The first photo below is a close up shot of one small branch of an oak tree in my front yard.  Below it, the full tree in all of its pollen-laden splendor.  It really is quite beautiful – when the pollen first shows up, it’s a light green, and then, over several days, it gets darker, then turns yellow or orange.

Happy Springtime!  (For a better look at these photos, especially the first one, please click on the picture to open a new window with a full-sized image.)

Coconut Palms will do just fine with a cold spell now and then.  But what they can’t stand is a hard freeze that lasts for any length of time – a borderline freeze might just kill the existing palm fronds, but a serious one will kill the entire tree.  And for that reason, you don’t see too many Coconut Palms in the St. Petersburg area.  We don’t have long duration hard freezes very often, but all it takes is one every twenty or thirty years to discourage anyone from planting these trees. 

But some brave souls do plant them.  And one such planting is in a seemingly unlikely spot – next to the parking garage at the International Headquarters of Raymond James Financial in the Carillon Center in north St. Petersburg.  When Raymond James expanded from their original two buildings to add a third and fourth ‘Tower’, they landscaped a large portion of the grounds with trees that produce fruit.  There are several citrus trees in one area of the grounds, and there are a few coconut trees planted alongside the parking garage.  I suspect that they’re close to the garage to help shield them from the full effect of a potential freeze – the interior and the walls of the garage would likely retain some of the day’s heat and help to keep the trees a few degrees warmer.  But whatever the reason, they are there, and they have matured to the point where they bear their ‘fruit’ quite regularly, and it’s a fun sight to see!

Coconut Palms at Raymond James (click for larger image)

A Closer View (click for larger image)

Florida Native Orchids (click on picture for larger image)

If you live in St. Petersburg or anywhere within an hour or so of St. Petersburg, and if you love orchids or have even a little interest in growing them, you need to visit Florida Native Orchids!  We’ve all heard the term “hidden gem” throughout our lives, right?  And frequently, the term is used indiscriminately to hype something that isn’t all that great.  But this place is, really and truly, a hidden gem for anyone who has any interest at all in orchids.

It’s hidden because it’s not out on a main street.  This place is owned by a gentleman named Bud Spence, and he lives in his house on the grounds.  He’s been in business here for so long that he was grandfathered in, so even though his business is in a residential neighborhood, he’s allowed to run the business here because it existed before zoning laws said that it couldn’t.  The address is 6820 2nd Street North – it’s just east of 4th Street North, near Mystic Lake, a few blocks north of 62nd Avenue North.

And it’s a gem because it’s everything that you’d want it to be.  There’s a great selection of orchids here — greenhouse after greenhouse filled with orchids, organized by orchid type and by color.  And there’s even a showroom section in one of the greenhouses, where they always keep some showy numbers if you’re looking for a gift for someone or if you’re having a party and you want something spectacular. 

Twice a year, they hold a big sale/show on a Sunday – once in Spring and again in Fall.  Two weeks ago, I attended the Fall show and took a few photos, including one of Bud himself, happily tending to one of his pretty specimens.  Fose shows, they ramp up their stock so there is even a greater selection than usual, and other vendors come in and sell other Florida native plants, so it’s a fun time to visit this hideaway.  But if you don’t want to wait for one of the shows, you can stop by just about any time. 

For more information about Florida Native Orchids, including a map and operating hours, visit their web site.  But for an in-person experience with some true Florida beauty, make it a point to seek out this orchid haven and spend a little time talking to Bud or one of his assistants.

Bud Spence (click on picture for larger image)

Lavender Section (click on photo for larger image)

If you’d like to see some more varieties of Bromeliad flowers, check out this web site.  And if you’d like to try growing your own, many varieties are available at local nurseries – just stop at your favorite and talk to one of the staff and I’m sure that they can get you started!

