiana 'Orangeade'

Indian Blanket Flowers (Gaillardia pulchella)

The following two plants are newly additions to the garden.  I found they also have nice Autumn colors.  I bought the first one without any label on it.  Is it Hawaiian Ti?

This one was simply marked as "Cordyline".  Anybody knows its variety name?

Firespike (Odontonema strictum) just pasted its peak time.   This is the first time I have ever planted Firespike.  Is this its seed pod?  It does look like Autumn "Fruit" to me...

This begonia has silver/purple color when the leaves mature, another beautiful Autumn color.

Various coleus in the garden has been making my garden so colorful for months, but today I found they actually make a good fall collection too!

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After publishing the post initially, I realized that it is that time of the month again!  Every 25th day of each month, Susan at Simply Susan! invites us to join her to publish our favorites of the month.  I think this post is perfect for that, Autumn colors are definitely my favorites of my October Garden!

You may also have noticed that it has been about one month since my last post, which was for September Favorites.   I have been quite busy for months now both at work and home.  Recently my parents also came to visit us from China. They will stay with us for six months, and kids can have more time to know their grandparents.  Parents are both in their 70s.  They have visited us three times since I came to US almost sixteen years ago, and this time I really feel how age can impact a person.  I treasure this opportunity that I can stay with them for a period of time, and finally can take care of them like they have nurtured me when I was young.  Even I still go back to China to visit them, I know the time I am having with them now is so precious.  So, I guess between trying to be a good wife, mother, and daughter, and holding a full time job, I won't have much time to blog.  I know I will still enjoy visiting my favorite blogs, and might comment when I can.  Hopefully,  I also can occasionally show some new flowers from my garden in my blog.

Happy Gardening, My Friends!