Have you ever considered the value of color in the landscape? How about color in the South Florida landscape? Let''s take a look at seasonal color in the local landscape. Native Floridians mark the passing of seasons by what our natural surroundings present to us. The casual observer, i.e. our snowbird friends from the North, note only the hot summer season and the mild South Florida winter months.               

Lets take a look at what flowering trees lend to our South Florida landscape. Representing all the colors of the rainbow and then some, flowering trees are a delight and pleasure in all seasons of the climatological calender.

Depending on the extent of winter moisture and cold weather, our color display begins in late January or February with the cold hardy Tabebuia impetiginosa (purple), Tabebuia umbellata (golden yellow), Tabebuia chrysotricha (brilliant golden yellow) and continuing into spring with Tabebuia caraiba (yellow).

Spring also gives us the start of the long flowering seasons of Tabebuia heterophylla (pink), Lagerstroemia speciosa, or Queen''s Crepe Myrtle (purple), Senna surattensis (yellow) or Cassia, Bauhinia blakeana (purple) - the true Hong Kong Orchid - and the Orange Geiger or Cordia sebestena (orange). With proper nutrition these trees will flower late into summer.

Florida’s real summer, beginning in June, presents the Florida landscape with the golden flowering Verawood, or Bulnesia arborea, introduced by David Fairchild of the world famous Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami, Florida; the larger growing Peltophorum dubium or Yellow Poinciana, and the Royal Poinciana also known as the Delonix regia (redish/orange). The Red Cluster Bottlebrush tree (red) or Callistemon rounds out the pallette providing year-round color.

All of these trees and many more, including Florida native and 21 species of palms are available at ACME DAIRY TREE FARM in Boynton Beach, Florida.  For more information call us at 561-733-3420