It really is Spring!!!

Happy Cactus Monday to all of us cactus loving people, and for you and all others, I will show you a few things I found VERY interesting in my neighborhood today! These things are all evidence of Spring bursting forth, and many of them I was surprised to find all happening...some of which did not even make it into this particular post! Things are happening in the gardening world! My first pic is of my Mammillaria, which I had posted a few days ago, but it is now in such a better blooming stage, I just had to recapture it's beauty!

Next I found three fruits of a tropical nature really gearing up! First is one of the neighborhood banana trees...and this cute man came walking up and asked if I needed a monkey for the shot, so he joined in the fun! (My neighbor, Jeff).

Then one of my Mom's pineapples...they are about 5 inches long now, so they have a way to go still.

Check out this one particular coconut tree! I would call this CHOCK FULL!!! As I was walking I found several like this scattered about the neighborhood, but this one seemed to be the most tightly packed, with the most coconuts squeezed in and hanging on for dear life! If you look closely you can see them all up top behind some of the fronds sticking straight up too!

Our friends two dogs, Scooby and Ben! They were looking out at their Daddy who was outside doing some work, and they did not like being trapped inside for a minute without him!!! Aren't they cute??? Both are very sweet Golden Retrievers.

Another blooming Amaryllis my Mom owns and tends to! She is a master with them!!! I love this bright red!

Here is a Ravenala madagascariensis, or Travellers Palm, is a species of banana-like plant from Madagascar. It is not a true palm, but a member of the bird-of-paradise family, Strelitziaceae. It is called the travellers palm because the stems hold rainwater that can be used as an emergency drinking supply.

You can see in this photo that there is a bloom down on the left side of the trunk-like area, which I got a close-up of in the picture below this one! I have never seen one of these bloom before, so I was quite surprised and thrilled to see it. My Mom had not either, and she has lived in central to south Florida here WHOLE LIFE!!!

They look white from afar, but up close you can see there are purple parts to this inflorescence! It was outstanding to see something so beautiful...I will keep my eyes on it as long as it stays open for us to see!

And you know, last but certainly not least, I had to find a succulent for us! Senecio cineraria, or Dusty Miller, which I just adore for it's lacy appearance! This is in a neighbors yard, but I will add some in my yard plans as I am slowly replacing anything that dies during our continued drought, with succulent plants that can withstand the heat, sun and dryness! We are getting into a desert-like scenario here...I am almost prepared to replace my yard with rocks, if things don't turn around soon! Of course, you would never believe it could be this dry, with all of the gorgeous tropical photos I just showed you. Looks like we must still have enough moisture going on here to sustain it all. I'm glad...it sure is nice!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Julie