Bougainvillea

One of the prettiest and most versatile plant here at Alamo Rose is the bougainvillea.  We see them in NY nurseries during the summer usually as hanging baskets. That's because most bougainvillea can't survive temperatures below freezing. Either we New Yorkers have to winter our bougainvillea inside, or buy them new each spring. Needless to say, in NY bougainvillea are usually relatively small plants.

Bougainvillea bushes line the shuffleboard courts.

This is a bougainvillea tree.

Not so here in southern Texas.  The bougainvillea here can grow to be very large plants.  They can be shaped as bushes, shrubs, and even trees. Bougainvillea is a native plant of Brazil. They boast many colors - purple, magenta, red, orange, yellow and white. Bougainvillea color is not blossoms, but bracts or leaves, which surround 2 or 3 tiny yellow blossoms. Most bougainvillea have woody vines that can climb most anything with their sharp thorns.  In a warm arid climate like southern Texas, the bougainvillea is a vigorous grower.  It takes little care and can be pruned and trained to many shapes.  The residents of Alamo Rose use this beautiful plant a lot to add color to their hot arid landscape.

Bougainvillea pruned to form a hedge.

Pink bougainvillea leaves (bracts) surround the tiny yellow blossom.

Winter Texans

I guess my husband and I can now claim the label, winter Texans.  We drove out of a NY lake-effect blizzard last Friday, and made it down to Alamo, Texas on Monday. Alamo, Texas is very near McAllen, Texas, 45 minutes from South Padre Island on the Gulf coast and about 15 minutes from the U.S./Mexican border. The climate here is listed as arid, although we are here in the Rio Grande valley which is well-known for it's fruit and vegetable cropland. We are near enough to the coast that the weather is quite tropical - it nearly never freezes here. Summer temperatures can often reach 100, but right now in January most nights dip to the 40s or 50s, while day temperatures are in the 60s and 70s.  Pretty darn nice, especially considering the fact that this Monday the temperatures were well below 0 degrees back at home.

We've rented a mobile home in the Alamo Rose Park through the end of February. My parents have been living in this park for many years. It's a friendly, relaxing little community all on it's own. There's a heated pool, hot tubs, activity halls, and things going on all the time. This is the longest vacation my husband and I have ever been on.  How will we cope?  So far, it's been easy.

One of my Texas goals is to educate myself on some of the common plants of this area.  There are many beautiful plants growing right here within the park.  I'll use my camera and my computer, and try to share what I learn through this blog.

I'll start with something very familiar: the rose.  It is Texas's state flower, and embedded in the name of this park, so it comes as no surprise that I found roses throughout this little community.  What was a surprise to me is that the roses are all in full bloom.  What a nice welcome.

Anticipation...

We're in the dead of winter here. And although the 2 or so new inches of snow each day have kept the landscape a beautiful winter wonderland, it's cold. Travel is difficult. Every activity requires more time, more clothing, more energy just to get around. It's just the right time to get out of town and look for warmer climes.

Anticipation... Seed catalogs have been arriving for the last 2 weeks.  Spring garden planning can certainly help a winter along.  The houseplants are trying to bloom - another sign that winter won't last forever.  Two amaryllus bulbs were found while cleaning out my in-laws home.  A little water - a little light, and they are showing signs of  new growth. 

Clivia Blossom - just starting.

The clivia is sending up a new blossom.  Clivia only blossom once or twice a year, so it's always a special treat.  Each blossom will open to a lovely orange cup together forming a large ball of flower.

And finally, one of my orchid is going to blossom again!  This is very exciting. I have 2 orchids; both were in full bloom when I received them as gifts.  But since their original blossoms they have both just been sitting around, not doing much of anything.  Finally a week or so ago, I noticed that this one was sending up a new shoot, and low and behold -- blossoms. 

So although outside my window the snow and cold makes it hard to remember that the landscape is indeed alive, still there are things happening. 

And now for our winter adventure.  Next Friday my husband and I are leaving cold and snowy NY for McAllen, TX.  We plan to be away for all of February.  McAllen is about as far south as you can get in Texas.  It's near South Padre Island and the Mexican border.  My daughter-in-law will be housesitting the plants, and I predict she will get to witness the full glory of the amaryllus. I plan to document our trip with nature updates as we travel south, so stay tuned.  And hopefully... prayerfully... signs of spring will be waiting for us when we get back.