Nothing New Under the Sun

For something new, take a look at this new plant recently discovered in Fiji.

Also, here in a video of some new animal discoveries found in the Mekong Delta.

Video of plants in the Buenos Aires area

This has some beautiful time lapsed photography as well as some stills. A great video for plant lovers .Just under 6 minutes. Take a look.

Pigeon Roost Flooded

This is Pigeon Roost Creek in Chambers County, Alabama where is crosses County Road 53.
I don't really understand this flooding unless it had something to do with a beaver dam. The next creek over (Hoodlocka)was not flooded after the 2.25 inches of rain on Friday/Saturday.
The fog laying over the water made an interesting shot.

My First Daffodil of 2012

This is my first daffodil of the year, and it appeared last Wednesday, the 18. At least I think it did. I saw the bright yellows around in other yards before this lonely one appeared. I have a few of these old timey daffodils with the twisted petals, but every year they seem to bloom in a different spot. The trouble is... I need more.
I think they may be my favorite flower; I know they are my favorite January flower!

Abutilon (Flowering Maple)

This plant has several common names, among them flowering maple and parlor maple. I usually call it Abutilon, because I like the sound of the word.
I do not know the actual cultivar of this flowering maple, but perhaps it is A. pictum'Thompsonii '. It seems to be the most numerous one pictured on the web. I have had this one (or cuttings of it) for several years. It is a tough thing and survives to bloom in spite of uneven and careless horticultural practices. This is it's current state of bloom, in a greenhouse where I try not to let the temperature fall below 40F. (It has gone into the 30's on at least one occasion this winter). This garden year, I plan to put a cutting of it into the ground and see how big it will get. This one is about 2 feet tall, not including the pot.

 This is an Abutilon that I grew from seed this past year. I had a nice color selection as you can see from the picture below with the floating blooms. On the stem of the above plant you can see what is the main trouble to me of growing Abutilon: mealy aphids. They are almost impossible to get rid of on potted plants, and will spread to nearby plants. This lead me to plant 3 of my seedling plants in the outdoor bed last summer, where they thrived. In fact, they held their leaves till the last time it went down to 23F. I am still hopeful that they will put out new leaves this spring. I read on the net that they are hardy to 26F, and this coincides with my experience. So keep your fingers crossed for me that they will regrow in the spring.
 Meally bugs do not seem to be as bad outside, although they do occur. Perhaps there are critters out there that prey on them or maybe rain and overhead watering washes them away, but whatever the reason, putting a plant outdoors that has mealy bugs will usually help it if not cure the problem.

January Orchids

This yellow and bronze orchid is Odontocidium 'Pacific Sun Spots'. This is the first bloom for me and I hope in the future it will have more flowers on the bloom stalk. I cannot let January and February go by without getting  a cyclamen, which is sitting here beside the 'Pacific Sun Spots'. I love cyclamens, for both their unusual slicked back flowers and their beautiful leaves.

I believe this is also an interspecific orchid; in other words, they are crosses between two orchid genera. However, I do not have the name of this one anymore, if I ever did. It is big and beautiful and very crimson.

Chocolate Persimmon

This persimmon tree was growing in the yard at the Brantley Citrus Farm in Daphne, Alabama. It  was a beautiful tree, maybe about 15-20 feet tall. Aunt Imgrid said it was called chocolate persimmon and that she liked it because it was not so soupy when it was ripe as some other varieties. When fully ripe, it is brown inside so that is where the chocolate part of the name comes from. I found them very delicious, and  I also liked that they were not so liquid inside when ripe. The smaller size was also appealing to me. The fruit size was larger than our native persimmon (these have no seed), but about a third the size of the ones I see in the grocery store, so I guess they could be described as medium sized. They are more oblong in shape than grocery store persimmons. The cheapest ones I saw online came from Willis Orchard Company in Berlin, GA, which is just south of Moultrie. Ummmm. Thinking about it...