Okay, I was really still on Earth; but Zone 10 seemed like another planet.
Everything was bigger there in Florida… the plants, the shrimp, the hotels, the prices.
The Shrub Queen was my “Plant Identification” tour guide through the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens.
I would ask the name of the plant I was pointing to and she would supply both its Latin and common name.
Many times I would respond with “Holy #*@, that’s a house plant.” So even the houses are bigger in Florida.
Just joking. These plants grow multiple times bigger in Zone 10 because there is so much more sunlight to make food through photosynthesis, also heat and time to grow. The growing season slows in “winter” , but never stops like here. Many of our plants die back to below ground and go dormant during the winter in Zone 7.
If I had chosen the name Flower Queen, I would have to demote myself. My little tropical plants that I have been so proud of are itty-bitty versions of these giants.
Here are examples. My epiphyllum has been growing nicely for three years.
Here is a wild one in Florida.
I have been super proud of my Cereus which greats folks in the foyer. Here is my “monster.” Zone 10 is 10x this size. (Not pictured)
The last example is quite an embarrassment. Mr. Flower and I had been marveling at a certain tree whose silhouette we had spotted numerous times on our journey southward. I took a photo for the Shrub Queen to identify this possibly unusual and rare species.
To my chagrin, she informed me the it was a Norfolk Island Pine.
Here are my two. Notice how especially pitiful the smaller one is (Rachel). I was ashamed.
So I will conclude with; The Queen knows her stuff and the Flower knows her place.
floweralley 