End of the month = Hot, Loud & Proud where fellow blogger, Noel of A Plant Fanatic in Hawaii, challenges us to find some tropical-esque blooms.

These guys were all taken at one of my favorite gardens, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens.  We have one of these Red Pagoda in our garden…but this one was blooming like a crazy person.

Ahh Grevillea…my old buddy.  The foliage was rich, but the spiky flowers stole the show.   Frankly, we couldn’t find the ID tag on this one…so we will just call it Grevillea sp.  Anybody have a thought on the species?

Here’s a flowering Sempervivum.  I never heard them called Houseleeks before.  Back in Wisconsin, I would call them Hen and Chicks.  Still on the fence which I like better.

Apparently Banksia marginata, aka Silver Banksia, can grow into a small tree.  This guy was about 15 feet tall, and full of the bottle brush-like flowers.  Not quite the exact plant, but I’ve been drooling over a Banksia Germinatrix blogged about.  Nice work.

– Far Out Flora