Spring Blush

The day started out as one of the coldest this winter but by mid-day it was gorgeous outside.  This azalea time of year is one of my favorites.

Azaleas under moss-laden oaks are almost a cliche but I love them.  When bursting in colorful bloom they are stunning.  When not in bloom they provide layers of evergreen foliage for spring irises, caladiums and bromeliads to play against.

Pink is my favorite color and there are all shades of it surrounding me in the front garden from the light pink of 'George L. Taber' to the fuchsia shades of 'Formosa.'

These flowering shrubs are reliable bloomers at a time of year when things often look bleak.  This year's mild winter weather however has allowed many of the companion plants to remain green giving the overall garden a more complete look.

It may be a one-type-of-flower show right now, but there is such an abundance of azalea flowers that the pollinators are enjoying quite a feast.

This large carpenter bee is one of many that have been buzzing around the bushes. I just love watching them start flying and flitting as soon as the sun begins to warm the day.

The azaleas may have a short run of blooms, typically lasting about a month, but this show has just begun.  There are plenty of additional buds yet to pop.

Oak Tree Circle Re-Do

While enjoying the wafting scent of the tea-olives, my youngest garden helper and I began pulling out Wedelia trilobata from the circular bed surrounding the big oak tree in the back garden. 

This ground cover is now considered a category II invasive for the central Florida area.  Even though I've always liked the cheery yellow flowers, I decided it was time for this pest plant to go. 

Since the Wedelia was brown and crispy after our winter freezes, it was pretty easy to pull up. This job needed to be done before warm temperatures and spring rains brought it back to life. Even so, I'm sure I'll be pulling sprigs out all through the spring and summer.

When the Wedelia was originally planted, it was not considered an invasive. In fact, it was recommended to me by a landscaper. Part of the problem with this plant is the ease with which any part of it will root. So, as I was keeping my patch trimmed up and disposing of the trimmings in the yard waste, I was contributing to the spread of a pest plant. All the ground cover we pulled up this time was disposed of in the trash not the recycled yard waste.

The now blank area was filled with a few newly purchased plants such as Holly Fern and Indian Hawthorn.  These particular plants were chosen for their cold hardiness.  Other plants were divided from existing clumps growing in other areas around My Garden Path.  The pink edging will be pulled out as it is no longer needed to contain the Wedelia.

Bromeliads, Flax Lily, and Flowering Maple were some of the plants added from existing sources in other parts of the garden.  Caladium bulbs will be planted later this month to fill out the area. 

(The plants which are designated as invasive in Florida can be found here.  This is an ever changing list so it is a good place to check periodically.)

Loving My Live Oaks

This is the time of year I like to remind myself of how much I love the live oak trees growing at My Garden Path. 

This beautiful double trunked oak covers half the backyard.  Soon the gingers, firespikes, impatiens and caladiums will fill up the now mostly empty area.  Usually the month of March looks like this with April bringing lots of growth of foliage and flowers.  The garden seems to be slow coming back this year but it is coming back and for that I'm grateful. 

There are a total of ten oak trees on our little .4 of an acre lot.  There are six live oaks and four oaks of unknown variety.  They keep the house cool in summer and make sitting  and playing with the grands outside very pleasant. 



However.....

There are a few drawbacks to having so many trees on such a small space.  It's just one month out of the year, but pollen, inches thick, covering the stepping stones along the path, the rooftop, the driveway.....

Those garbage bags are full of mulched oakleaves picked up before the pollen fall and just waiting to enrich the soil.  I'm not saying the leaves are a drawback, just the pollen.  And, yes, I am allergic to oak pollen.

That's why I must look up and enjoy the new green leaves erupting from those lovely twisted branches.  Just a week or two more and this pollen will be but a memory.  I'll be gardening beneath the oak canopy enjoying a full 10 degrees cooler temperature than in the sunshine and I'll be loving my live oaks once again.