Roses After The Rain

Some roses decided to bloom during Tropical Storm Debby.  I ran out between rain bands and took pictures since most of these blooms would soon be blown to bits by wind and heavy rain.

'White Out'  

'Belinda's Dream'

'Louis Philippe'

'Julia Child'


I am still amazed that my roses are doing so well.  They get a haircut and compost in February, and a monthly application of Mills Magic rose food.  During the dry season I hand water them about twice a week.  A drip irrigation system is on my wish list.  

Summer Roses

My two favorite roses are doing well and blooming despite the heat and the lack of rainfall.  My other roses seem to have less blooms and bloom less often in the heat of summer.  These summer roses are a treat to both my eyes and my nose.  

Julia Child was planted this spring and seems to be happy in her spot against the back fence.  This area is full sun and is irrigated only by me and my trusty hose.  As often as possible that hose is attached to the rain barrel, but lately rainwater hasn't always been available.

This rose starts out a deep butter yellow that fades to light yellow.  My bush is only about eighteen inches tall and about as wide.  I have read that I should expect her to get to be a very round, bushy three feet in all directions.  So far, her leaves have remained a deep green and don't seem to be bothered at all by the heat.

The other rose that is doing super this June is my favorite, Belinda's Dream.  She is just so beautiful to me.  Her fragrance is very sweet and drifts on the breeze so I can enjoy it while I work near her.

This rose is a really big bush.  She is about five feet tall and wide and blooms in continuous flushes.  She does get brown leaves when not watered regularly.  She doesn't have any pest problems though other than last fall she had a little blackspot; but just a little on the backside of the bush.  

These are my favorite roses because of the shape of their blooms and the fact that they bloom so often.  When in bloom each bush is covered with roses.  They both have a light fragrance.  Julia Child is a bit spicy scented while Belinda's Dream has more of an old rose fragrance.  I do not want to spray pesticides or use chemicals in my garden and these roses are doing well without those things.  I love all my roses, but in the heat of summer these two really shine.

In-between

While the garden is between frosty weather episodes these flowers have brought their joy.

Lovely lavender only grows well here during the cold season. 

Once the humidity of a Florida summer cranks up it wilts and withers,but now, it is spiking up beautifully.

A reliable bloomer most of the year, African iris is sending up shoots of new buds. 

Sweet Alyssum and Belinda's Dream mingle their perfume adding a sweet scent to the morning walk-about.

With a scent that is a little less sweet and a little more peppery, the White Out rose is doing her best to provide wintery white blooms.

Smelling like almond cookies baking in the oven, the sweet almond bush is loving the cold. 

(While tender potted plants and seedlings have been brought into the protection of the porch and a few in-ground tropicals have been covered with old quilts, the above flowers have been on their own.  Other plants left unprotected have already turned brown and begun their winter hibernation.  It's nice to have a few things doing well in the winter garden.)

A Cool (Almost) Crisp Fall Day

One recent morning the temperatures were in the mid-sixties with 49% humidity.  While enjoying the view from the back porch I didn't even need to turn on the ceiling fans.  I walked around to the sunny eastside veggie bed to complete my morning watering chores and I didn't break a sweat, not one drop.  What a difference from just last week's humidity. 

In fact, the morning air was so cool that I was inspired to enlarge the westside bamboo bed.  This is a project that became necessary once the bamboo grew large enough to weep over the top of the loropetalum I had planted in front. 

A sleepy bumblebee was just resting amid the bamboo leaves.  How those little wings lift that fat and furry body is amazing to me.  This bee didn't lift off until much later in the morning.  He was a welcome companion while I worked.

The flax lily border was brought out about 3 feet and the loropetalum bushes moved forward.  The Mexican Petunias (the sterile ones from Home Depot) were left in place which made the bumblebee happy.  
 ( To see the beginnings of this bed you can go here.)

Another creature slowed by the coolness in the air was this Sulphur butterfly.  Be sure you notice the huge caterpillar in the left foreground.  These guys have been eating the tips of this cassia bush all summer.  I have it for just that reason, but I do want it to bloom this year.  Last year I remember it being stunning the whole month of November.  This year it is about half the size it was so I'm concerned. 

While in the sunny area of My Garden Path with camera in hand, let me show you Belinda's Dream for the millioneth time. 

She is loving the cooler weather and so am I. 

Roses Along the Path

After the repeated deep freezes of early 2010, huge, old hibiscus bushes were removed from the garden.  In their places roses were planted.  I've never grown roses before but knew that I wanted fragrance and flowers in this small sunny area just off the back porch.

Mother's Day brought me two new one-gallon size bushes.  'White Out' is about 2'X 2' at this time and blooms non-stop.  The label said this rose would get to be about 3' X 3'.  That would be perfect for the space. 

'Sunny' is another of the Knockout series and was labeled as 3'X 3' in size.  This rose is just now starting to grow and bloom.  It has not been happy all summer.  I am hoping that it will get well established in the cooler weather and that by spring it will be a vigorous rose bush.