Bromeliads in the Sun (click on photo for larger image)

I know that I publish a lot of posts about plant-related topics, and sometimes I wonder if I overdo it.  But St. Petersburg has a climate that is just so welcoming to such a wide variety of plants and flowers that it’s hard to do a blog about our city without having a pretty frequent mention of something to do with our local flora!  So, I think I’ve decided that it’s okay, and if you’re not someone who’s into plants or flowers or gardening, you can just skip these posts and grumble to yourself about me…

For this photograph, I did not stray far from home.  This beautiful cluster of flowers showed up this week on a plant about six feet into my neighbor’s yard, and I see it every time that I walk outside.  You have two choices of what to call it – either Frangiapanni (some spell it Frangipani) or Plumeria.  I’m not sure why it has two names, but I actually find both names to be perfect for such a glorious flower.  They both sound sort of exotic and maybe a little forbidden, like a secret plant that’s only found deep in a hidden forest. 

But the truth is, nothing could be further from the truth.  They grow so easily in St. Petersburg that, even with no green thumb at all, you can succeed with this plant.  If you have a neighbor who has one that you love,  just ask for a piece of it – a cutting.  You can stick it into the ground and with almost no care at all, it will begin to root and grow.  There are literally dozens of color variations, some solid, some multi-hued.  And I can’t end this without mentioning the fragrance – it’s completely indescribable - one of the prettiest-smelling flowers I’ve ever encountered. 

Just another little reason that it’s nice to live in St. Petersburg! 

Frangipani (click on picture for larger image)

Gizella Kopsick Palm Arboretum (click on picture for larger image)

Florida is synonymous with Palm trees, right?  When new visitors or new residents come to St. Petersburg, they expect to see Palm trees, and lots of them, just the way visitors to the Smoky Mountains expect to see streams or bears…

Well, we don’t disappoint them.  St. Petersburg has Palm trees all over the place.  Many of our Palms are native to the area, and they thrive here.  Some other varieties have been imported from other warm regions and relocated here.  But whatever their origin, they are certainly one of our local treasures, and when you look up towards the deep blue sky and see the palm fronds swaying with the breeze, it just feels  like it’s supposed to feel in Florida!

But for anyone who just can’t get enough, there is an area in the North Shore Park neighborhood that has been set aside specifically for the purpose of showcasing a wide variety of Palm trees.  It’s the Gizella Kopsick Palm Arboretum, and it’s located on North Shore Drive, at the end of 10th Avenue North. 

It’s a two acre park that was, a long time ago, a city-owned miniature golf course.  Due to high maintenance costs, the golf course was closed down.  When the idea for a Palm arboretum was proposed by park volunteer  Mrs. Elva Rouse, another city resident who loved palms, Gizella Kopsick, made a significant donation of palm trees to get the park started.  So, in 1976, the arboretum came to life with 60 palms representing 10 species.  Over the years, more and more palms have been added.  Today, there are over 500 palms, representing over 150 species from all around the world.  There are brick walkways throughout the park, and it is completely handicapped-accessible.  There are also benches, so it’s a nice place to sit and read or just watch the world go by.

Peaceful Place to Read (click on picture to view larger image)

Crotons are a fantastic plant for our area, because they are easy to grow and they’re very hardy, but especially because of what you see for yourself below – they are incredibly colorful plants.  Many residents have yards that are so covered in shade that they can’t plant colorful flowers, because most flowers want a great deal of sunshine in order to thrive.  But the croton will do fine in a shade garden, providing interest and color where there otherwise would be none. 

Crotons do best in warm climates such as ours, thriving in USDA Zones 10-11. The ideal temperature should stay within 60-85 degrees F.  One thing to note is that the degree of color will vary according to the amount of light that the plant receives.  For any given variety of Croton, a plant that gets some sunlight will likely be more colorful than one that is planted in 100% shade.  But it’s a very forgiving plant, and will usually do fine in any kind of light.  If you do plant Crotons, be aware that any temperatures below 45 degrees F for an extended period of time will damage or kill the plant, so you may have to cover it on very cold nights. 

Colorful Croton (click on picture for larger image)