Gardenia bushes typically thrive in USDA Growing Zones 8–11,
requiring warm, humid climates, though some cold-hardy varieties like
'Frostproof' and 'Kleim's Hardy' can withstand Zone 7 winters. They
prefer full sun to partial shade, acidic soil, and consistent moisture.
In zones 6 or lower, they must be grown in containers and brought
indoors.
The gardenia bush in the garden in the center of my condo building has been blooming for the last five days. It is so wonderful to open my front door and step out on the 2nd floor walkway with a view of flowers. It really makes your day.
Today I'm sharing more photos of the Golden Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia). Close to my home are several golden trumpets but no pink ones.
The azaleas at the condo have finished blooming. Here is a shot from the balcony taken last week.
Although most people think they normally bloom in the winter, the red amaryllis bulbs at Christmas are forced bulbs. Amaryllis are tropical plants that
will flower in late winter or spring when planted in the ground. We plant them in Florida and they flower in April, May.
For those of you who visited last year, you may remember I bought two amaryllis bulbs to pot and grow here at the condo. I had them by my front door until they had finished blooming last spring and went dormant. I kept the two pots on my balcony until the beginning of March. I moved them back by the front door for part full sun exposure. They like bright sunlight. One pot has had glorious blooms for the last week. The 2nd one is just waking up (so to speak), and I expect buds and flowers in another month. I hope you enjoy the mostly white flowers.
Tabebuia, commonly known as trumpet trees, are spectacular tropical flowering trees known for their explosive, often leafless, spring blooms in shades of pink, yellow, or white. Primarily native to Central/South America, these trees reach 20–50 feet tall and thrive in full sun and well-drained soil.
It's spring in central Florida with pink and yellow tabebuia or trumpet trees in blooms. For a brief time, the blossoms appear like magic. I can never get enough of blossoming trees. I just want to drive and hunt for them.
Here at the condo, the garden in the center of our wrapped condo building has azaleas in bloom.
I hope you are enjoying spring in all its new life wherever you are.
Spring time means newborn animals, leaves on trees, grass starting to
grow, and flowers pushing up in the garden. It is a time for new life
and fun food. I enjoy food art. Spring and Easter are a perfect time to
make cute food to celebrate. Last week I shared the classic cute bunny cake for spring and Easter. It is made from 2 round cakes with artistic cuts on
one cake. The classic bunny cake has been around since the 1950s.
Today, I wanted to consider some of the different ways
to make cakes that look like a lamb. A lamb is a symbol of renewal and has long been at the
center of Easter tradition.
I. Lamb Cake Using a Lamb Mold
This is one of the most popular ways to make a lamb cake. There are numerous posts with a molded lamb cake. Wilton has great instructions on how to make the lamb cake with the Wilton
3D standing cake pan. They decorated the cake with flat white icing
first. Then using an icing tip and bag, they added swirls on the body
for wool and colored accents. I personally would find this way of
decorating hard as I’ve never been great at piping icing details. The face is the flat white icing with colors for lines for
mouth and eyes. Their lamb’s face is cute and not hard to make.
Wilton also has a cake iced with a spatula and leaving the face bare.
You can make this with white cake or chocolate. I think it’s really cute
and Wilton ranks it for a beginner.
If you do a search for lamb cakes, you will find hundreds of posts with
varying ways to decorate one. The faces often look very different. Some
of the cakes show how hard it can be working with a mold. The faces are
distorted. Part of the difference in the face is the brand of lamb mold
you are using. Nordic Ware‘s 3 D Lamb Cake Pan is another standing lamb cake. Below is their chocolate version with the body covered in icing and the head bare chocolate cake.
A
glaze was used on the face. Then using a buttercream icing piped
rosettes were placed around the body. A straw was used to pop out the
eyes and then a knife was used to make the nose and mouth. Finally
pre-made cake decorations from Walmart and green coconut decorate the cake.
No matter the brand of mold you use, the piped icing is probably the
most popular decorated lamb cake. An attractive alternative is using
coconut on white icing to make a wool coat for the lamb. I really loved
this idea as a coconut cake was the first cake I learned to make as a
child. It was fun and delicious. Below is a version shared atA Taste of Home with coconut on the body and candy on the face. A lamb cake looks great as a centerpiece for Easter dinner.
I like the idea of not having to spend $20 to $l30 for a lamb cake
mold. My small home does not have lots of storage space. There are so
many ways to decorate a round cake for Easter with a lamb theme. The
easiest is Kraft’s Simple Lamb Cake. Bake your favorite cake and add
white icing on the cake. Use miniature marsh mellows to circle the top of
the cake once. Then add 2 more rows of marshmallows at the top to make
wool coming down to meet his face. Use melted chocolate to make eyes and
mouth. A candy is the nose. Cookies are ears. So cute and easy.
One of the most common methods to decorate a round cake is using
flat white icing on the whole cake. Then add any decorative piping for a
wooly frame for the face. Below is a sponge cake decorated with a cream
icing. Melted chocolate was used for facial features. Round small
crackers or cookies are the ears.
You can easily decorate a round cake with a cake topper made for the season. Below is a great example from Good Housekeeping. This handmade lamb cake topper is made with a Rice Krispies treat, cotton candy, and marshmallows. Everything is edible and unexpected.
Online there are many toppers and cookie molds to help you decorate your cake. Most would be put on the top, but they can also be added to sides of a cake for a cute cake. Below are a set of two lamb cookie cutters. Bake and decorate your cookies for a colorful display.
The Food Network has a darling lamb cake you make from 3 round cakes. Complete instructions are givien at How to Make an Easter Lamb Cake. It is a more complex cake design.
The Food Network has another recipe with instructions that
makes a lamb cake from cupcakes. It seems much easier to me than cutting
3 cakes like the recipe above. Who doesn’t love cute cupcakes?
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
