MGB October 2010: In the Pink

It's that time of month again: time for the Monthly Garden Bouquet meme, that is.  This is hosted by Noelle of Ramblings from a Desert Garden.  Check out the arrangement I threw together this morning:

MGB July 2010: Bouquet of Summer Breezes

As I headed out to cut my Monthly Garden Bouquet, I  have to admit I was feeling a little green-eyed over all the giant roses and peonies I see gracing the Northern gardens in spring and summer.  Those splendid, full-petaled beauties make wonderful bouquets, but I don't seem to have any gorgeous blooms of that sort, though in winter, my camelllias do put on a nice show.  But this is not winter.  Far from it, actually.  The days have been blistering, brutally stretching out for hours in the mid- to upper-90's.  At least at night, we know it will dip down to 78.  Whoopee.

Ginger Snaps Back

Curcumas are certainly cold-hardy in Zone 9, but what a long dormancy we must endure here!  They collapse down into the earth sometime around November, and the new leaves don't start peeping out of the soil again until around April.  As for blooms, it is typically June or July before we see those.  Of course, they will keep blooming for many months.

A Palatable Palette of Pinks

My all-time favorite color in the garden is PINK!  Sometimes I feel like apologizing for such a deficiency in taste and for overusing this brilliant hue...but not right now.  For although my garden is swimming in pink this summer, it is perfectly balanced by an array of whites, purples, blues, and yellows.  So no apologies today.  Just a perfectly palatable palette of pinks:

The Summer Tulip

Tulips in Florida?  Well, sort of. 

These curcumas are called Siam Tulips due to their shape.  Can you see it?