Your photo's of your garden is lovely. I love that dombeya too. That one is Seminole, the other one where the flowers hang down is Walichaii or something like that and I made a 15 ft tree of it. It is blooming too along with the white one I made a tree of as well.

Oh my gosh! Love it all but especially that dombeya! WOW! My whole yard is done in pink - love pink blooms - and now THAT plant is on my wish list!

Hester, your yard is gorgeous. It is amazing what you have done with it in a very short time. You have a good eye for plants and design. I wish you lived closer.

Carol

Thanks you two....
Kaktin - don't you think it's about time you posted some pics of your (what I believe to be) spectacular garden?? lol but really, we would all like to see.
Carol - I appreciate your compliments....I love pink flowers too. Check out Dianthera Nodosa. I have one in a pot but no pic..it's been blooming for 3 months and just lovely. Anna says she's had one and it got huge so I may keep it in it's pot.
How did the begonia cuttings do? I've since made 3 more plants and am not just sticking cuttings in the ground and they seem to take.
I wish we lived closer too. I don't know many obsessive gardeners and would love to be able to share cuttings and ideas on a daily basis.
Oh well, there's always GW!
Hester

Hester: I, too, enjoy seeing pictures of your garden. In a much earlier post you had some before-pictures so I have a small idea of how it's evolved under your loving gardener's hands. You're a magician!

Could your "purple creeper" be ruellia squarrossa? Can't see the leaf and flower detail to tell.

Keep those inspiring pictures coming! - June

Thanks, June. I'm glad you remember the "before" on my gardens - it was pretty bleak when I came here and, even though I've made some mistakes, I'm happy with the progress.
I thought that plant might be a ruellia but I don't think so.It doesn't seem invasive at all. The nursery told me that the original plant had pink flowers and the purple was a freak that the growers then propagated. There is also an orange flowered one that doesn't get as big. The purple roots along the stems which makes a great mass.
Whatever it is, it makes a great groundcover even when not in bloom.
Thanks again for kind words.
Hester

Love your dombeya, Hester. How do you grow yours? I have a small one and all the lower stems had fallen off (when we weren't here in the summer) so it is blooming on only the top third to half of the plant. Also, the leaves were light green/yellow. I fertilized and they have greened up. It is on the south side of our house, so lots of sun. Any guesses on why the missing stems? Maybe needed more water in the hot summer? Or fertilizer? Or ???
Marcia

like the walk way......room to room...nice garden,keep posting, gives me alot of ideas......m......

Hester, your Dombeya is a much darker pink than the most of the ones I saw on Google Images. Do you know which variety you have? Yeah...I'm on a hunt!

Your cane begonia cuttings ALL took and survived but I just got my very first bloom. I've had a very busy year and I put them in a very shady, well-protected spot right after I I got them from you and potted them up. I didn't get much time to garden again until these past two weeks. They look great and healthy but I think they need a sunnier location. I know they can't take full sun but they were in deep shade and I think that's why no blooms.

Carol

Hester, your dombeya is spectacular!!! It is so nice and rounded and compact. Beautiful plant. Your entryway is so welcoming. Yes, those thurnbergia are amazing... mine barely have a flower. I see you've got some red geraniums going. Quite a beautiful contrast and definitely accents the entryway. I've got to get one of those calliandra. Where did you say you got yours? It is really something special. Great color. Thanks for posting. Your garden never ceases to amaze me.

Anna

LOL, I've been promising Anna for awhile now to learn how to use that camera. Some day I will. I just need my hubby's help to get started. Your garden is lovely and I agree, I wish we all lived closer. One day I want to get over to that side of the state and see both your gardens. :o)

Carol, I think dombeya Seminole is the name of the one Hester is showing.

Hi all,
The dombeya is Seminole...I planted it in the wrong place (I do this way too often) so I kept pruning it over the summer and I think that's why it is so low and round. I don't know why yours isn't doing better, Marcia, although I've had them in the past and not been as successful as this one. This gets full sun and I did water it when we didn't have rain. I've never fed it. Maybe the lack of water is part of the trouble you're having?
Carol - I'm glad the begonias are doing well - they will take more sun than you think except in the summer.BTW, I'm still looking for that white cane you saw online - no luck, but I did just get a dark leaved, dark pink one that I didn't have. I love begonias.
Anna - Yup, I couldn't resist a few geraniums!
I think I got that calliandra from a vendor at Tropiflora's spring sale as I saw them again at the fall sale. The boys at the nursery could probably get one for you - I'll ask -as I might like another for out back. I've tried cuttings with no success. It gets so huge that it would be perfect for your garden and it's foliage is so pretty that if it got too much shade to flower well, it wouldn't matter. Mine gets only part sun part of the year so it's not loaded with blooms year round.
Katkin - I am totally hopeless with technology (don't even have a cell phone) but I bought the cheapest digital camera at Target and learned how to use it. I can only do the basic picture taking but that's all I care about. Try it - you'll love it! And then we'd love it too.
Hester

Hester, thanks for the info on the dombeya. Do you think it could make it through the Jacksonville climate?

Did you know that the grower of that white-cane begonia was in the US for about six weeks this fall? He traveled the south of the entire continental US and came as close as Savannah but failed to bring us cuttings!!!

Carol

Well, Carol, that was certainly rude of him! Maybe he knew you were"stalking" him!!!just kidding of course
I don't know abut Jacksonville growing so maybe someone here will answer.
I'm going to ask my nursery guys who go over to Homestead every week if they can find the white begonia for me but if the grower was from overseas, I doubt they'll have luck. But it's worth a try.
Hester

Yeah, Hester, he's from Australia! I even dropped super-duper big hints before he left! (Just kidding, of course.)

I linked it again below for you to take another peak, as well as for anyone else who may be interested in seeing what we are talking about!

Here is a link that might be useful: White Cane Begonia