Here's a pic that has from left to right, brugmansia (still has about 25 buds), ornamental pepper way down low to the ground, Martha Gonzales rose, to the right of that is an unidentified rose that I got from ARE a long time ago (I'm sending them a pic and hope they can ID it), and the far right is the edge of Blush Noisette, which has gotten quite large.

It's a cloudy day here, this looks a lot better in full sun.

Funny story about the brugmansia. The first time I saw that plant my dh and I were somewhere in California staying at a b&b. I hadn't seen any kind of blooms quite like that before. I asked about it and if I could have a cutting or seeds. The owner hemmed, hawed and finally said "prob'ly not" which I thought was weird. Later while reading a local newspaper I saw an article about some kids that had been hospitalized from drug problems related to that plant; it is very toxic and has some hallucinogenic properties. I realized the owner thought I was going to smoke or eat the plant and that's why he wouldn't let me take any cuttings of it. I decided not to grow it after that, but I will say that the blooms are quite striking looking!

Floridarose, yes, I love to sit on my porch and enjoy the scent in the evening and morning.

Harborrose, brugmansia (angel's trumpet) and datura are related but aren't the same thing. It's not that easy to get seeds from a brug, but daturas are really easy, and that's the drug. I believe the datura blooms all face up, and brugs face down. You can't use the brug to make drugs, so I suspect you were looking at a datura.

Brittie, hi! This one came from Another Place in Time. I have 2 more that I got from a breeder in Florida that haven't bloomed yet, and one that came from Houston Garden Center that has bloomed a little, but this one is older and is a real trooper.

Strawberry, a lot of people in the north grow them in pots and bring them into a warmer space such as a garage when they go dormant in the winter. I saw one website, the man was growing a forest of them in a very cold climate. He would dig them up in the fall and let them go dormant, then plant them in the ground in the spring, and they would get very large and bloom a lot more than they do in pots. I thought this was a good idea, since they can get 8' tall and wide, at least.

Harmony, they're very easy, and you shouldn't have any problems growing them. They take a lot of water and a bit of fertilizer, but the low humidity shouldn't be a problem.

Oh, the unidentified rose under the window is Mlle. Franziska Kruger. I suspected that's what it was, and ARE just sent me an e-mail. It's getting moved to a better location soon, it is just sulking where it is - too close to the wall.

Toxicity

All parts of Brugmansia are poisonous, with the seeds and leaves being especially dangerous.[16][20] Brugmansia are rich in Scopolamine (hyoscine), hyoscyamine, and several other tropane alkaloids.[21] Effects of ingestion can include paralysis of smooth muscles, confusion, tachycardia, dry mouth, diarrhea, migraine headaches, visual and auditory hallucinations, mydriasis, rapid onset cycloplegia, and death.[22][23][24]

That picture is spectacular, though...

The daturas tend to poke their trumpets up, like jimpson weed. They are beautiful & fragrant, too, though not as gorgeous as brugs, IMHO. There's an ongoing discussion about how to classify the two forms.

Re. the toxicity; yeah, about once a year some idiot willfully poisons themselves--usually on jimpson weed. It's a first-time one-time thing because they are toxic, & the hyoscyamine, scopolamine, & other alkaloids aren't a *fun high*.

"Jimpson weed" is supposed to be a corruption of "Jamestown weed". There is a famous incident where the early settlers consumed some for greens & suffered the terrifying & sickening side affects.

Foxgloves, castor beans, aconite, oleanders--they're all poisonous, too, of course--and children need to be warned about them. But not even the most adventurous "experimenter* would ever try daturas or brugs if they've done even the most minimal research. Seems like everyone who ends up in the hospital from trying it is some teenage kid who ingested it deliberately. I would guess that the alkaloids would make them taste terrible & make them less a threat for children.

Heck, yeah, I plan on having them again when I have a good winter shelter for them.

And I'm sure you're right about someone deliberately ingesting jimson weed to get an unpleasant high. They will also eat peyote cactus, and end up having an unpleasant time, too. I can't imagine anyone trying to eat a toxic plant since they taste so nasty, and don't see how even a curious child would eat enough to cause much harm, since the alkaloids taste so bad. But a doctor told me once about a family on a picnic, they cut branches from an oleander to stick their weiners on to roast, and all of them died when they ate them. If anyone but a doctor had told me that I wouldn't believe it.

The only toxic plant that I hesitate to grow is castor bean. There are some really pretty purple cultivars and I'd love to have one. But the seeds are really toxic, that's where the poison ricin comes from. Sometimes, a dog will eat one and it will kill the dog, and I have 2, so no castor beans for me, darn it.

Mexican oleander is another beauty that's toxic. That hard freeze killed mine, too. I hesitate to replace it because of its large seed, which is quite toxic, but I really miss that small tree.

Sherry

But BRUGS, oh, brugs *sigh*---truly angels' trumpets. If you other posters haven't seen one blooming, you'll think I'm exaggerating when I tell you the flowers are a foot long, 6" wide at the open end, intoxicatingly fragrant, & they hang on the plant 30 or more at a time. It used to astonish me when folks in that area, where they do so well, would stop, slaw-jawed, & ask: "what IS that?". Maybe it's the 'druggie or poisonous rep', I don't know, but I think they are glorious & I miss them & my gingers a LOT. Cheers:)

Some get larger. There are also doubles,I have 2 that I got from a seller in Florida, but they aren't blooming yet.

I had a single yellow, too, a single white & the 'tube in a tube' double yellow. Re. daturas, I had regular jimpson weed & a common double white with eggplant-purple outside that was very vigorous. Seems like many of the daturas set seed but most of the brugs don't. Just my ignorant recollection.

There are some good hybrids available on e-bay sometimes. I got two from Sommergardens that are doubles. Unnamed common ones are available at local nurseries for very reasonable prices, like $7.95 for a 6" pot, that's what the one in the pic was.

I don't think sanguinea grows well in lower, warmer climates. I've never seen it at a nursery here and a local nurseryman told me they won't grow here.

Umm, nice ROSES, too :p

Thanks for the info about HoustonAngelMan!

And that Martha Gonzales rose is in full bloom and loaded with buds!

Seriously, a 10 gallon pot will hold a 5'+ brug tree, & the plant will be a bloomin' fool once mature. I used to overwinter 1" stems jammed a dozen or more in a 5 gallon pot with just a few fistfuls of dirt in the bottom. I'd cut them off my bedded trees just make sure I had some if I lost the trees outside. Yeah, they're gorgeous in beds during the warm season, but they really do well in a pot, indoors, too.

Get your plants established outside in pots then bring them inside to enjoy. Cold climate culture is similar to the huge plumeria 'trees' you see in nurseries for huge buck$.

(I sound like a brug salesman, but just don't want cold-winter folks to think they can't have these gorgeous tropicals)

Oh, yeah, nice Martha Gonzales

(Actually I want a pink one and theirs is yellow so it will not be meeting my pruners)

The other one, in bud, is a pink one called Bergkoginin.

Nerine oleander is used extensively here, planted all along the roadside for miles and miles.
They have no extra watering, only what they receive as rainfall in winter.
They bloom for months in summer, making any car journey a joy. Each turn of the road shows you the pink,red and white blossoms, against the beautiful Cretan landscape.
On a more practical note, another reason for planting them there, is to teach the local sheep and goats that there is nothing for them to eat along the roadside.
It is a beautiful way to keep the traffic accidents down!!!
Daisy