Even in what is late winter, Orlando, Florida, was filled with flowers and colorful plants. While we were there, a cool front came through, but that didn’t stop the tropical feeling the plants gave to the area. Walking around Sea World made me want to go home and start planting, but, unfortunately, the ground is still too cold here to put in tropicals. The mass of plants really made an impact.
To start with, flowers were not the only way to make an impact. Foliage was very important in the mass plantings.
First is the variegated shell ginger with knockout roses. The next photo shows variegated shell ginger with macho ferns in front.
Of course there were stands of the red ti plant (Cordyline teminalis) all through the area. I have a few of these plants, and this year, I will make sure to group them all together for a bigger impact.
A mass planting of variegated flax lily (Dianella tasmanica) made me want more of this plant. I planted this in my garden about six years ago, but seeing this bed made me realize I need to move mine closer together and divide them to make more plants.
Of course, the crotons were lovely. Usually, crotons remind me of autumn because of the deep yellows and reds, but these did have a brightness to them.
Lest you think that there was only foliage around, let me assure you there were flowers also, and not just in hanging baskets like my last post. Geraniums, dahlias, impatiens, and other flowers were all represented.
Around this time of year I start to get spring fever, that urge to go outside and dig around and plant something. Seeing all these plants, that for us are summer plants, certainly didn’t do my spring fever any good.