If you are a weather fanatic like I am, Central Florida is a great place to live.  During the summer the sky comes alive almost every afternoon when the Gulf and Atlantic Ocean sea breezes collide. Saturday's skyline was quite dramatic.While I was hoping we would get some rain out of these storms, the storm ended-up being all show and no action.  The exploding clouds were a good backdrop to showcase Brugmansia Sweet Summertime, a Monika Gottschalk introduction that thrives in our Florida heat.

I decided it was time to start naming and registering a few of my Angel Trumpets that have been on my "To be Registered" list since last year.  Here is the first of many I plan to register this year.  I named this one Brugmansia 'Marshmallow Sunset'.This seedling originated from a Brenda Delph cross involving Brugmansia New Orleans Lady and (Angel's Flight x Charming). You can see easily see traits from both parents in these blooms.  The bloom form and size is more in line with those of ...

One thing I love about Central Florida is that we have beautiful sunsets almost every day.  Here's a photo I captured yesterday of Brugmansia Sacajawea silhouetted by a thunderstorm.What is unusual about this photo is that I am shooting towards the east, not the west, so you would expect this to be a sunrise photo instead.  This sunset was so bright that it encompassed the entire skyline, reflecting off the numerous afternoon thunderstorms in the area.A touch of fill-in flash shows off the ...

This rather striking bloom caught me by surprise early this morning.  It is from a cross I made involving Brugmansia (Joli x Unknown) x New Orleans Lady.This jumbo sized bloom was unique in shape and quite impressive. The mother, Brugmansia Joli x Unknown is a single white seedling I have been watching for three years now.  It closely resembles a white version of Brugmansia Joli and I am still undecided if I want to register and release it.  New Orleans Lady, the pollen parent, is a nice ...

Now that our summer heat has settled in I have completely given up on attempting to make any new Brugmansia crosses until fall.  Meanwhile this busy bee has arrived for a quick drink and perhaps an inadvertent attempt to pollinate this bloom.I'm sure the nectar from this bloom is quite refreshing on this hot summer day. It's cool the way its little legs are laden with pollen.  I have lots of great blooms open now so if the bee does manage to create a successful cross, the outcome could be ...

Another variegated Angel Trumpet I have in bloom right now is Brugmansia Peaches 'N Cream.Brugmansia Peaches 'N Cream has been a good performer for me here in Florida,  I have my plants growing in full sun and our sauna like heat does not phase them. It is also a fast grower and frequent bloomer,  If you like variegated Brugmansia then this cultivar should be in your garden for sure.

This past week almost all my blooming size variegated Brugmansia cultivars have bloomed, or are in bud preparing to bloom. One of the more floriferous of the variegated Angel Trumpets is Brugmansia Variegated Apricot Queen.While my main plant is still rather small, about 3 feet above the pot, it must have close to 40 pendulous blooms cascading down from its canopy. As you can see the leaf variegation is lighter than many of the variegated Brugmansia.  The leaves of Variegated Apricot Queen ...

I was finally able to see a bloom on my Brugmansia Wupperstolz plant.  While the bloom was showing signs from taking a beating from our summer heat and thunderstorms, it still shows the potential beauty of this variegated Angel Trumpet.  When Wupperstolz bloomed for the first time a few weeks ago, I was out of town for work so I never was able to see the fully open bloom.  Besides the bloom that is open now I hope to see a few more later this week if the buds hold.  Blooming to the right of ...