Saturday, August 29, 2020

Gardening ESP

Duranta Erecta Standard

I had the best day yesterday. On Thursday I decided I wanted to find a fairly obscure plant that was at the Sarasota house. It is called Duranta. I was trying to source it by mail order, having already called a few places locally with no success, and all I could find were little starter plants in California.

I went to my favorite Lowe's yesterday because their garden center is A plus. What was waiting there for me but 2 Duranta Erecta "Sapphire Showers" which is a new cultivar and stunning. And they are standards and I am topiary crazy. I cannot get enough. My dream would be to live at Ladew Topiary Gardens in Maryland. I think adding some topiaries will help give the garden a more structured and formal feel which I think is a great mix with my tropical jungle in back.

I am trying them in my blue and white Chinese fish bowls. And please, I know they need to be elevated and topped with moss or whatever, but as my wonderful grandmother used to say, "Rome wasn't built in a day." Because just as I put them in the fish bowls I got an email that my Mercer dining table is ready for delivery. It is being delivered on Wednesday finally!

And I also found a lovely pair of Eugenia topiaries that will be finding a home in the garden today. I am having a ball in the garden. I also came up with a game plan for the side yard that I am super excited about and will be sharing soon.







36 comments:

  1. I love how you have used blue and white porcelain at your entrance. Absolutely stunning.

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    1. Thank you so much. My house colors are the perfect backdrop for the blue and white too.

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  2. Love your new topiary plants They are gorgeous and will look great planted in your blue and white fish bowls I am not familiar with this plant but am still learning FL plants

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    1. I am new to Florida gardening, but having so much fun! Thank you.

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  3. Perfectl! Love the topiaroes at the entrance in your blue and white fishbowls!Can't wait to see your table!

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    1. Me too on the table - it has been an odyssey. Thank you - I love the blue and white porcelain outside. And it is so unique here - nobody in the community has done anything similar at all.

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  4. I have not heard of Duranta topiaries, but will certainly keep an eye out for them. Beautiful blooms!

    On Hydrangeas in Florida: I have a long line of Oak Leaf hydrangeas with Macho ferns in front of them on the back of my lanai that do quite well there. They receive the morning sun and are shaded in the afternoon which helps. They have gorgeous, huge creamy colored blooms in the spring. The foliage turns fall colors in the autumn. You may see if these will work in your zone. They wilt a bit in this intense heat, but bounce back in the morning.


    Enjoy the day in your gardens.

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    1. Oak Leaf are my favorite hydrangeas and I grew them in NOVA. They are the only type I would grow here. The mophead would sulk terribly in the sun here and require daily watering and water is expensive here. The oak leaf would be lovely behind my lanai. I will keep my eyes open, but have not seen them in nurseries here. I prefer not to mail order for shrubs.

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    2. I also had some in NoVa. I do water them daily here( I have a deep water well for landscape watering). When the landscaper brought the plants they were quite skimpy. After a year they were flourishing. I have never mail ordered plants; I seem to find most everything locally.

      Anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Mercer table and the styling of it to follow.

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    3. The Sarasota house had well water for irrigation but the sulphur smell was so sickening I hated it. Here it is reclaimed water. I will see if my gardener can find the quercifolia for me.

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  5. I love your grandmothers words! I think time also makes better decisions. It is all coming together beautifully.

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    1. Thanks so much. My grandmother had lots of expressions like that and I remember them all they were so good.

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    2. My mother’s favorite expression, too! The topiaries are stunning and your entrance is wonderfully inviting!

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    3. Thank you. My grandmother's expressions like that one are always popping into my head.

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  6. Very pretty! I'm so happy you found the plants you wanted. I can't wait to see the Mercer table!

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  7. What a lucky find, love how they look in the blue and white porcelain.
    One can never go wrong with topiaries--from small, window sill herbs to tall outdoor ones like yours and everything in between.

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  8. I got an enormous amount of pleasure out of seeing the umbrella container. I like to follow auctions and I recently ran into one at my fav auction house. They called it "a vase." Yo, NO. I bid on it and got it for $47. I was soooo pleased! Love our blog! Watching now for fish bowls.

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    1. That was a great deal. Love your story. I had an auction house in Alexandria I loved. I think there is a good one down here. Good luck on the fish bowls.

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  9. I've never heard of Duranta before, but they have lovely little lavender colored flowers. How big can they get?

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    1. The shrub Duranta can get quite large but one can cut it back.

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  10. I also live in Florida, and I bought my Duranta about two years ago. We planted it against the house, and it has grown quite a bit. It is now about four feet tall. I have to give it an occasional "haircut." I can't believe how much it has grown, but I guess I should. This is Florida!

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    1. Yes, I had three against the house in Sarasota and loved them.

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  11. Pretty, pretty! I haven't heard of that plant either. That color looks gorgeous!

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    1. It's a great plant - there is some debate on whether or not it is a Florida native.

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  12. These are beautiful and do great in South Florida...butterflies love them too!

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    1. Yes, a lovely plant and the butterflies are a lovely bonus.

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  13. I just love the purple flowers with the blue! Stunning!

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  14. Wonderful luck! Love those so much! Am so enjoying following along with your gardening journey!!!

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  15. If you're enjoying yourself this much in August just wait until winter! That's my playground time. We are busy cutting back the underplantings at our place so that it's all ready for flowers in Oct. I had a Durante Goldenmound Topiary in the purple bloom for several years and it was a pleasure. They tend to yellow out and are heavy feeders. In fact you will see anything planted around your palms will need fertilizer or epsom salts since palms are heavy feeders. They look lovely in your planters. Lowes will order things in for you and give you a discount when you order multiples but you have to ask the garden manager. On Florida's east coast the plants come from Homestead area so they do well here. Ask them where they're getting their stock or look for the trucks unloading. Our store restocks on Tuesday. Pamela

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