The sunny yellow blooms it is named for are worth the wait for this little bush to settle into its spot. 

'Red Cascade' is an old garden rose that was given to me many years before the Path came into existence.  This is a miniature climber and is on its own root.  I have rooted several of these and passed them along to other friends.  This rose just keeps growing and growing. 

Another old garden rose, 'Louis Philippe', was given to me earlier this summer.  It is a rooted cutting and has been doing very well, blooming pretty much non-stop.  I've been told that the blossoms will become more red as the bush matures.  I don't care, I love it just as it is. 

The original Knockout Rose has sulked a little this summer.  It is healthy, just not prolific with the blooms. 

Of course, Belinda's Dream is just that.  My dream rose.  I love, love, love her.  She has bloomed all summer and has grown from an 18" height to over 4 feet.  You can read about the beginning of it all in this post. 

As important as foliage and flowers are to My Garden Path, butterflies, bees, birds and other wildlife are just as important.  Even though I became a little obsessed with the roses, I made a decision early on to not use any pesticides and to use only organic fertilizer.  So far, the foliage of all the roses has been quite healthy and free of the dreaded blackspot.  You can see 'White Out' in the background  of the above photo with 'Belinda's Dream' in the foreground.  'Belinda's Dream' is full of buds but just a couple of blooms are barely visible.  The foliage on both bushes is just perfect as it has been all the hot, humid summer.

Janis, from Graceful Cottage Gardening, recommended that I use Mill's Magic Rose Mix organic fertilizer.  Her roses are so big and beautiful that I knew that was good advice.  My roses are loving the Magic.

I've never grown roses before, but so far, these roses have proven themselves to be easy and well adapted to the Florida climate.  I'm quite happy with my combination of 'Knockout' roses and old garden roses.

In The Pink

Pink is my favorite color.....

.....from a barely there baby pink like on Sunshine Mimosa, Mimosa strigillosa,

used as a groundcover in the butterfly garden.....

......to  a little deeper pink on these stems of Alocasia 'Aurora'.

Of course, I think Rosa, Belinda's Dream has the perfect shade of pink!

The fuzzy and soft blooms of the Dwarf Chenille plant, Acalypha reptans, are a dark pink. 

The grandkids love to "pet" these flowers. 

This Angel Wing Begonia, Begonia coccinea, is a very subtle shade of pink.

Labeled as cranberry, this Pentas lanceolata sure looks pink to me.

My favorite Caladium 'Carolyn Wharton' is covered in pink.

"In the pink," is an idiom meaning "at the peak of health." 

I sincerely hope that this day finds both you and your garden IN THE PINK!

Butterfly Gardening

The sunny area just off the back porch has been dedicated to butterfly attracting plants and roses. 

Spires of salvia, rosettes of verbena and sweet smelling buds of roses and jasmine all mingle together in this spot.

The sun shines on beach daisy and passion vine.

Belinda's Dream is getting ready to pop!

(Have I mentioned how much I love this rose?)

Zinnias in both brights and pastels are growing between the roses.  Lavender spires of African blue basil grow beside a pot of orange-red geraniums. 

Bright, enticing colors and scents singing a siren song......

...luring in the just as colorful flying flowers.

 Ahh..Spring!

My Favorite April Blooms

It's hard to pick favorites.  Every day as I find a new bloom it becomes my favorite.  I know my two roses have been shown many times before, but really can you ever see too many pictures of such beautiful flowers?  Belinda's Dream and Knockout Radrazz have been blooming since February.  This month they have been more beautiful than ever.  The Florida Gold sedum is blooming tiny yellow flowers which were a complete surprise to me.  The blanket flowers were a little late in showing off but late April brought an abundance of blooms.  Bleeding Heart clerodendrum is a new addition to the back fence in the shady corner and it is doing a great job of brightening that dark spot.  The pentas which have been a mainstay for color at My Garden Path were knocked to the ground this winter and are only just now putting out leaves about 6" above ground.  Tall red pentas were purchased and planted earlier this month to give the butterflies a reason to return.  Those pentas are such workhorses.  They just pump out blooms constantly.  When the purple, pink and white ones finally grow back to their former glory butterflies should abound once again.  I love to grow several different salvias and this Victoria Blue is a favorite of mine which just started putting out its long purple plumes earlier this month. 

I hope all my gardening friends are enjoying many, many blooms in their April gardens. 

Bowing Before the Beauty of Belinda's Dream

I have never grown such a beautiful flower before.  This rose is so full of petals and just keeps opening up more and more every day. 

I love everything about Belinda's Dream from her first opening bud to the full flower.

This small bush is loaded with new buds in addition to these open flowers.  The scent is subtle but very distinctly a rose scent.  I love passing by and even enjoy weeding near this beautiful flowering shrub. 

Growing roses is something new to me but I am finding it to be very rewarding.