A Garden Neglected Still Brings Joy

Between vacation days, rainy days and sweltering heat, time spent in the garden has been minimal.  I'm very thankful for the rains we've been getting as that eliminates the chore of hand-watering every day. ( Irrigation for the back garden is certainly on the list for "someday" improvements.)  Since being left on its own, the garden has grown a bit wild.

Some nice surprises have shown up among all the wildness.  Bromeliads that were damaged by the cold this winter seem to have recovered quite well and are blooming now. 

While visiting a public garden on vacation I purchased a little sign that fits perfectly here.  It reads, "I don't remember planting this."  Really, that sign will fit in many places here at My Garden Path.

My little spot for catching the eastern sunlight always challenges my camera abilities.  One day I'll be able to capture the light just as I see it, I hope.

The rain barrel is finally getting some camouflage from the star jasmine and blue plumbago.  Every winter the barrel is left standing exposed and ugly.  I tried ripping out the plumbago and jasmine with the idea of planting something like tea olive which would give year-round coverage, but I dawdled and they grew back.  I love the plumbago when it's blooming but this winter I'm going to regret my laziness.

The newer version of flowering maple that was planted under the big oak is about three feet by three feet now and seems to be  staying smaller and bushier than the tall one I have in another bed.  Love it.  It blooms constantly and, while blooms are not always open all at the same time, it makes a lovely backdrop for the bright coleus planted in front of it.

Sweet almond is perfuming the yard.  This bush is now a small tree.  I have it in quite a bit of shade which I think is keeping it spindly.  But, it has really grown tall.  It's hard to get a photograph of the whole tree as it disappears into the background due to its slender, open branched form.  Bees of all types love it but so do stink bugs.  Maybe the sweet almond fragrance will make them smell better when I squish 'em.  

This is the time of the year when I slow my gardening efforts.  Morning hours are still enjoyably spent outside but heavy digging and planting is not on the agenda.  

Under The Oak Tree

The southeast corner of the backyard garden is under the shady canopy of the large oak tree as well as the shadow of the wood fencing.  Pockets of sunlight appear in different areas at different times throughout the day.

Still on the east side but closer in toward the tree, new plants have been added to fill in the area where the wedelia ground cover once was growing.  The tallest plants are about two feet tall right now, but there are several which will be gaining height to add much needed layers.

Lots of low growing ground covering plants are planted on the north side of the tree.  This is the view we have from our back porch. 

There is a fairly good mix of cold hardy plants such as flax lily, holly fern and walking iris to keep the area from being too bare when the various clerodendrum, coleus, and caladiums disappear for the winter.  Where are all those caladiums I planted right after removing the wedelia?  Maybe I've been digging around too much and displaced them. 


Three oakleaf hydrangeas were planted on the southside of the tree to give some height and background.  These blooms are just beginning to open.  Hydrangea quercifolia is a native plant that fits in well with a natural woodland setting. 

Another native plant just added is this ground cover, Ruellia caroliniensis.  I'm hoping this native wild petunia will spread and help cover the areas between the other plantings. 

Up against the trunk of the old oak are clumps of different types of bromeliads.  The roots of the oak tree make it impossible to dig deep planting holes so these epiphytes fit perfectly. 

I just enjoy the sunlight shining through the leaves.  You never know when a stray sunbeam will show up.

On the west side of the tree I tried to mirror the planting of the east side.  There is another flowering maple, wormwood, firespike and a new reed-stem epidendrum planted on the outer edge of the circle where it can get some stronger sunlight.

With a mix of old and new, native and Florida friendly plants, I am eager to see how this woodland garden grows up. 

The Broms Are Coloring Up For Spring

Beneath the oaks lies the perfect environment for growing bromeliads.  These areas have been left to self-mulch after the annual leaf-fall.  Here in central Florida the leaves fall not in the fall season but in spring.  The new leaves emerging along the branches push the old leaves off and the ground is showered with oak leaves. 

Many new varieties of bromeliad have been placed around My Garden Path during the past few years.  Some have bloom spikes but others bloom deep in the cup of the leaves and only the leaves show color. 

The dappled sunlight shining on and through the brom leaves shows off the color to best advantage.  Sometimes just the tips of the leaves have color, looking like painted fingernails.

Other species have in your face color right in the middle of the plant surrounding those hidden flowers deep in the cup. 

Most of the bromeliads around the path have been passed along to me from other gardening friends.  Some came from my mother's garden. 

Being gifts from family and friends make these beauties even more special to me.  A few have been purchased but very few.  Most are pass-along plants.  The most prolific multipliers have already been passed along by me to others.  Sharing plants is a great way to spread the love of gardening.
  

All of the bromeliads in my garden made it through the winter freezes quite well.  A few had some damaged outer leaves but most were unaffected.   These plants would look lovely growing along some of the lower branches of the oaks.  (That's an idea dancing through my mind.)

It seems that different broms bloom at different times throughout the year so there are other brom blooms yet to be enjoyed at My Garden Path.  These that are coloring up for spring are very much appreciated.

The Best Birthday I've Had...This Year

My birthday lands smack-dab in the middle of the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.  It's a great place to be overlooked.  Add to that the fact that my youngest grandson was born on the very same day and well, let's just say my star doesn't shine all that bright these days. 

That is, except in my sweet husband's eyes.  He took a day off from work to take me to my favorite beach for a great lunch overlooking the water and a tour of a wonderful botanical garden.  He's a keeper.
We found a lovely "fruit cocktail" tree growing in front of a cute little beach cottage.  Cold weather won't bother this one.

After a walk on the beach at Anna Maria Island, we took a short drive over to Selby Gardens in Sarasota.  It is an amazing botanical garden with many plant collections.

Two tree fern greeted us at the entrance.  These are  living just one zone south of My Garden Path and seem untouched by the recent cold weather.  My little baby tree fern is still snuggled under a blanket at home.

Observing the way Selby had planted their oaks with many epiphytes, I was inspired to try this with my more cold tolerant bromeliads.  This is but one of many plans swirling in my head while waiting for spring.

Orchids, alocasias, anthuriums, bromeliads and other tropicals abounded in the conservatory which was planted as a lush rainforest.  My orchids at home are huddled in the bathtub. 

Farfugium japonicum 'Gigantea', is another plant that has my brain on overdrive with thoughts of including it under my shady oaks.  The garden docent told me this plant is zone 7 - 10.  I do so love a wide zone range in a plant.

A spectacular feature of Selby is a grove of banyan trees which were planted in the 1930s.  A walkway is provided for touring the canopy of these huge trees with their unusual root systems twisting and turning from high in the air to the ground. 

No botanical garden tour is complete until a purchase has been made at the gift shop.  I was thrilled to find and purchase the Neoregelias  'Lila' and 'Predator.' The beauty on the left, 'Lila,' has been on my want list ever since I saw her on Floridagirl's blog at Peace In The Valley.  This year I became great-aunt to a lovely little girl named Lila so, of course, I need this bromeliad in my garden.  I need 'Predator' too, because well, it's just such a beautiful brom!

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of Selby Gardens.  Perhaps it has set some gardening plans aswirl in your head as well.  As I look out upon my bleak landscape, I remind myself that winter is but a season and it is a great season for the seeds of ideas to germinate.