Choice Morsels

First. is a teacup filled with Hens & Chicks and Chinese Stonecrop. You might wonder about the marbles & pink stones. Well, I was walking one day down the neighboring street and found a someone was discarding an old fish tank full of rocks and marbles still. It was by the side of the road. So I scooped a couple handfuls and took them home, depositing some in all my little cups and pots to give them a bit of pizazz. I like the Chicks and Stonecrop because they can tolerate freezing weather here in Florida. I've seen them freeze solid in ice and thaw out, then keep going like nothing happened.   Next: a Yellow Rain Lily with a Honey Bee These are planted in my rain garden in the back yard. Enough rain water causes them to bloom, though they seem to be more a fall bloomer. This shot is from about a month ago maybe. This past week Hurricane Sally generously filled that rain garden (which did it's job perfectly I made add) and should prompt fresh blooming. I walked out to ch...

Clathrus Columnatus (Stinkhorn) Ever seen a Clathrus Columnatus growing in your mulch bed or lawn? They're a funny little fungi common to the Gulf Coast, though they've been spotted as far north as Pennsylvannia. They frequent my mulched beds, especially when we've had a lot of rain. When I first saw one, I had to look it up to see what the little stinky thing was! This mushroom's common name is "Stinkhorn," and it's called that for good reason. It emits a mild stink to attract flies, which is how it disperses it's spores. (Most of the black specs in the photo are flies of various sorts.) It's bright orange colored and has this funny architectural form comprised of 3 loops or "columns." Usually about 2 to 4 inches tall. My other picture today is one of my garden art extra-large teacups filled with baby Hen & Chick succulents and some moss that has moved in. The mix of pea gravel, Chicks & green moss just looked so...