Greetings Growers & Lovers of Green Things

The Tropical Grower welcomes you to the online version of Our Garden. Check out our What’s Bloomn’ slideshow featuring last week’s flowers, cruz the latest topics at the Blog Page for information, enjoy the Photos, or just check out what’s happening this week in Garden Dirt. While we are Growing Tropical, growing is for everyone, and we’re here to share the green.

Garden Dirt

October 19, 2026

Oooo Chilly & Dragonflies

Yup, we woke up to our 1st chilly morning.  It wasn’t so much the temperature as the cold wind.  Brr.  I put on socks.  Of course, temperature is relative.  Here in the tropical zones, if it drops below 70 degrees, we think chilly.  LOL.  It was nice and a bummer we didn’t get to spend all day out there.  Even if we wanted to, food and stamina are in charge.  LOL.  Life is kind of a time gobbler too.  It’s okay, Our Garden was in no way neglected last week.  There was growing in abundance.

To make it even nicer, skirting and dancing around everything, Dragonflies.  Lots of them.  They’re always around, a couple here and there.  We even have a Bright Blue Dragonfly that lives in or near the fountain.  If I’m lucky, it’ll let me snap a pic., but this week abundance is the proper word.  They were darting around everywhere.  We got buzzed going through the Tunnel, and we even rescued a giant one from the Lanai, twice.  LOL.  Unfortunately, they’re quick critters and most of the pics are blurry.  Laughing.  I chased that red-purple one around forever.  It’s so pretty, and shy.  However, the Blue Dasher lady Dragonfly in the Raised Crop Beds allows me to walk right up to her.  We’re in there planting often.  She’s probably used to me. 

Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly

The Butterflies are also back, not like the Dragonflies, but more than the 1 or so a week we’ve been seeing.  We even had a visit from a familiar friend, the Eastern Black Swallowtail.  These are giant Butterflies.  We raised a mess of caterpillars and few Butterflies this Summer in our Butterfly House.  

It was a sweet encounter with it following, fluttering around me as I walked up the brick path.  It was close and stayed with me for quite awhile.  While I know it’s definitely probably isn’t one of ours, it certainly felt like it.  So much so I was living the experience.  By the time I thought to pull out my phone, it was heading off through the trees.  Dang.  Worth it.  Even as a photographer.  Sometimes the experience is worth so much more.

Around Our Garden

The Purple Queen, a lovely purple groundcover with constantly blooming tiny purple flowers and our Feature this week, was a bit out of control.  You’d think with the lack of rain it wouldn’t have grown so out of control, but no.  You don’t really notice immediately that you’ve started veering a bit to the left to miss the plant overflowing onto the path.  But it must have been going on for a while because there’s only a tiny strip of brick on the far right not covered by Purple Queen.  LOL.  In my defense, I did notice, but I didn’t get around to making a new row of them next to the pool until last week.

Purple Queen wants to grow, keep that in mind.  If it can, it will.  Near the end of the Rainy Season, it needs to be cut back, bad.  So, we usually transplant some to other parts of Our Garden, each now needing to be trimmed.  LOL.  This year, we’re making a strip spanning the north side of the pool with the cuttings.  

We dug a 3-4 inch trench, broke up the dirt with the shovel making it loose, placed bundles of pulled out Purple Queen in the trench with detached ends mostly down, and tossed the dug-up loose dirt on top.  Done.  If it can, it will.  Waiting.

We had several storms pass through, and we spent some time picking up the extra tall Orange Cosmos growing crazy around Our Garden.  We featured those mammoths last week.  Still blooming, despite the falls.  We also started the Fall trim.  After the Rainy Season things start getting a bit overgrown and the planties that go dormant need to be trimmed down for the winter.  That happens in the tropical zones too, but ours usually stay mostly green.  Except the Frangipani or Pulmeria, it looks like thick sticks most of the Dry Season.  LOL.  It will take us a couple of weeks to get everything trimmed, but we have lots going on.  Doing a bit each week helps break it up.

Harvest

The Key Limes keep coming.  We also got a few early Oranges.  Those aren’t ready for Harvest until the end of the year, but a few usually get knocked off, some way.  We stick those in the window and see.  If they’re mature enough when they fall, they’ll ripen up.  So, waiting.

The Bok Choy and Cucumbers look pretty amazing, as do most of the Tomatoes.  Woo-Hoo!  Most everything else is ify.  LOL.  The Celery, some even replanted, are still very small as is most everything else.  The sprouted Carrots, dead.  We’re going to have perfect Veggie growing weather for the rest of the week.  Hopefully, everything will be much stronger next week.  LOL.  We’re hoping for starting slow, but growing strong.  We can still make that.

Flowers

As mentioned, the Purple Queen with whole areas covered in the lush dark purple foliage, dotted in tiny light purple flowers caught the Feature.  We often spend mornings watching the Bees hit every single one of those tiny purple beauties.  With yellow pollen that glows, it’s hard for them to resist.  LOL.  Us too.  So pretty.  We spread it.  More for the Bees.

We got yet another spike of the Purple Lealia Orchid.  Woo-Hoo!  We’re going to miss the very fragrant walk in the mornings when it’s gone.  So sweet.  The Orange Cosmos blooms Featured last week started the Fall Wildflowers with the little Wild Aster and Lanceleaf Coreopsis following.  Woo-Hoo.  The White Dendrobiums are still filling the fences, and the Buttercup bush is full with golden blooms.  So lovely.  Enjoy! 

Check out What’s Bloomn’ slideshow for more flowers or visit Garden Dirt Diary to catch up on what’s been going on around Our Garden.